Here's the next chapter.
I'm sorry to say that I can no longer accept any more Pokemon recommendations as I'm starting to lose track of them all and it would be unfair to those who have submitted Pokemon if I start forgetting them.
Once the 'Potential Pokemon List' is shorter I will start accepting them again. I will add on the recommendations you have put forward in the last chapter, but please don't submit anymore once this goes out. Thank you so much to those who have recommended. You have been a great help in the development of this story. Thank you for understanding.
All of Charles' Pokemon and their names can be found on my profile.
Haro654 - I'm glad you like the idea. Bellosomes are favourite of mine. However, there are not into battling so I doubt they would be in any Pokemon battles. Some Pokemon that join the team are going to be the same.
Mark The Gamer of Grima - Thank you so much. I'm glad you are enjoying so far.
Djinn -Thanks so much. The first time I had heard about that episode was from other fanfics and I was able to find it online. I believe it was one of the episodes that had to be scrapped for English speaking audiences. Although curiously enough, most of it was dubbed in English. Sabrina is definitely going to be a tough gym leader for Charles and you're right, she will be curious as to how he could understand Pokemon.
Kunoichi69 – Thank you. I have fun writing rewrites and adding more…believable (no offence to the writers) scenarios. And you're right, Delia did deserve to win that contest.
SkullGreymonX – At first, I was going to have Blissey beg them to stay, but I changed my mind at the last moment. She can be very wise, and she trusts her sons enough to get out of situations. And yes, the presentation they had made was awful. It was a good thing they deleted it.
I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you like the next one.
danielsnow – I'm going to do some chapter before the Saffron Gym so he'll definitely pick up an abra soon. According to the online database, Persians are just Normal types, but they can learn Psychic type moves like Amnesia and Rest.
I'm glad you liked the chapter. By green haired girl, do you mean Leaf? Because she will turn up soon. Very soon. As for what will happen between seasons, Charles and the team will have a rest. Alice will go back to her hometown and Charles, Flo and Benny will go back to Pallet Town.
TurboDriver07 – Yeah, I thought it was about time Blissey let them go out on their own. Also, I doubt the presentation they made was going to help in any way. Charles and Benny are not great at computers.
I got a little tired writing beach episodes, so I thought I briefly cover it. However, they will be more chances, I assure you. Hitmonchan is a good recommendation. I'll definitely think about it more. Abra is coming soon and thank you for recommending a name.
pokeomonking0924 – Thank you so much, I'm so glad that you liked it. Lilly and Fleur were great as always. Thanks again for letting me use your ideas and I like the names for Flo's psyduck. I haven't found a good time to introduce it yet, but I feel like it should be after Misty gets her psyduck. Misty would want to give away Psyduck and Flo would love to accept it, but Psyduck is too attached to Misty. It will be funny.
Thank you also for the reminding me to update my profile. Hope you enjoy the next chapter.
BigEater – Thanks so much. Yeah, the original series was a bit…rough. However, I'm glad I can improve it slightly.
I will be doing the movies as well. I may have to rewatch them because I had completely forgotten most of them. Also, the team will go to the Orange Islands and compete for the league there. It will be intentional rather than Ash accidently stumbling onto it. What would be good is that while Ash and co ride on the baby lapras across the archipelago, the team would ride on the Lapras' mother and help her find her baby. How does that sound?
Lovely – I get what you mean. I need to do some chapters of her running the lab when the professor is not around. I think that will be fun to write.
Guest – Gastley is on the list, and he will soon catch one.
Thank you all for reviewing :)
("Pokespeech")
Chapter 21: Old Friends and Old Enemies
Kanto Prison
A prison guard, dressed in a blue uniform, steadily marched down a corridor with the prison cells to his left. The guard was performing is morning rounds, checking on every prisoner before he goes back to his post. He looked down at his clipboard and scanned the list of names, marking the names of prisoners he had already checked on. He moved onto the next prisoner and frowned when he saw that he was still asleep on his bed with his covers completely covering him.
"Humperdinck," the guard called, trying to wake him up.
The prisoner didn't wake up.
"Humperdinck!" the guard called out louder, but the bed covered barely stirred.
The guard took out his baton and banged it against the metal bars of his cell a few times. But again the prisoner didn't wake up. He didn't even move an inch.
Sighing, the guard took out his keys and opened the cell. He entered the cell and and approached the sleeping body of the prisoner, "Humperdinck, you need to-"
However as he pulled the bedcovers of him, he gasped when he saw two pillows instead of a sleeping prisoner. The guard fumbled for the radio on his belt and put it up to his ear.
"Jones, you're not going to believe this," the guard called out into his radio, "a prisoner has turned into pillows. I repeat. A prisoner has turned into pillows."
…
…
…
A tired sigh came from the radio.
"Tom, are you sure the prisoner wasn't just using the pillows to make it seem like he was sleeping?" the exhausted voice of Jones asked from the radio.
Tom frowned in confusion, inspected the pillows again, before turning to his radio again.
"That may be a possibility," Tom said seriously.
"We've been through this so many times," Jones sighed again.
Forest Path
The team were walking down a road through a thick forest, enjoying the mid-morning sun. They had just crossed the bay from Porta Vista and was heading to a nearby town for a break. Charles was carrying the Pokemon egg while Benny rode on Alice's shoulders for a change. Alice was checking over her map and Flo yawned sleepily. She wasn't a morning person.
