Pokémon: Chronicles of Saria Violet

Chapter 1: the journey begins

It was a beautiful morning, the sun rising on the horizon, casting back the darkness of the night. The light poured on to the land, and in through a window. The room was lit up a bit, and a girl lay in bed, soundly asleep. Suddenly, a woman’s voice could be heard outside the room, “Saria, Time to get up! You don’t want to be late.”
Saria mumbled, “Hmm… five more minutes’ mom…” she rolled over, continuing to sleep. A few minutes passed, and a radio alarm clock buzzed on, “GOOOOOOD Morning, everyone!” Saria jumped from the sudden voice, and fell out of bed. She rubbed her head as the radio announcer continued, “Such a Beautiful Monday, July 7th, isn’t it folks? Hardly, hehe; our top story this morning, another gang fight broke out last night in Median city between the Terrorist groups Team Dynamo and Team Vengeance, but it was quickly put to an end by Islet Mungo’s very own mysterious “Super hero,” The Utopian defender! His partner, an Umbreon, eyewitness accounts have heard him call, “Paradise,” unleashed a surprised Dark pulse attack that scattered and frightened the opposing gangs. More on this story later at noon, but now, for the weather...”
Saria had shut off her radio before the announcer could start the next report, sighing happily after hearing mention of the Utopian defender, daydreaming. A gentle knocking on her bedroom door could be heard, breaking her from her daydream. Her mother spoke, “Saria, I made Pancakes, hurry up or they’ll get cold.”
“Coming Mom,” Saria didn’t need to be told twice when it came to pancakes. She walked over to the door, opened it, and dashed out of the room, into the hall and down the stairs, heading to the table. She didn’t care she was still in her pajamas, as she took a seat and begun to eat the pancakes that where on her plate. As her mom came down the stairs, she asked after washing her mouth out with a glass of apple juice, “Mom, where’s dad? He’s usually sitting at the table, reading the newspaper to see how the Pokémon league is doing.”
Her mom replied, “He went out this morning, god knows for what reason; Oh, and Happy Birthday, Saria.”
“Thanks mom.”
“Your 15 now, which means you can start your own Pokémon Adventure. Boy, I remember when I was traveling around with your father…” She began to lose herself in her memories, sighing happily to herself. However, Saria got up from the table, having finished breakfast and heading back up the stairs, saying to her to snap her out of it, “I’m going to get ready, Mom.” As she jogged up the stairs, her Mom went over to the table, cleaning up and putting the dirty dishes in the sink. She moved into the Living room, looking out the window and staring at the huge dome in the horizon.
Ten minutes later, Saria came down stairs, wearing white ankle socks, a baby blue skirt that went down to the top of her knees, a green T-shirt under a light beige vest, a Pokégear on her right arm, while combing her silky black hair, which was let loose and past her shoulders. She walked over to the window beside her mom, saying, “That’s the Pokémon league head quarters, right Mom?”
Her mom nodded, answering the question, “Yes dear, although the League isn’t what I remember it being when I was your age.” She turns to Saria, saying, “I’m so proud that my own daughter is going to follow our footsteps.” The two of them hugged for a moment, saying, “Go pack your backpack, Saria; any longer and you will definitely be late.” Saria didn’t hesitate and ran back up the stairs and into her room, grabbing her backpack she had packed the night before. She ran back down the stairs and slipped on her Running shoes, saying, “Don’t worry Mom, I’ll be sure to keep in touch.”
She opened the door and walked outside, looking upon Freshdew town with a smile. She closed the door behind her and headed over to the largest house, belonging to the world’s current Authority on Pokémon, Professor Oak. She knocked on the door and within moments an Old man, whose hair was spiked up, answered. He looked down at her, saying, “Ah, you must be Saria Violet, correct? Please, right this way.” He led her into the Laboratory, where an Electivire was moving several stacks of Books. Standing next to a giant machine was another Boy who looked to be the same age as her, wearing army boots, jungle cargo pants, and a leather jacket over a red T-shirt.
The boy spoke up, “About time you got here, slacker, you kept me waiting.”
Saria responded, “What’s your problem? I’m not that late. Besides, who are you to call me a slacker?!”
Professor Oak cut in before the argument could develop, “It’s alright, Jake, as long as you’re both here. Saria, this is Jake Berial, he moved in last night. Jake, this is Saria Violet, the child of an old friend of mine.” The two of them stared at each other for a moment as Professor Oak moved over to the machine and started inputting some commands, the machine ejecting two Kanto styled PokéDexes. He handed one to each of them, saying, “This is a PokéDex, an electronic encyclopedia for recording the various data of Pokémon. Now, since Islet Mungo is an artificially created island, no new Pokémon exist here, however, thanks to the technological advances over the years, I have been able to upgrade upon the PokéDex’s storage banks. Now then, given the new Regulation of the Pokémon League, all new trainers are to be given two starter Pokémon.”
“Not to play favorites, but I did make a promise, so Saria, I’d like you to choose your first Starter Pokémon.” Saria was a little shocked to hear she was getting the first choice. She asked a bit nervously, “Umm… what is there to choose from?”
“There are three types: Grass, Fire, and Water.”
She thought for a moment, finally saying, “I think I’ll start with Grass.”
Professor oak input more commands on his machine and a screen lit up with four Pokémon images on it, saying, “Then please pick one of the following: Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Treecko, or Turtwig.”
“Oh, I want Bulbasaur; that looks really cute.” He nodded as she picked, inputting another command and within moments a little round hole opened, a Pokéball being pushed out of the hole on a tiny platform. He handed her the Pokéball, saying, “Then here, Bulbasaur is yours to take care of now.” He turned to Jake, saying, “Now then, what one do you want?”
Jake didn’t hesitate and quickly responded, “Charmander.” Professor Oak nodded and input another command, and another Pokéball came out. He passed it to Jake, who clicked the button on the front and shrunk it, sliding it into his pocket. Saria noticed this and did the same, not wanting to look like an idiot in front of Jake or the Professor.
Professor Oak turned back to her, “Saria, now you get to choose your other starter. Who will it be?”
She responded, “Well, my dad says that you should always take a challenge when you have the chance, and from his stories, he had a rough time raising a Fire type Pokémon, so I want a Fire type as my Second Starter.”