"It's been a while since we last properly travelled," Flo mused as she rubbed her eyes.
"I know," Alice agreed as she put away her map, "It must have been at least four chapters since we've travelled on our own."
"Chapters?" Flo inquired.
"Yeah. You know like chapters of our lives," Alice explained.
"Weird way of perceiving time," Flo muttered.
Charles heard a rustle from the forest and stopped to look in that direction. He inspected the tree line, but he couldn't see any Pokemon that would could have made a noise.
"Charles is everything okay?" Alice asked curiously.
The girls and Benny noticed how he suddenly stopped and turned to him in concern.
"I thought I heard something," Charles answered looking back towards his them, "can you hear anything, Benny?"
Benny pricked his long ears and listened carefully, ("No, I can't here anything,") he told him with a shake of his head.
Charles hummed, inspected the trees and looked back to them with a shrug, "Must be my imagin- AH!" he suddenly cried as something jumped onto his back and cover his eyes.
Luckily he had a firm grip on the incubator at all times otherwise it would have dropped it.
And that would be a disaster.
Charles was about to tell the Pokemon to get off his back when he noticed a familiar giggle coming from the weight.
"Guess who?" the person said in a singsong followed by another teasing giggle.
"Leaf," Charles said in surprise, making the person uncover his eyes and get off his back.
Charles was right. Standing right behind him was his and Flo's childhood friend, Leaf. The brown haired girl gave Charles a broad smile wrapping him in a tight hug, being careful not to damage the incubator.
"That's right," she chirped cheerfully, "what gave it away?"
Charles chuckled and hugged back, "It's great to see you too."
The two pulled away and Leaf turned to others in the team, "Hi Flo. Hi Benny. Hi…girl I don't know."
Flo and Benny were surprised at their friend's arrival (although Flo's surprise was mixed in mild jealously at how close she was to Charles).
"Leaf, we haven't seen each you in ages," Flo said before turning to a confused Alice, "this is Leaf, our friend back in Pallet Town I told you about."
"Oh right," Alice uttered in realisation before giving her a friendly smile, "l'm Alice Jenny. I'm travelling with them," she introduced herself before her friendly smile turned into a frown, "You know you shouldn't of jumped on him like that. He could have dropped the Pokemon egg," she scolded.
"Please," Leaf laughed off, "If there was anybody who I'll trust with a Pokemon egg, it would be Charles. He wouldn't have dropped it if a Tauros ran into him," she said before gave her feasting grin, "an Officer Jenny, huh. Got to say, I never seen one so short before."
Charles and Flo instantly held Alice back as she tried to attack the brown haired girl.
"I'm…not…short," Alice growled at her as she try to claw at Leaf.
"Alice she's just teasing," Flo said trying to calm her down, "that's just how she is."
Charles turned towards Leaf with a frown, "Apologise now," he demanded.
"But I was…"
Charles' glared at her.
Leaf sighed, "Fine, I'm sorry Alice. I didn't mean to offend you."
Alice eventually calmed down and Charles and Flo let her go. She then looked away with annoyed hum.
"Just...don't mention my height," she grumbled.
"Noted," Leaf said.
"So what are you doing here?" Charles asked curiously as Benny jumped back in his shoulders "Gary told us you were near the Leaf Forest a few miles north from here."
Leaf gave them an excited grin before reaching for her backpack and pulling out a folded paper, "I was, but then I heard about this," she said as she unfolded the poster and showed them it.
The team looked at the poster in her hand. It was an advert for some sort of Pokemon event. On it was a picture of a bulbasaur surrounded by white writing on a green background.
"A grass Pokemon exhibition," Alice read of the poster.
"That's right," Leaf said as she put away the poster, "They had it posted on the Centre I was staying at and once I saw it I had to go. They have competitions, shows, they even have new Pokemon not from this region. I was on my way when I saw you guys and I thought I surprise you."
"An exhibition," Flo said excitedly.
"Competitions," Alice said in the same tone.
"New Pokemon," Charles said with stars in his eyes.
("You guys are way too easily swayed,") Benny muttered, ("although I have to admit it does sound fun.")
"It's held in the next town over," Leaf informed, "why don't we have lunch there and go to the exhibition together," she suggested.
The team shared a look before nodding in agreement.
"That sounds like fu-"
"Great!" Leaf interrupted before hugging Charles' arm and dragging him along the road, "so how's your journey so far?" she happily asked to a blushing Charles.
Flo and Alice were briefly stunned as they watched Leaf drag Charles away. Frowning in annoyance, they followed the two with envious pouts.
Café
They eventually made it to the town and found a small cafe (that Alice recommended) just down the road from the exhibition. After catching up over lunch, the kids decided to show the Pokemon that had joined them. Leaf was amazed by the many types Pokemon. She especially thought Titania, Alette and Apollo were adorable. Although she was a little disappointed to not see the Fleur des Lis Sisters as Grass types were her favourite.
She soon got over her disappointment as she showed the Pokemon she caught. The bulbasaur she got from lab had evolved into an ivysaur. Ivysaur don't look much different the their pre-evolved forms. The only differences was that it's bigger, its skin was slightly more blue, and the bulb on its back has bloomed into a rosy bud and green flowers.