He nodded at the answer and input another command, the screen showing three Pokémon this time. He told her, “Now, given Jake has already chosen Charmander, the only Fire Type starters left are Cyndaquil, Torchic, and Chimchar.”
“Wow, Cyndaquil looks so beautiful… Professor Oak, I would like Cyndaquil to be my second starter.” He nodded as he input another command, and another Pokéball came out. As he was passing the second starter she chose, Jake spoke up, “You call yourself a Trainer? You’re pathetic. Professor Oak, my second choice is Mudkip.”
Professor Oak spoke up as he was inputting the command to retrieve the final starter, “Jake, when I was roughly your age, I was cocky and arrogant too, thinking I was the best. However, after losing in the Indigo Plateau’s Pokémon League to my Rival, I begun to realize Pokémon aren’t just tools to use for your own gain. They’re living creatures that need love and respect. Without those, you’ll never become a champion.”
After finishing, Jake received his final starter, saying, “Well that’s good for you, Professor. However, love and respect won’t do you any good if you make poor choices. Now then, Saria, if I ever run into you down the road, expect me to win our battles.” Without another word, he briskly walked out of the laboratory. Professor Oak shook his head, saying, “Don’t listen to him, Saria, he doesn’t realize what power love and respect can do for a Pokémon and their trainer.” The two of them walked out of the Laboratory and she headed for the door.
As she opened the door, a middle-aged man was about to knock on the door, holding a wrapped box the size of his head. Saria smiled wide, wrapping her arms around the man, “Hello Dad.”
The man smiled as he hugged her back, saying, “Hey sweetie, I thought you might be here.” He let her go and passed her the box, saying, “Happy Birthday, Saria.”
“Thanks, Dad.” She carefully unwrapped the present, making sure not to make a mess while in Professor Oak’s Lab, and opened the box, revealing a pair of light pink fingerless gloves, a Black belt and another Pokéball. She took out the gloves and slid them on, asking her dad as she attached the belt around her waist, “Dad, what’s with the Pokéball?”
He smiled as he replied, “Back when I was younger I had saved a very special Pokémon, and after my Journey was finished, I had him breed. Now, I want you to have your own Eevee.” She smiled as she took the other two Pokéballs from her pocket, and shrinking the third one, attached them all to her belt. She walked pass her dad, saying, “Thanks Dad, I’ll be sure to keep in touch, just don’t wait up for me!” The two of them laughed as she ran out the door, heading out of town.
Professor Oak then spoke up, “It’s been a while, Ash.”
Ash turned back to face the Professor, “Yes it has, Gary. Thanks for keeping your promise.”
“You still have your half of the Pokéball?”
“Of course Gary, never go anywhere without it,” he reached into his pocket and showed half of a broken Pokéball before pocketing it again.
“How’s Misty doing, Ash? You two still argue?”
Ash laughed, “Yup, but then again, we’re both stubborn, and so it’s alright. Do you think anyone misses us in Pallet town?”
There was a moment of silence between the two of them. Finally, Professor Oak spoke up, “I’m sure they do miss us, but, after Grandpa and your Mom died, and Giovanni returning to Viridian Gym as a changed man, we needed to move on.”
Ash nodded in agreement, “Your right. Now all we can do is watch the new generation grow-up and have adventures all their own.”

lol nice story, btw u can start pokemon at 10 and it's funny how Ash are Misty are married

Chapter 2: A New Pokémon League Challenge

Saria kept walking, whistling her own tune as she headed towards the Pokémon League head quarters. As soon as she could no longer see her hometown, she stopped in the middle of the road, sighing. She spoke to herself, “Well this is just great…” she grabbed her three Pokéballs, looking at and speaking to them, “I haven’t even been a trainer for an hour and already I have a rival. On top of that, he seems to hate my guts…” She sighed again, knowing that eventually, they would run into each other again.
She put two of the Pokéballs back on her belt, and clicked the button on the one she had kept in her hand. She gently tossed the ball, saying, “Go, Bulbasaur!” As soon as the ball hit the ground, it opened up and a white beam shot out, propelling the ball back to her hand, and the beam molded and took shape, fading away to reveal a Pokémon in its place. The Pokémon was green, and dark green spots on its body, looking like a small Dinosaur with a smooth trapezoid head. It was no bigger then the height of her waist, but what made this Pokémon stand out was the large Flower bulb on its back.
Bulbasaur looked up at Saria, “Bulba?”
Saria knelt down, petting its head, saying, “Why Hello Bulbasaur. I’m your new Trainer, Saria.” Bulbasaur smiled and purred, not like a cat would purr, but a purr nonetheless. Saria continued, “If I’m going to be a good trainer, I should get to know you guys.” She then reached for her second Pokéball after putting Bulbasaur’s away, and gently tossed it, “Cyndaquil, Time to come out.”
Again, the Pokéball released the Pokémon, which was only half the size of Bulbasaur. Its nose was long and pointed, with the top half being black, and the bottom half being beige. On its back where six holes, like you find on a regular six-sided die. Cyndaquil came up to Saria, resting its small hands on her knee as it looked up, sniffing her. She laughed as she saw this and picked him up, saying, “You’re both so cute, I know we’ll make a good team.”
She put Cyndaquil back down beside Bulbasaur, and the two began to interact with one another. Bulbasaur started, “Bulba, Bulba, Bulbasaur.”
Cyndaquil stood on its hind legs, “Cynda, Cynda, Cyndaquiiilll.” The two of them continued to speak to each other as Saria watched, smiling. She knew this wouldn’t be easy, but it would most certainly be rewarding. She reached for her final Pokéball and tossed that one too. The Pokémon that stood in front of her was something like a fox, with brown fur, a bushy white mane and the tail tip was also white.
The new Pokémon cried out, “Eevee, Eevee.”
Saria, amazed, said, “Wow, you guys are incredible, and here I thought Pika was something.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out her PokéDex, reading the info on each one, “So, Bulbasaur is a male Seed Pokémon, Cyndaquil is a female Fire mouse Pokémon, and Eevee is a male…” Her expression turned from happiness to shock as she read, “Evolution Pokémon?!”