The two additions to her team were a weepinbell and a tangela. Weepinbell resembles the head of a flytrap plant with yellow skin and green spots. It had two wide eyes, two green leaves on either side of his head and a wide gaping mouth. While tangela is a short Pokemon covered in blue vines. The only thing people could see are its eyes within the mess of vines and its two small red feet.
Charles happily greeted each of Leaf's Pokemon and was currently having ivysaur sitting on his lap. As he scratched ivysaur (or Root as Leaf named him) under the chin, he took out his pokedex and scanned all of Leaf's Pokemon.
Ivysaur - When the bulb on its back grows large, it appears to lose the ability to stand on its hind legs.
Weepinbell - It spits out Poison Powder to immobilise the enemy and then finishes it with a spray of Acid,
Tangela - The whole body is swathed with wide vines that are similar to seaweed. Its vines shake as it walks.
"Interesting," Charles said as he put away his pokedex before turning back to Root, "I can't believe you have grown in such a short amount of time."
("Thank you,") Root dreamily sighed, ("we have been working so hard,") he said before he started to staring out into space with a dopey smile.
("And he's gone,") Benny said in amusement from Charles' shoulder, ("I see he's hasn't changed despite evolving,") he mused, making Charles chuckle.
Leaf giggled as well before to turning to Flo, "Do you mind checking to see if they're healthy. You've always had an eye for it."
"No problem," Flo replied cheerily as weepinbell (or Venus) sat on her lap.
Alice inspected Leaf's tangela (or Fern) on the table in front of her. She hummed as she examined one of its vines closely.
"Hey Leaf, how far can these vines reach?" Alice asked curiously.
Leaf hummed in thought, "About twenty foot. Why do you ask?"
("Hah!") Fern scoffed, ("I can reach thirty foot if I wanted to,") she boasted proudly, making Venus roll her eyes at her teammates' behaviour.
"Alice is probably looking for Pokemon to add to her team. A tangela would be a great for capturing criminals," Charles answered, "Oh and Fern said she could do thirty foot," he translated for Alice.
"Thirty foot. That's pretty goo-"
Alice was interrupted by the roar of an engine coming to a halt beside them. They turned and saw the local Officer Jenny park her motorcycle on the road next to them. She got off her bike and approached the four still sat at the table.
"Sorry kids," Officer Jenny said giving them an serious look, "but you need to put your Pokemon back in their pokeballs immediately."
The children shared a look of confusion before turning back to the Officer, "But why?" Charles asked curiously.
"They're not doing anything wrong," Leaf added.
"I know they haven't, but it is for their safety," Jenny explained, "a Pokemon hunter, who was an inmate at a prison nearby, had escaped this morning. We're searching every urban area around for him."
"That's terrible," Flo gasped.
"How did he escape?" Alice asked as Leaf hurriedly returned her Pokemon.
"From the reports, the prisoner had filed the iron bars over his window off, used bedsheets as a rope to descale the walls and then ran off into the forest," Jenny explained.
Charles frowned curiously, "How did the guards not notice it?"
"Err..." Jenny stammered.
Kanto Prison
Meanwhile
Tom the prison guard walked into the staff room carrying a cardboard box full of bedsheets that the hunter had used to escape.
"Jones, I've gathered the eviden-"
He stopped and gasped as his eyes fell on a wooden chair with a guards' coat was draped over the back rest.
"Jones! You've turned into a chair!" he yelped in panic.
"No, Tom," a voice sighed, "I'm over here."
Jones looked around and saw his fellow prison guard sitting in the chair on the opposite side of the room. He sighed in relief as he noticed that he was safe and had not turned into an inanimate object.
"Thank goodness," Tom said "I honestly thought you turned into a- Oh my goodness! Someone has turned into a coat stand!" Tom suddenly cried as he saw a coat stand next to the door holding a guard's hat.
"Why did we hire you! You're the worst guard ever!" Jones yelled at him.
Café
"There were...technical difficulties," Officer Jenny sheepishly lied as she rubbed the back of her head.
The others sweat dropped at the responce.
("Why do I suddenly feel sorry for the taxpayer?") Benny muttered to himself.
"Wait," Leaf suddenly said, "Does that mean the exhibition is cancelled?" she desperately asked, her eyes widening in worry.
Officer Jenny shook her head, "The exhibition has already begun and it will be too expensive and too much of a hassle getting everyone out. The only thing we can do is double security until he's caught," she explained before turning back to her motorcycle, "keep safe, you guys," she told them before getting on her bike and driving away.
"A Pokemon hunter, huh," Leaf murmured in worry.
The team shared a concerned look. They knew that Leaf had been looking forward to the exhibition, but the threat of someone stealing her Pokemon weighed on her mind. Flo offered a comforting smile.
"Hey, it will be alright," she told her, "Officer Jenny said they were doubling security."
Charles nodded in agreement, "Plus, I doubt he would want to go anywhere too crowded," he added.
"Also what's the chance he would come here," Alice said, "there are searching every urban area around the prison. He may not even be here. So don't be worried."
("Yeah, you also got us to be on lookout,") Benny squeaked as he pointed to himself, earning a small smile and a giggle from Leaf.
"Thanks guys," Leaf said suddenly standing up, "alright let's get going. We have so many things to see and do."