Eevee walked up to her and began to rub against her leg as she read aloud the information in the PokéDex, “EEVEE has an unstable genetic makeup that suddenly mutates due to the environment in which it lives. It adapts to harsh environments by taking on different evolutionary forms, some of which are caused by the radiation of various stones.” She looked at Eevee, and Eevee looked back at her. She smiled as she stood up, pocketing the PokéDex, “Well, I don’t care what this silly thing says; I know that when the time comes, you’ll choose what you want to become.”
The Eevee cried in excitement at hearing that, and Saria suggested, “Come on guys, let’s all walk to the Headquarters; it’ll give us the fresh air and exercise we need.” They nodded as they all started to head towards the Dome. Saria smiled as her Pokémon spoke to each other, happy knowing they were trying to get to know each other. A few hours later the sun was getting ready to set. Saria spoke up, “I think it would be a good time to find a place to camp and get some sleep.” She reached for her Pokéballs and clicked on the buttons three times; Once to make it grow, once to return the Pokémon to their Pokéball, and once to shrink the Pokéballs again.
She walked off the road and into a patch of grass, wanting to get as far off the road as possible as so no one would bother to stop and stare at her while she slept. Suddenly, she felt something soft under her left foot, and a small rat yelled in pain, “Rattata!” She screamed as she fell back, the rattata running out a bit to turn around and face her. She fumbled for a Pokéball, finally grabbing on and tossing it, “Help me out, Bulbasaur!”
Bulbasaur came out of the Pokéball, its face angry as it faced off against the rattata. She hesitated for a moment, completely unsure what to do. The rattata didn’t wait and charged at Bulbasaur, tackling into him. He cried out from pain, but stood his ground. Saria gasped, “Bulbasaur, are you alright?!” He nodded, and her shocked and frightened look disappeared, saying, “I don’t care if it is a rat, Bulbasaur, Tackle!” He didn’t need to be told twice as he charged at the little rat and slammed into him hard. The rattata was knocked back a bit, but quickly regained its poseur and started for another tackle attack.
Saria was aware this time, “Bulbasaur, tackle it head on!”
Bulbasaur replied as it began to charge at the approaching rattata, “Bulbasauuur!” The two Pokémon collided head on, rattata wobbling a bit before falling over, fainting from the pain. Bulbasaur, panting heavy, walked back over to Saria, “Bulba…”
She reached down and hugged him, saying, “You did great. Thank you.” She kept Bulbasaur out of his Pokéball to get some more fresh air as she picked up the rattata and moved him, frowning that it was her fault it had to fight. She quickly cleared out a small area in the grass and set up her sleeping bag, finding a very large bush to change into her pajamas behind. She slid into her sleeping bag, getting Bulbasaur’s Pokéball out, saying as she returned him, “Let’s get some sleep.”
The next morning she woke up, stretching, as she went to change back into her clothes. She packed up, and continued to walk towards the dome. It would take her till noon to reach the dome, but when she was finally in reach, she ran towards the door, which automatically slid open for her. Inside it looked like a super mini mall, with a Pokémon center counter in the center of the place. She counted the rooms that lined the Dome; eleven in all. She walked up to the counter, upon where a Young woman who had pink hair and wore a Nurse’s outfit greeted her, “Hello there, I’m Nurse Joy. You must be a new trainer, correct?”
Saria nodded, “That’s right; I’m Saria from Freshdew town.”
“Before I explain the Pokémon League, would you like me to heal your Pokémon to full health?”
“Why thank you, Nurse Joy, I would love it if you did,” She handed her three Pokéballs to Nurse Joy, who passed them to her assistant, which was a Chansey wearing a Nurse cap. As the Chansey walked over to the healing machine and inserted the Pokéballs, Nurse Joy begun to explain, “In the Pokémon League, your task as a Trainer is to Defeat all ten of the Gym leaders. However, unlike past Leagues, where each Gym was in that leader’s town, all the Gym battles take place here in the Dome.”
“Really? Wow,” Saria was quite surprised to hear that, given the stories her father had told her, “They must be pretty bored, waiting for people to show up.”
“Actually,” Nurse Joy hit a button and the Healing Machine went to work, “all the Gym leaders lead their own lives. It’s up to the Trainers to find them and challenge them to Official Gym battles. Once the challenge is accepted, both the Trainer and Gym Leader will warp back to the dome via the Gym leader’s secret warp pad and conduct their battle.” The machine came to a stop and Chansey took out the Pokéballs, Nurse Joy handing her them back, along with a small orange Cell phone, “This is a Pokénavi, which is short for Pokémon navigator. It contains a Map of the island, as well as it doubles as a cell phone.”
Saria smiled, saying, “Thank you, Nurse Joy. Who is the first Gym leader?”
Nurse Joy giggled at the question, saying, “Technically, there is no “first” gym leader. However, a lot of trainers say that Tal of Ikebana Town rarely gives out his badges. Maybe you’ll have better luck then them.”
Saria nodded and flipped open her Pokénavi, looking for where Ikebana Town was. She laughed as she saw it was slightly to the east of Freshdew town, shaking her head and closing the Pokénavi. She turned to head out the door, and said, “Thanks again, Nurse joy!” She ran towards the door, determined to find Tal and win her first badge.

Gym leaders!!! Cyndaquil rocks! Cyndaquiiiilll

Chapter 3: Fiery Defender

It didn’t take long for Saria to find the path to Ikebana town, as it led through a shallow forest. She begun whistling her own tune again, enjoying the breeze and listening to the pidgey and starly singing, although, she thought, pidgeys could use some work on their vocals. She took out her PokéDex, and begun scanning the various Pokémon that she saw. As her PokéDex registered the data, she read the names out loud to herself, “Let’s see: Pidgey, Starly, Rattata, Caterpie, Weedle, and Zigzagoon.”
Suddenly, she heard an unfamiliar Pokémon cry. Curious as to what caused it; she pocketed her PokéDex and started to jog. It wouldn’t take her long to see two males, both wearing red and blue sweat pants and sweater with hood and what appears to be an ammunition belt slung over their right shoulder. As she approached them, she slowed down as so not to make her noticeable. She heard one of the males speak, “Our Boss told us there was reports of some new kind of Pokémon, but we found was this stupid shellos!”