Once again, Leaf wrapped her arms around Charles' arm and pulled him out of his seat and down the road.
"Wait Leaf!" Charles cried, "we have the whole day! There's no need to rush!"
Flo and Alice frowned in annoyance while Benny looked conflicted.
"Is she really going to do that all day," Flo crossly murmured.
Benny jumped onto Alice's shoulder and the three ran after their friends. What they didn't notice was the person who had been watching them around around the corner. The figure darkly chuckled and followed them to the exhibition.
Grass Pokemon Exhibition
The exhibition was in full swing. The venue was at the town's park and there was everything from Grass Pokemon shows, games and food stalls.
Leaf was having a great time seeing all the Grass Pokemon around. She loved going to all the demonstrations and the lectures on how to properly take care for their Grass Type needs. Charles suggested that she note everything down so she could use it later on her journey. She jotted down all the potential Pokemon she wanted to capture and any tips on how to maintain her Pokemon's health. After half an hour there, her notebook was almost full.
Charles and Benny visited the tent full of Pokemon from different regions. Charles had met a trainer who had come all the way from the Johto Region and chatted to him and his chikorita, a small, pale-green, quadrupedal Pokemon with dark-green buds around its neck. It has big red eyes and on top of its head is a large, green leaf. The chikorita happily answered all of Charles' questions, much to the bemusement of its trainer. Charles and Benny made a mental note to visit the Johto Region in the future.
Flo and Alice checked out the adoption tent. Trainers looking to find a Grass Pokemon to join their team could have a sort of meet and greet with any Pokemon waving to be adopted. The Pokemon have been allocated a booth where they could bond with potential trainers or demonstrate their skills.
Alice was walking along each booth, looking at each Pokemon while Flo followed behind her.
"Are you looking for a tangela, Alice?" Flo curiously asked.
Alice nodded with a small frown, "Yeah, but there isn't any," she answered in disappointment, "I'm going to look at the back of tent."
"Okay, I'll come wi-"
Flo stopped suddenly when she noticed a booth on the other side of tent. Through the crowds, she could see a neat garden of mushrooms and other sorts of vegetation displayed. Flo hummed interest before turning back to Alice.
"Actually, I'm going to check over there," she told her pointing to the booth.
"Alright see you later," Alice said with a small wave before walking off.
Flo approached the booth and kneeled down in front of it. It was beautiful. The vegetation were planted in rows and neatly separated. The Pokemon who had planted this garden obviously had a good eye.
A scuttling noise caught her attention and she turned to see a paras looking up at her. Paras were crab-like Pokemon with an orange shell and two large claws. It had big round eyes and two purple and yellow spotted mushrooms on its back.
"Did you do this?" Flo asked in awe, "It's amazing."
The paras was briefly surprised before rubbing its claws together bashfully.
Flo giggled and took out her own booklet for Kanto Pokemon (she couldn't rely on Charles' pokedex all the time) and turned to the page on paras.
"Let's see," Flo told herself, "Paras: the Mushroom Pokemon. Burrows to suck tree roots. The mushrooms on its back grow by drawing nutrients from the bug host. Interesting."
"That's not all," a female voice said from above her.
Flo looked up and saw a blond haired woman smiling kindly down at her, judging by her green uniform, she was one of the exhibition's attendants.
"The mushrooms on its back are called tochukaso and they can be used to make medicine. This paras especially loves to garden, as you can see, and uses a wide range of plants as well as its mushrooms."
"Really," Flo said before she looked down at the demure paras, "You know, I'm training to be a nurse in the future and having a Pokemon like you would be great. I can use the medicine you provide from your mushrooms and you can have your own garden at the Centre. Would you like to join me?" Flo asked kindly.
The paras seemed to gasp in joy. Not only did she want a trainer to join, but she had always wanted a bigger garden she can tend to. It was a dream come true. The paras happily nodded her head in agreement.
Flo picked up the paras in her arms and asked the attendant if she can adopt the paras. As the attendant left to get a form for her to sign, Alice came back with her head hung in disappointment.
"No luck finding a tangela?" Flo asked, earning a sigh from Alice.
"No," she said before looking up and seeing the paras in her arms, "Oh, you're adopting a paras."
Flo happily nodded her head, "Yep, she will be great for making medicines," she excitedly told her.
Alice chuckled and smiled, "Well at least one of us is getting a new Pokemon. Have you come up with a name yet?"
"Well," Flo hummed in thought, "I was thinking of something based on her mushrooms," she pondered before her face lit up, "Oh I know. What about Manitari. It means mushroom in ancient language. I can't remember which."
(A.N: It's Greek btw. I was originally going to call the paras the Japanese word for mushroom: kiniko. But there was already somebody named that in TDH.)
The paras thought over the name for a moment before nodding in agreement.
"Well, Manitari. Welcome to the team. I have to introduce you to Alette later," Flo said to her newest Pokemon.
"Alice, Flo!" Charles called out next to Leaf as they stood at the entrance, "it's getting busy so we should stick together!"
"We'll be over in a bit," Flo called back as the attendant returned with the forms.
After completing all the paperwork, Flo got out a spare pokeball and tapped Manitari lightly on the head. Flo thought it would be a good idea to get her own pokeballs just in case. Once the pokeball shook for a few seconds and dinged to signify Manitari's capture, Flo released the paras and her and Alice went over to Charles.
"Aww you adopted a paras," Charles cooed as he laid eyes on the Pokemon, instantly petting its head as soon as they were close enough.
"Yep, Charles meet Manitari," Flo introduced happily.
Charles chuckled and shook Manitari's claw, "Hello Manitari."
("Welcome to the team,") Benny greeted from Charles' shoulder.
("Oh, Thank you so much. I'm very happy to join,") the paras spoke in a voice so soft they almost didn't hear her.
'She sounds like a presenter on a gardening show,' Charles and Benny thought at the same time.
"Wow, you were right," Alice said looking around the crowds of people as Flo returned her newly caught paras, "it is starting to get busy."
"Maybe we should go somewhere quieter" Leaf suggested, staring to get worried.
Charles nodded in agreement, "Good idea."
("Why don't we let Hurricane out,") Benny advised, ("he could lead us through the crowds.")
"Right," Charles said as he took out Hurricane's pokeball and opened it up.
As soon as the butterfree was released, he looked around excitedly as he hovered above their heads.
"Hurricane, I need you to-"
("What's that over there!") Hurricane gasped before zooming away out of sight.
The others just watched the space he had just occupied with blank stares.
...
...
...
Charles sighed in exhaustion and took out his Echo's pokeball. He released him and the zubat flew above them, waiting patiently for Charles.
"Echo...can you bring Hurricane, please. And then find us a less crowded part of the exhibition," Charles told him.
("Of course. I'll be right back,") Echo replied as he flew off after the butterfree.
("In hindsight, Echo should have been our first choice,") Benny said with a sweat drop.
"Yeah, I know," Charles replied.
A panicked gasp caught the brother's attention. They turned around and saw Leaf frantically looking around on the ground.
"Leaf what's wrong?" Charles asked in worry.
"My pokeballs," Leaf replied in distress, "they're gone!"
Everyone's eyes widened in shock. Leaf had kept her pokeballs on her belt, but now they were all gone. Alice immediately took action and reached for her own pokeballs.
"Hold on, we need to-" However, she gasped as her hands grabbed open air. She looked down at where she kept Apollo's and Ruby's pokeballs, only to see they weren't there either, "my pokeballs!"
Charles and Flo instantly checked their belts.
"Mine are gone as well," Flo informed, "that can't be a coincidence. Someone must have stolen them."
"Stolen! From an Officer Jenny!" Alice cried before she hung her head in shame, "that's so embarrassing," she whimpered.
Charles sighed in relief when he saw that his team was safe and sound, however he did find a note tucked into his belt. Taking it out, he opened and read what was written on it before frowning in anger.
("What is it Charles?") Benny asked in concern.
Charles sighed, "It says 'Meet me in the forest and don't bring any police'," Charles read out loud before looking up at his friends, "Let's go and tell Officer Jenny."
With Hurricane and Echo
("Hurricane! Please slow down!") Echo begged as he pursued his teammate.
Echo had been chasing him all over the exhibition for a while now and there was no slowing the butterfree down. It didn't help that it was daytime and the sun beating down on him. Hurricane thought they were playing a game, but he soon got board and flew towards the zubat, almost crashing into him in the process.
("Hey! Hey! Hey!" Echo!") Hurricane cried as he flew around him, ("I want to play a game!")
("Well, we can't Hurricane. We need to get back to Charles,") Echo reminded.
("But I'm boooooorreeeeedddd! I want to play,") he complained, ("please, please, please. I'll stop calling you boring if you play with me...not that I call you boring in the first place, I mean,") he quickly corrected me.
("Hurricane I know you call me boring. I have very good hearing,") Echo deadpanned.
("Oh that's a relief then,") Hurricane happily said, making Echo sweat drop.
Echo sighed reluctantly, ("Fine, one game and then we'll go back to Charles,") he gave up, making Hurricane cheer.
("Yay! Let's play I Spy,") Hurricane suggested as he began to look around.
("I...don't have eyes, Hurricane.")
("I spy with my little eye,") Hurricane continued, accidentally ignoring what Echo said, ("something beginning with 'H'".)
Echo hummed reluctantly, ("Is it a hospital?")
("What no,") Hurricane said in confusion, ("why would you guess that?")
("Again. No eyes.")
("Well, I'm going to tell you anyway,") Hurricane excitedly laughed.
("What? After one guess!")
Hurricane pointed in a down at the ground (even though Echo couldn't tell what he was pointing at), ("It's a hunter!") he cried happily.
...
...
...
...
("What?") Echo uttered in confusion.
("It's the hunter we met some time ago,") Hurricane explained, ("you know the generic looking one.")
("What!?") Echo shouted, using his echolocation on the crowd. However, it failed due to how much noise that came back, ("Hurricane what is he doing?") he demanded.
Hurricane hummed as looked towards the crowd, watching the hunter push his way towards the exhibition's exit.
("He's heading to the exit,") Hurricane informed, ("it looks like he's holding something.")
("Right,") Echo said, ("Hurricane point me in the right direction and I'll follow him. You go back to Charles and tell him.")
("Okay!") Hurricane shouted excitedly, as he turned Echo in the right direction, ("But can we play more later?")
("Yes, Hurricane I promise,") Echo replied as he took off in the direction Hurricane positioned him to go.