The other male replied, “Hey, it’s not our fault this poor excuse of a Pokémon got in our way.” Saria looked down and saw at their feet was a pink shellos, lying on the ground hurt. The second male kicked it, saying as it cried out, “Let’s finish this thing off, we’re wasting time just toying with it.”
Saria was furious; Pokémon, trained or wild, should never be treated badly. She yelled at the males, “Who do you think you are, picking on poor, defenseless Pokémon?!”
They both turned around and saw her, Saria seeing that the ammunition belts held a Pokéball, one for each of them. The first male spoke up, “Beat it, brat! It’s none of your business!”
Saria responded to the remark, still angry, “None of my Business?! Well, I make it my Business when innocent Pokémon are harmed for entertainment!”
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay out of Team Dynamo’s affairs!”
Saria had heard a lot about Team Dynamo, and after taking a second look at them, saw on the upper right portion of their sweaters the letters ‘TD’. She reached for a Pokéball, as she said, “You don’t scare me!”
The second male laughed, saying to the first male, “Well look what we have here: a little girl who thinks she’s a hero.”
The first male grabbed his Pokéball and pushed the button, saying, “Time to show you just much of a ‘Hero’ you really are! Go Rattata!” He threw the Pokéball, a rattata coming out of it.
She grabbed her Pokéball, thinking to herself, I know I haven’t gotten to know you yet, but please, for the sake of that shellos, help me. She threw the Pokéball, “Come on out, Cyndaquil!” The little Fire mouse Pokémon appeared, taking a defensive stance.
The first male pointed towards Cyndaquil, “Rattata, take no prisoners, Tackle attack!” The rattata charged towards them, but Saria’s previous encounter taught her how to handle them, “Cyndaquil, side-step and Tackle!” She nodded at her order, waiting for the rattata to approach her. Then, just before the rattata would hit, she rolled out of the way, landing on her feet and dashing at the rattata. The first male was surprised at the tactic as Cyndaquil landed a critical hit, making the rattata faint.
The second male shook his head as the first male returned his Pokémon, saying as he took his own Pokéball, “Jason, you’re an idiot.”
Jason retorted, “Oh yeah, well let’s see you do any better, Diaruga!”
Diaruga threw his Pokéball, saying, “Crush them, Shinx! Show everyone how to properly battle!” As the Pokéball released the Blue and Black cat like Pokémon, it stared down Cyndaquil, scaring her. The Shinx charged, tackling into her and knocking her back.
Saria yelped, “Cyndaquil! Are you alright?!” Her Cyndaquil shook off the attack and got back up on her legs.
Diaruga chuckled as he said, “You rookie, you should have known that Shinx’s intimidate scares its foes into submission. Shinx, Tackle!”
Saria responded quickly, “Cyndaquil, Tackle attack, quickly!” She charged at the approaching Shinx, but it stared her down again, taking another blow from the Shinx. She cried out in pain from the attack, the Shinx snarling at her as Saria went over to her, “Cyndaquil, I’m sorry for getting you involved, but please, don’t give up.”
Diaruga and Jason started laughing, Jason saying, “What a show, you mean to tell us you actually care for them?”
Diaruga added, “Pokémon are meant to battle, they’re not supposed to be our ‘friends’.”
Saria looked down at Cyndaquil, who looked back up at her. She then looked over at the Shinx, trying to think of a way to get around its stare. She stroked Cyndaquil’s back softly, her hand passing over the holes as she said to them, “…You’re wrong.”
“What? I’m sorry; did you just say we were wrong? Shinx, prove them who’s wrong!”
The Shinx charged at the two of them, not caring for whom it hit. Saria jumped back as she yelled, “Cyndaquil, Smokescreen!” Cyndaquil cried out as it released a thick blast of concentrated black smoke out of its holes, aimed at the charging Shinx.
Diaruga was shocked, “What?! A smokescreen? That’ll never work!” The Shinx missed, trying to get its baring. Suddenly, it was struck hard from the left side, falling over. It got back up, but was quickly hit again, this time from the right side.
Saria commented, “As long as Shinx can’t stare down Cyndaquil, Cyndaquil can attack it without worry. I remember my dad saying there is nothing to be afraid of in the dark, and he was right. Cyndaquil, let’s finish this, Tackle attack now!” Cyndaquil nodded, charging at the worried Shinx, who had lost control of the battle. There was no way for Shinx to have seen this coming, and was hit by her tackle, being sent rolling over to Diaruga’s feet.
She pointed at the two Dynamos, “Do you want some more?” They looked at each other as Diaruga returned his Shinx, and they both ran pass her, saying, “You’ll be sorry you ever got involved with Team Dynamo!”
She knelt down and hugged Cyndaquil, saying, “I’m sorry that you had to do all that…” Cyndaquil cried for joy, snuggling with Saria; had it not been for her quick thinking, she knew Shinx would have done her in. Saria let go of her, and moved over to the shellos, to check and see how badly hurt it was. She saw it had a lot of scratches and bruises, panting heavily, eyes closed.
She took off her bag pack and rummaged through it, saying as she pulled out the Potion she brought from home, “I wanted to save this for one of my own Pokémon, but you need it more.” She pulled the trigger and sprayed the shellos with the potion, reacting quickly and healing it. The shellos opened its eyes, no longer feeling any pain. It looks up at Saria, who was smiling, and then saw Cyndaquil.
The Shellos spoke to Cyndaquil, “Shell, Shellos, shell?”
Cyndaquil responded quickly, “Quil, quil, Cyndaquil!”
Saria reached down and petted the Shellos, wiping her hand off afterwards, saying, “As long as you’re safe and healthy, then it was all worth it.” She got up and looked down at Cyndaquil, saying, “Come on, Cyndaquil, we got to reach Ikebana town.” Cyndaquil nodded and they both left the shellos there on the path, as they ran down it, determined more then ever to reach Ikebana town.
The shellos, thinking for a moment, decided to follow them, despite the growing distance between them.

Chapter 4: Tal, Keeper of the Greenhouse

Saria and Cyndaquil had slowed down and were walking the rest of the way to Ikebana town, Saria’s first real trainer battle fresh in both their minds. She looked down at Cyndaquil as they walked, seeing that Cyndaquil was getting tired. She said, “It’s okay, Cyndaquil, you don’t need to keep walking with me, I can get to Ikebana town on my own.” She grabbed her Pokéball as Cyndaquil stopped and looked up, Saria returning her as she responded, “That battle took a lot out of you. Rest for a bit, you’ve earned it.”
It was starting to get dark, but as the sun as getting ready to set, She saw her goal in site; Ikebana town was only a few more minutes away. Wanting to get into town quickly, she ran, making her way to the Pokémon center. She stood in the doorway, bent over and panting from running.
Just then, a familiar voice spoke up, “Welcome to the Pokémon Center.”
Saria looked up, saying, “Nurse Joy?! How did you get here?!”
Nurse Joy giggled, saying, “You must be a new trainer who’s mistaken me for one of my sisters.”
“Sisters?! How many of you are there?”
Nurse Joy helped Saria into the Center and took her Pokéballs, passing them to Chansey to heal in the machine, saying, “I come from a rather large family, as there’s fifty-one of us in all.” Saria was shocked to hear this as the machine dinged, Chansey retrieving the Pokéballs and passing them back to Nurse Joy, who passed them back to Saria. Nurse Joy continued, “You must be here to find the Gym leader, Tal. Am I correct?”
“Yeah,” Saria said, “I’m on a Journey to become the Pokémon League Champion.”
“Well then, perhaps you’d wish to spend the night here, as Tal never sees anyone at night.” Saria sighed at hearing that, but remembering all she had gone through, decided it was best and nodded. Nurse Joy led her to some spare bedrooms and had bid her good night. Saria changed into her Pajamas and crawled into bed, although the day’s events plagued her mind, troubling her. She eventually fell asleep.
The next morning she got up, stretching a bit, saying, “Yesterday was pretty rough, I hope today will be a bit better.” She changed back into her cloths, and headed over to the counter, asking, “Nurse Joy, Umm… where exactly can I find Tal?”
Nurse Joy pointed towards the window, Saria looking to see a short distance away a Greenhouse, saying, “Tal can be found in that Greenhouse. He rarely comes out of it, but he’s a kind person.” Saria thanked her for the information and left the center, heading towards the Greenhouse.
She entered the house and was taken in awe of what she saw. There were many exotic plants and trees, as though she had stepped into another world altogether. She slowly walked through it, taking in all the majesty of what she saw. Suddenly, she bumped into something and tripped. She got up on her knees and brushed herself off, saying, “What did I hit?” She turned around to see she had bumped into a rather large red mushroom with yellow dots. She moved closed to examine it, saying, “Wow, I’ve never seen mushrooms this big… or colored like this.”
Suddenly, the mushroom got up on its crab like legs, pulling out two large pincers in front of it, and turned around to see Saria, who jumped back, screaming. Suddenly, a voice spoke out to Saria from behind her, “Parasect, I thought we agreed on not scaring people anymore?” Saria looked behind her to see a young man, wearing light green pants and a light green T-shirt, a lab apron over the front of him, with a tool belt around his waist and wearing gardening gloves.
The man looked down at Saria, smiling as he said, “You’ll have to forgive Parasect, the last person who came in here had brought out his Growlithe, and Parasect had used Stun spore to protect the Greenhouse.”
Saria was lost for words, but after shaking her head for a moment and standing back up, she asked, “Are you Tal of Ikebana town? I’m Saria from Freshdew town, and I’m working my way to become Pokémon League champion.”
Tal nodded, his smile fading as he responded, “Then I am afraid you are wasting your time, I haven’t been beaten for months now, so I’ve stopped taking challenges.”
Saria protested, “But you’re a Gym leader, aren’t you suppose to accept all Gym challenges?”
Tal whistled, his Parasect scampering towards Tal, jerking his head, saying, “Come, walk with me.” Saria was curious as to what Tal wanted, but she walked up onto the other side of him and the three of them walked through the Greenhouse. Tal spoke up, “Trainers are a product of society, bred to be battlers and what not. But, there’s more to being a Trainer then just battling.” As they walked, a large Scarecrow like cactus walked out of the foliage and joined them, Saria seeing Tal smiling at its appearance, taking a deep breathe of relief.
Tal continued, “Much like Cacturne and Parasect, they are grass types, which is the strongest type that would resemble nature. Nature in itself is untamed, raw, and pure. When left alone, Nature can flourish and grow. However, Society finds that Nature is just an obstacle to overcome, and so cities are built, destroying Nature in the process.”
Suddenly, smoke started to build and form up in front of them; another male’s voice could be heard, laughing. Saria and Tal took a step back, while Cacturne and Parasect took defensive stances. The unknown male spoke, “Fear me, for I am Po--Gaaaaah!” the male tripped over his own two feet, disbursing the smoke. Saria laughed as the male, who wore an old Ninja suit with studded spike shoulder pads, quickly got up and dusted himself off, saying, “Why do I always do that?!”
Tal closed his eyes, crossing his arms as he said, “You again, I see.”
Saria asked, “Who is it?”
The ninja replied before Tal could, “I am Poga! An elite ninja and I am here to persuade Tal to join Team Dynamo!”
Tal opened his eyes to look at Poga, responding, “I will not tell you again, Poga, I am not joining Team Dynamo.”
Saria’s expression turned to anger, saying, “Team Dynamo?! You people are horrible, picking on poor defenseless Pokémon!”
Just then another male’s voice could be heard, “So you’re the one Diaruga and Jason told me about.” Saria and Tal looked around, finally seeing another Team Dynamo member walk out from behind Poga.
Poga introduced him, “He is the grunt Arsalan, who is part of a special project. Him, Diaruga and Jason are all in this same project.”
Arsalan grabbed his Pokéball, pointing at Saria, “You humiliated those two, but unlike them, I came prepared. Go Vulpix!” he tossed his Pokéball, a red fox with six tails coming out of it.
It growled at Tal and Saria, Tal responding, “Parasect, he’s a fire type Pokémon! Stun spore, Quick!” Parasect charged at the Vulpix, the giant mushroom on its back beginning to be coated with a fine yellow powder. It stabbed its pincer at Vulpix, the force flinging the spore at it, but Vulpix jumped back.