("Yay!") the butterfree cheered before going off to search for team.
Emergency Tent
"What do you mean you didn't spot him!" Officer Jenny shouted angrily at two police officers, "You and every officer in the area has been looking for this criminal all day!"
Charles and the team had finally found Officer Jenny over at the emergency tent. They explained what happened and gave her the note that Charles was given. Safe to say Officer Jenny was not pleased with her team.
The two officers sheepishly looked away from the angry Officer Jenny. The team and Leaf stood urgently aside, obviously worried for their Pokemon.
"Didn't you guys have a photo of the hunter?" Charles asked curiously.
One of the officers nodded, "We did. But we thought it was...a joke," he admitted.
"A...joke," Officer Jenny growled.
(And once again, I suddenly feel sorry for the taxpayer,") Benny sighed.
"Yeah," the other officer said as he showed them the picture of the criminal, "look at him. He looks exactly like caricature. We thought somebody took a stock image from the internet."
The team instantly recognised the image of the criminal. It was somebody that they didn't expect to see any time soon.
"Leslie Humperdinck," they chorused in shock.
Leaf gave her friends an odd look, "You know him? And really that's his name?"
"He goes by Striker," Flo told her.
Leaf hummed, "Yeah, Leslie suits him more," she admitted.
Officer Jenny turned back to them with an apologetic look, "I'm really sorry about this kids. But I promise you that we will find him and return all your Pokemon. However I'm still curious as to why he didn't steal yours, Charles."
Charles frowned in thought, "I was wondering the same thing. And why would he leave me a no-Ah!" he cried as something crashed into the back of his head.
He rubbed his head to relieve the ache and turned around to see Hurricane, anxious flapping his wings before him.
"Hurricane Why did you-"
("Sorry, couldn't stop,") the butterfree quickly apologised, ("But the hunter. I saw him,") he informed, making Charles' eyes widen in surprise.
"You found him where?" Charles asked, earning everyone's undivided attention.
("Wow, deja vu,") Benny remarked.
Hurricane pointed frantically towards the exit, ("He left a few minutes ago. Echo is following him.")
Charles translated what he said for everybody. Officer Jenny didn't seem to question how Charles could talk to Pokemon, but instead ordered her fellow officers to call everyone available that they are pursuing the criminal.
"Ready to go," Officer Jenny asked the team and Leaf as she prepared to leave.
"Wait," Alice suddenly interrupted, "You can't go. The note said that we can't bring any police with us."
Officer Jenny frowned in concern, "But Alice..."
"Please Aunty Jenny," Alice pleaded, "our Pokemon are at stake."
Officer Jenny was reluctant to let them go, but as she looked at their worried faces she couldn't help but sigh.
"Fine, you kids go ahead," she told them, "but we will come in as back up later."
They nodded in agreement and Charles turned to Hurricane, "Lead us to where Echo has gone" he ordered.
("Right!") Hurricane cried as he flew out of the tent, quickly followed by the others.
("You know, this is almost exactly like the last time we encounter Leslie,") Benny mused.
Charles nodded in agreement, "Even our encounters with him are unoriginal," Charles replied.
Somewhere In The Forest
The children have been running for a while now, following Hurricane as he frantically flew through the trees. However, the sound of a second pair of flapping wings caught their attention, making them stop and listen.
("Wait is that-") Benny trailed off as soon as they saw Echo fly through the trees towards them.
Charles held out his arm in front of him and Echo used his small claws to grab onto it, hanging upside down in front of Charles' face.
("I…found…him,") Echo informed through deep breathes, ("He's…wait…ing…for…you…up…ahead.")
'Waiting?' Charles thought in disbelief before turning back to his friends, "Maybe I should go ahead. You guys stay in the treeline and back me up, okay."
Leaf was about to protest, but Flo and Alice shook their heads at her. Leaf gave them an unsure look, but eventually agreed to Charles' plan. Satisfied that everyone agreed to the plan, Charles returned Echo and Hurricane and he and Benny headed forwards.
They soon broke through the tree line and saw the hunter standing on the edge of a cliff which overlooked another forest. The hunter grinned viciously as soon as he saw Charles. He didn't have an eyepatch anymore and he was currently wearing a leather jacket over an orange jumpsuit. At his feet, sitting dangerously near the edge of the cliff, was a black duffel bag. Charles could see his friends' pokeballs peaking out the top of it.
The hunter chuckled in amusement, "Hello boy," he spat.
"Hello Leslie," Charles replied.
"Don't call me that!" Leslie shouted at him, "Don't you dare insult Crusher!"
Charles sighed, "I wasn't insulting you. It's your name. Also, you're calling yourself Crusher now. What happened to Striker?"
Leslie stuck out his chest proudly, "New name, new me. Pretty unique, huh."
("No not really,") Benny remarked.
Charles rolled his eyes, "Alright Leslie…"
"Crusher!"
"Yeah…I'm not calling you that. Return my friends' pokeballs or we'll have to fight you for them," Charles firmly said, pointing to the duffel bag full of pokeballs.
Leslie sneered at him, "Oh, but I don't want a fight. The guards already took my Pokemon away."
"So, what's this all about?" Charles asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.
"Simple," Leslie said, "I want a Pokemon trade. All of your friends' Pokemon for all of your Pokemon. Even the ones you don't have with you."