Arsalan chuckled, “Time to show off what Breeding can do. Vulpix, Flamethrower!” The Vulpix didn’t hesitate, and after taking a deep breathe, spewed a long stream of fire at the Parasect, who quickly fainted under the heat.
Tal screamed, “Parasect! No!” however, these would be the least of his worries as some of the flames strayed away from the attack and had caught on one of the trees next to them, the flame quickly eating the dry bark and growing in size, the fire spreading. Everyone’s expression turned to shock as they saw the plants catching on fire.
Poga smacked Arsalan on the back of the head while grabbing a small purple sphere no bigger then a shrunk Pokéball, “You idiot! We need to fall back, now!” he threw the sphere and more smoke spewed out, the two of them disappearing. Tal ran over to Parasect and tried to pick him up, but was having problems. Saria ran over to help, and the both of them picked up Parasect and started carrying him.
Tal spoke to Cacturne, “Call the others, we need to evacuate, now!” Cacturne nodded and cried out, and hopping along was a large sack-like Venus flytrap. The five of them ran as fast as they could out of the Greenhouse, Tal sighing as he said, “It’s good everyone got…” he counted the Pokémon and gasped, saying, “Where’s Jumpluff?!” Everyone looked back at the burning Greenhouse, the flames raging.
Suddenly, Saria ran towards the Greenhouse. Tal was yelling to her to stop, but she didn’t listen. She ran back, Tal hesitating to follow. Just then, a pink shellos had squirmed up beside Tal. Tal looked down as he felt the shellos brush against his leg. Tal, his expression turning to panic, asked, “Please, a young girl has defied logic and ran back in to save one of my Pokémon, help her!” The shellos looked at the fire, and then cried out. The only thing that could be heard then was the roaring of the flames.
Inside the burning Greenhouse, Saria was panting and coughing from the smoke, but was listening carefully. She followed the cries of some unknown thing, crawling on the ground as she saw the giant cotton of fluff shivering, scared of what was happening. She crawled up to it, saying, “It’s okay, I’m going to get you out of here.” The Jumpluff shook its body to acknowledge it, following Saria who was carefully crawling, trying to avoid the fire. After a few more minutes, she saw the exit, saying, “Go, run for it!”
The Jumpluff quickly hopped pass Saria, who smiled before passing out. Tal watched his Jumpluff burst out of the Greenhouse, Tal knelling down and hugging his Jumpluff, saying, “Thank god you’re safe! But… where’s Saria?” The both looked on at the burning Greenhouse, fearing the worst. Suddenly, from all around the edges of town, all the surrounding shellos had come, surrounding the burning Greenhouse. With a single cry of the shellos who had summoned them, they all spewed out water pulse attacks, breaking the glass siding and quickly putting the fire out.
Saria groaned as she stirred in bed, reaching up with her hand and rubbing her head, saying, “Ow… my head hurts.”
“You’re a brave person to have gone back into that Greenhouse.” She opened her eyes to see Tal and Nurse Joy standing at the foot of the bed. What really caught her eye was the shellos she had helped yesterday was sitting on her stomach, sleeping. Nurse Joy continued, “If it hadn’t been for this shellos, you would have been done in!”
Tal nodded, saying, “That was perhaps the most stupid thing I have ever seen someone do. And yet, you were willing to risk your life for a creature that you didn’t even know. Saria of Freshdew town, you have something that no other trainer has shown me before, so when you’re feeling better, I’ll accept your Challenge.”
Saria smiled at Tal’s choice. Suddenly, the shellos woke up from all the talking, smiling and crying happily as it saw Saria awake. Saria stroked it, saying, “You’re the one from yesterday, aren’t you?” it nodded, Saria saying, “Thanks.”
Nurse Joy spoke up, “That Shellos seems attached to you. Perhaps you should have it accompany you on your Journey.” The shellos smiled as it looked as Saria, whom thought about it for a moment, and nodded in Agreement.
Saria would continue to rest for the rest of the day, regaining her strength rather quickly as she didn’t suffer from too many injuries. She left the Pokémon center, Shellos in a Pokéball now, and saw Tal standing in front of the ruined Greenhouse. She walked over to him, Tal saying, “My life’s work… my home…”
Saria hanged her head, saying, “I’m sorry for your lost, Tal…”
Tal shook his head, saying, “I don’t blame you, Saria. I blame Team Dynamo!” He turned to her, saying, “You saved my Jumpluff, and that is something I can never truly repay. However, I will help you on your quest, as well, if you should need assistance against Team Dynamo, don’t be afraid to ask for it.” He walked into the wreck of his home, and kicked aside the remains of a burnt tree, revealing a light blue warp pad.
He turned back to her, saying, “Come on, I accept your Challenge.” As soon as he had said that, he disappeared. Saria didn’t need to be told twice and followed suit, being teleported back to the Pokémon League. The room she had entered looked a small bit like Tal’s home. She took her place across from Tal, who held a Pokéball.
“I won’t go easy on you. Go Jumpluff!” He tossed the Pokéball, the cotton fluff Pokémon coming out and standing its ground. Saria grabbed hold and tossed her own, “Shellos, I choose you!” The pink Slug like Pokémon took the field.
Tal started them off, “Jumpluff, sleep powder!” The Jumpluff bounced towards them, getting to a high height.
Saria responded, “Shellos, Water Pulse Attack!” The shellos fired off its attack as the Jumpluff started to sprinkle the powder, the water pulse washing away the powder and hitting Jumpluff, knocking it out of the air. Tal quickly called it back, saying, “Shellos may have saved you back in the fire, but it won’t save you here. Go, Parasect!” He tossed the new Pokéball and the Mushroom insect took the field.
Saria issued another command, “Water pulse!” Shellos fired off its attack and landed a direct hit, but the Parasect was unaffected as it charged at her.
Tal smiled, saying, “Parasect, X-Scissor!” without a chance to react, Shellos was struck hard, a critical blow being deal and taking it out of Combat.
Saria called her back, saying, “Thank you Shellos.” She reached for another Pokéball, tossing it, “Let’s do it, Cyndaquil!” The little fire mouse Pokémon came out, making a battle cry as she took her stance.
Tal continued to smile as he said, “We Gym Leaders are experts in our chosen field, and have adapted to handling our weaknesses. Parasect, Stun Spore!” Parasect charged at her, its Mushroom once again being coated by the fine yellow powder.
Saria smiled as she said, “Cyndaquil, Smokescreen attack!” Cyndaquil raised its back higher into the air and aimed it towards Parasect, unleashing a large concentrated cloud of black smoke. The Parasect continued its attack, but the smokescreen hindered it and caused it to Miss. Saria continued, “Tackle attack, now!” She knew what to do, charging at the Parasect and slamming into it, knocking it on its side. It rolled around, trying to get back up, but the mushroom on its back was too heavy.
Tal smiled as he said, “Impressive. You win.”
Saria was shocked, “what?”
Tal nodded, “You’ve put Parasect into a state it couldn’t get back out of. It’s something not a lot of people know about. As well, it was my best Pokémon.” Tal recalled his Parasect, and walked over to Saria, reaching into his pocket and handing her a small badge in the shape of an oak leaf, saying, “You have won your first badge. Congratulations, Saria of Freshdew town.”
Saria smiled wide as she took the Badge, pinning to the inside of her vest, saying, “Thank you, Tal.”
Tal’s smile faded as he became serious, saying, “However, The other leaders will be more powerful then I. My suggestion is to head to Terra Firma City. I hear there that there is an excellent Training Program that they give to trainers.” Saria nodded with a determined on her face. She turned for the door and left, heading towards her next goal.

Chapter 5: A vengeful encounter

Checking her Pokénavi, Saria headed through the West exit of the Pokémon League headquarters, following the long road. Before she could take the fork that would lead her to Terra Firma City, the sound of hooves smacking the ground could be heard behind her. She turned around, only to see Tal approach her, riding a Deer-like Pokémon. Saria took a step back as Tal slowed down and came to a halt.
Tal was holding a cylinder case, saying as he was presenting it to her, “I Almost forgot, Saria. In addition to winning my Flourish Badge, I am also to present you this: A Technical Machine or TM for short, Case.” Saria nodded, taking the TM case and shoving it into her Backpack. Tal continued, “I have also included the TM for one of my Special moves, Giga Drain.” Tal tilted to the side, his Deer-like Pokémon turning around, saying, “Let’s go, Stantler!”
Saria called back to him as he dashed away, “Thank you, Tal!” She turned back to the road and took the path to Terra Firma City. Spending most of the day walking under the hot sun, she found a tree to hide in the shade, taking a few minutes to rest. She reached for the Pokéball her dad gave her, and pushed the button to allow her Eevee to come out. The Eevee jumped up into her arms and started cuddling with her as she stroked his fur, saying, “I know I haven’t spent a lot of time with you, Eevee, but today, I want you to travel with me outside of your Pokéball.”
The Eevee purred at hearing that, and Saria got back up, letting Eevee down the two of them continued to walk. It surprised her just how short the distance was to Terra Firma City. Perhaps, she thought, all the recent increase in walking has made my legs stronger and that incident at Tal’s all contributed to me walking faster. Not in any real rush, she and Eevee strolled into the City, amazed at how busy it was. There was people everywhere, coming to and from, however what caught her eye the most was that everyone who wasn’t walking was riding a bicycle.
Suddenly, she heard the scream of a woman. Curious as to why no one was reacting to it, she ran with Eevee by her side and came to a near by alley. Down in the alley was two figures, wearing long black trench coats, the hoods pulled up. On the back of the coats was a lager purple V. Beyond the two figures was a female police officer, pinned between the figures and the wall.
The first Figure, a male, spoke up harshly, “Where’s our payment!”
The second figure, a young woman, added, “You guys have been avoiding us all month, and we want our money!”
The Officer replied, her voice slightly trembling, “W-we don’t have your money…”
The male shook his head, the two figures reaching into their pocket and pulling out Pokéballs, saying, “Wrong answer.”
“Hey! Leave her alone, you big bullies!” the figures turned around to see Saria, Eevee standing its ground.
The woman smirked, saying, “What a cute Eevee… I think we’ll take that! Go, Zubat!”
The male tossed his Pokéball along side hers, saying, “Grimer, let’s get the job done!” From their Pokéballs came a small blue bat and a purple puddle of living sludge. Saria was taken back from the new Pokémon, not knowing about double battles. The Officer took this chance and ran pass the two figures, getting her own Pokéball ready.
The woman shouted, “Zubat, don’t let her get away, Supersonic!” The bat fired off rings of sound towards the Officer, missing and nailing a trashcan.
The Officer turned around, tossing her Pokéball, “Growlithe, it’s time to go to work!” From her Pokéball came a small orange and black dog with a white tail and mane. The Officer looked to Saria, who looked back at her, and said, “I don’t know who you are, but we need to take care of these creeps!”
Saria nodded, saying, “Eevee, Tackle attack that Grimer!” He nodded and dashed towards the Grimer, hitting it. However, the Grimer reformed itself and smiled. Saria was shocked, “What?!”
The male shook his finger, “Poor, poor girl, you seem to have forgotten that Grimers are very difficult creatures to harm. Grimer, Disable!” The Grimer’s eyes lit up, Eevee locked into a trance for a moment before wobbling a bit.
The Officer waved out her hand, “Growlithe, Ember attack!” The dog took a breath and spewed out a tiny fireball at the Zubat, but the bat was too quick had successfully dodged the attack.
The woman retaliated, “Zubat, don’t miss this time; Supersonic!” The Zubat took aim and fired off its rings of sound, nailing Growlithe. It started to stumble around a bit, confuse of what was going on.
Saria issued her command, “Eevee, Tackle!” However, Eevee couldn’t move, almost as if it had forgotten how to. In the midst of a lack for attack, the confused Growlithe shot another ember attack, nailing her Eevee. She yelled, “Eevee, No!”
The man pointed at Eevee, “Grimer, finish it with a Pound attack.” The Grimer slid up to Eevee and smashed it with its fist, Eevee fainting from the blow. Saria was shocked to see her Eevee, wounded and weak, lying before her. The woman took no time to wait and issued her next attack, “Zubat, finish off that Growlithe, Bite attack!” The Zubat had no problems approaching Growlithe, Biting its back and moving away, Growlithe hitting its head and fainting from the sever head pain.