Charles and Benny shared a confused look, "Why would I do that? I don't even trade with other trainers"
"Because if you don't trade with me," Leslie said as he used his foot to push the duffel bag closer the cliff's edge, "then all of your friends' Pokemon will go over," he said, shocking Charles and Benny, "so what will it be? Your Pokemon or theirs?" Leslie asked, giving Charles a maniacal grin.
Nearby
A Few Moments Ago
Just like how many different Pokemon there are in the world, there are many different personalities and wants and desires that are unique to each different Pokemon. One particular Pokemon, who happened to been walking nearby, had only one want in this world.
This bellsprout loved to help.
A bellsprout was grass and poison type Pokemon and the preevolved form of weepinbell. It had a yellow bell-shaped head, a thin stem like body, two feet that looks like roots and two grin leaves for arms.
No matter what the job was, from helping other Pokemon to find food or helping humans to navigate through the forest, the bellesprout would be more then happy to aid anyone who was in need.
And this would be a noble thing to do, if it wasn't for one small problem:
Every time he tries to help, something bad happens.
For example, on several occasions, the food he had helped find for the other Pokemon happened to belong to a swarm of very angry beedrill. Or he accidentally gets lost in the forest himself when leading the humans through it. Or when he accidentally caused a landslide (don't ask).
The other Pokemon in the forest tend to stay away from the bellsprout or else they'll fall victim to his bad luck. However, this has not deterred this bellsprout as he causally walked along the tree line, happily humming to himself.
("One day,") the bellsprout told himself in determination, ("will help and it won't go wrong.)
He then heard a commotion near the cliff edge. Curious, the bellsprout walked flimsily towards the noise and saw two humans standing off against each other while a pikachu sat on one of the human's shoulders. The bellsprout tilted his head in confusion as the younger human demanded something back from the older human. He followed his finger and saw that he was pointing at a bag near the other person's feet.
The bellsprout looked at the bag and saw the pokeballs sticking out at the top. He had no idea what was going on, but they obviously needed some help. He looked to and from the bag to the young human and soon his innocent mind realised he needed assistance getting those pokeballs back.
The bellsprout gasped in joy, ("Another chance to be helpful,") he told himself, ("Although, he looks a little busy. Maybe I can leave them with someone to give to him later.")
He looked around and saw three more humans hiding behind the trees.
("Perfect, I'll leave it with them. They are going to be so happy,") he said before waddling off over to the bag.
Back to Charles
Benny quickly got over his shock when he saw the bellsprout shakily walk into view. He frowned in confusion when the Pokemon gave him a friendly wave before walking to the bag next to Leslie's feet. He looked up and noticed that the hunter hadn't noticed the bellesprout yet.
("Charles keep him talking,") Benny whispered into his brother's ear, ("Don't look down. Make sure you maintain eye contact.")
"What why?" Charles whispered back as the bellsprout neared the bag.
("I think a Pokemon is helping us,") he replied, ("But if you look down, it will blow his cover.")
Charles hummed unsurely, "Alright," he whispered back.
He turned his eyes towards the hunter, making sure he doesn't look down.
"Why my Pokemon?" he asked, "And why didn't you steal them back at the exhibition?"
Leslie chuckled darkly, "I had observed your Pokemon when you were at the cafe..."
"Creepy," Charles remarked.
"Shut up!" Leslie snapped before clearing his throat, "you have quite the collection. I'm sure some rich trainer would love to get their hands on them. As for why I didn't steal back there. I've been planning all of this since you got me arrested. I wanted to teach you and those brainless cheerleaders if yours a lesson. That's when I thought I set this whole thing up and you just hand them over to me. There's something satisfying in all of this," he explained chuckling in amusement once again.
Charles gulped in fear, 'Flo and Alice are not going to be happy about being called cheerleaders' he thought, feeling the deadly aura emitting from the trees behind him, "You know that is an actually smart plan," Charles admitted, making Leslie growl in offence, "makes me wonder if you were ever a member of Team Rocket in the past."
"I would never join Team Rocket," Leslie complained as Charles just insulted him, "giant businesses like Team Rocket are undermining local hunters of profit," he said, crossing his arms with a huff, "I am proud to be an independent hunter and will never sell out to big businesses."
"Oh great," Charles sighed as he rolled his eyes, "just what we need, a hipster Pokemon hunter."
"Enough talking," Leslie suddenly said, "Make the trade or these pokeballs go flying."
Leslie was about to look down at where bellsprout was carrying away the pokeballs in its Leaf hands, but Charles suddenly stopped him.
"Wait. One more question and I'll make the trade. I promise," Charles urgently told him.
Leslie smiled victoriously and stood up straight, "Alright, what is it?"
Charles cleared his throat with a cough, "The other day we ran into a trainer called Damian. He bought and eevee off you."
"Yeah, so?"
"Where did you get the eevee from. They're quite rar-"
"Listen boy," Leslie interrupted, "I ain't got anymore eevees. I've sold her and all her siblings already. So, if you are looking to buy anymore, contact me in a year or so."
'Siblings?' Charles and Benny thought. Titania had never mentioned she had siblings before.
Leslie growled impatiently, "Throw all your pokeballs and that pikachu over here now!" he shouted at Charles.
"Yeah, no way, that's going to happen," somebody called out from the forest.
They looked around and saw Flo, Alice and Leaf step out of the tree line with furious expressions. What really surprised Leslie, however, were the Pokemon he thought he was holding hostage standing in front of their trainers. Flo with Alette, Alice with Apollo, and Leaf with Fern.
"What?" Leslie questioned as he looked down at the bag at his feet, only to see that it was empty, "WHAT!?"
("I helped! I helped!") cried the bellsprout as he came from the trees happily.
Charles and Benny stepped to the side towards the bellesprout and out of the girls' way. Leslie gulped as he faced the very angry trainers.
"Well, you see-" he started before deciding that running away was the better option.
But before he could escape, Leaf turned to her tangela, "Fern, use Bind," she ordered as the tangela sent out a few vines and wrapped them around Leslie's legs.
Leslie fell onto the ground painfully and pushed himself up with his arms.
"That's what you get for stealing our Pokemon!" Leaf shouted at him.
"Alette use Pound," Flo instructed, making the clefiary sucker punch Leslie in the face, "and that's what you get for calling us 'mindless cheerleaders'," she added, "we have our own ambitions as well."
"Yeah," Alice agreed, "we haven't shown them yet, but we will eventually."
(A.N I promise I will.)
Alice then ordered Apollo to use Bite on Leslie's arm, making him scream in pain. The girls continued to bombard the hunter, taking revenge for running their day.
Benny, Charles, and the bellesprout watched them pelt Leslie from a safe distance.
("Do you want to join in?") Benny asked his brother.
Charles shook his head, "Nah, let them have him," he said before turning to the bellsprout next to him, "thank you ever so much for helping us."
("I helped,") the bellsprout gasped happily, ("I can't believe I helped and nothing went wrong!") he cheered, jumping up and down.
("There's…a lot to unpack there,") Benny said with a sweat drop, ("but how did you know that he was taking those Pokemon hostages?")
Bellsprout looked up at them in confusion, ("Hostages?")
Road Out of Town
After the girls were done, Alice contacted her aunt and the police soon picked up Leslie. They promised them that they put him in a more secure cell this time. The kids made it back before the exhibition and enjoyed the rest of their day without any hassle.
Surprisingly, the bellsprout wanted to come with Charles, claiming that he was his good luck charm. When Charles asked what he meant, bellsprout explained his failed attempts at being as helpful as possible. Charles and Benny admitted that they needed more Grass Pokemon on their team and so let him join the team. However, they promised themselves to keep an eye on the bellsprout.
It was coming to the end of the day and it was time to say goodbye to Leaf. They stood at a fork in the road, one leading to the north and the other to the east.
"Are you sure you don't want to travel with us?" Charles asked one more time.
Leaf smiled politely at his offer, "I'm sure. I'm heading in the wrong direction anyway. Maybe we should meet up again."
"We should," Flo agreed.
"Make sure to keep in touch," Alice added.
Leaf nodded before she took their wrists and lead them away from Charles and Benny, "Sorry for hogging Charles all day," she whispered to them, "I guess I was just jealous."
"Jealous?" Alice asked.
"Yeah, you two are with him everyday. I just wanted some time with him," Leaf explained sheepishly.
Flo and Alice shared a look before turning to back to Leaf with kind smiles, "It's alright. I'm just glad we can meet up after all this time," Flo said as she hugged Leaf.
"Me too," Leaf replied as she hugged back.
As the girls were talking, Benny turned to Charles with a concerned look.
("Hey, about what Leslie said about Titania,") Benny said.
"Yeah," Charles said with a small frown, "she has never told us about her siblings."
("Do you think we should talk to her about it?")
Charles looked down at Titania's pokeball on his belt for a few seconds before shaking his head, "Soon. Let see if we can get more information about her first before confronting her," Charles told him, making Benny nod in agreement.
The girls soon break away and Leaf ran up and hugged Charles, "Goodbye. Let's meet up again," she told him before pulling away, "and goodbye to you too, Benny," she said as she scratched the Pikachu under his chin.
Leaf giggled at the cute sound he made and jogged towards the north road, "Bye! See you later!" she cried, waving back at them.
The team waved back and shouted their goodbyes before they lost sight of her.
"Well, we should probably get going," Flo told her friends before they took the east road.
It had been quite a day for our heroes. Meeting old friends and welcoming new ones. Having fun together and chasing old villains. Now the team are heading out again in the wonderful of Pokemon as their journeys continues.
Wow that took me ages to write.
Anyway, Leaf and Leslie Humperdinck returned and two Pokemon have joined their family. I still haven't come up with a name for the bellesprout, so suggestions would be more than welcoming.
I was going to write a whole fight scene between the team and Leslie, but I realise that it was too similar to other chapter. I also stole the joke with the guard in the beginning from a programme called 'Yonderland'. A great show that caters to my weird sense of humour.
Anyway hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you next time.
Thanks :)
Potential Pokemon list:
Charles
Abra
Vulpix
Nidoran (Female)
Gastley
Ponyta
Drowzee
Goldeen
Dratini
Tauros
Hitmonlee/Hitmonchan
Flo
Chansey
Psyduck
Nidoran (Male)
Kangaskhan
Cubone
Diglett
Alice
Venonat
Farfetch'd
Machop
Rattata
Poliwag
Tangela