Saria and the Officer took a step back as the two figures began to approach them, saying, “Now then, all that’s left is to deal with you two!”
Suddenly, a Black fox with Golden rings etched into its fur landed between the four of them, standing tall and crying out, “Umbreon!”
The four of them looked around for the owner of this Pokémon when a voice from above was heard, “Villainous scum, those who protect others do it out of the kindness of their hearts, not for self-profit. Only Bullies demand payment from those they “swore” to protect.” They all looked up as a Male Figured, garbed in a Tuxedo with a black and gold cape, descended into the Alley, standing beside the Umbreon.
The two figures chuckled, saying, “Look at this freak! He wants to get in our way, too!”
The mysterious man waved his hand, flicking his cape as he issued the command, “Paradise, Dark Pulse!” The four of them were shocked to hear the name, but before anyone could react, the Umbreon flexed, the golden rings on its body spewing out a dark wave, smashing into and fainting both the Grimer and Zubat. The two figures, whose expressions of arrogance soon quickly turned to fear, calling back their Pokémon and fleeing.
The Man, not turning around, asked, “Are you two alright?”
Both Saria and the Officer were dumbfounded, but Saria recovered quickly, saying, “You… You’re the Utopian defender, aren’t you?”
The Man turned around to face them, acknowledging her, “I am indeed called that, and this is my Partner, Paradise.”
“Who were those people who were attacking us?”
“They were mere grunts for an Organization called Team Vengeance. It appears I had arrived just in time.”
The Officer finally spoke, “Thank you for your help, both of you!” She called back her Growlithe before saying, “Young girl, although you were courageous in trying to help me, Team Vengeance has a nasty grasp on this city. However, in recognition for trying to help, swing by the Police office, I have something I’d like to give you.” The Officer started to leave when she realized something, turning back around and asking, “By the way, what’s your name?”
Saria replied, “I am Saria of Freshdew town, Officer.”
The Officer chuckled as she said, “Please, just call me Jenny.” After that, she left the alley.
The defender held up a disc, saying, “You are the owner of that Eevee, correct?” She nodded, and the defender passed her the disc, saying, “There will be certain enemies who you cannot defeat through physical means. This is a TM for a special attack called Shadow Ball, a Ghost like attack.” Before Saria could reply, the defender and his Umbreon jumped up, saying, “I’m sure we’ll meet again, Saria of Freshdew town.”

Chapter 6: The phasing M

Saria walked out of the alley after recalling Eevee, trying to see where the defender went, however, no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find him. She knew Eevee needed healing; she walked further into the busy city and tried to find the Pokémon center. Unfortunately, within twenty minutes she found herself lost, the dinging of bicycle bells and the mumbling of various conversations disorienting her. Suddenly, she bumped into an old man, knocking the both of them down to the ground.
She got up quickly, giving a small bow before putting out her hand, saying, “I’m so sorry, sir, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
The old man took her hand, struggling to get back up on his legs, saying, “Think nothing of it, child.” After he was back up on his feet, slightly hunched over, leaning on an old wooden crane, bald and wearing glasses, he asked, “You aren’t from around here, are you?”
Saria responded politely, “Why no, I’m not sir. I come from Freshdew town, and I’m looking for the Pokémon center.”
The old man smiled, turning around and starting to walk in the opposite direction, saying, “I thought you seemed odd, none of the children in this city is that friendly. Come, I’ll show you to the Center.” Saria followed the old man, and after what she thought was the longest walk in her life, the two of them reached the Pokémon center. After she had passed her Pokéballs to Nurse Joy, the old man asked her, “So you’re a Pokémon trainer, correct?”
“Yeah, and I came here looking for this town’s Gym leader, but I had a nasty run in with some Team Vengeance grunts who were trying to get something from Officer Jenny.”
“Ah, I see you are looking for Mr. M as well.”
Saria asked, puzzled, “Mr. M? Who is that?”
The old man chuckled, saying, “He’s Terra Firma City Gym leader, the owner of his own private gym, and my nephew.”
“Really? That must mean you know where he resides at.”
The old man nodded, pointing towards the exit, “Of course, just walk three blocks straight, and then take a right. You can’t miss it.”
She smiled at the info, Nurse Joy returning her Pokéballs to her. She ran out the door, calling back, “Thank you, sir!”
As Saria left, the old man’s warm smile turned into a wicked one, chuckling to himself, “You’re welcome, child…” Saria walked down the sidewalk, being careful not to bump into anyone this time, making the needed turn and continuing on. Soon enough she came to a semi-large building, with the title ‘Gym of the Soul, Body, and Mind.’
Saria said to herself, “This must be the place.” She walked up to the door, swooshing opening quickly, showing lots of real gym equipment not in use, among them being tread mills, punching bags and weight benches. As she entered, the door swooshed closed just as fast, her footsteps echoing in the rather life-less room. She called out, “Hello? Anyone here?”
Suddenly a voice spoke directly behind her, “Boo!” She jumped, turning around to see a tall, muscular man standing behind her, wearing a grey sweater, grey sweat pants, and sunglasses, laughing at her expression, “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”
“Hey, that isn’t funny!” Saria pouted and protested.
The man’s laughing stopped, saying, “I apologize, it’s just been a while since anyone your age has been in here, or anyone else for that matter.”
Saria took this moment to ask, “Are you Mr. M?”
“Yup, That’s me, the one and only.”
“I challenge you to a Gym battle then!” Mr. M started laughing again, Saria becoming agitated, “What’s so funny?”
Mr. M settled down, saying, “Sorry kid, I don’t know who you are, but I only allow students of my Gym to battle me.”
Saria sighed, Oh great, she thought, this is the second leader who’s automatically refused my challenge; if this keeps up I’ll never be able to get the badges. Mr. M took off his shades, proposing, “Tell you what, kid: If you tell me a bit about yourself, and if it impresses me, then maybe, Just maybe, I’ll let you join my gym for training.”
Saria shrugged, saying, “Well, My name is Saria Violet, and I come from Freshdew town.”
Mr. M flapped his gums, “Pfft! Kid, you’re going to need to tell me more then that if you want in.”
Saria was becoming agitated again, saying, “Well… I come from a small family, my dad use to be one of the greatest trainers, my mom a retired Gym Leader.”
“Go on.” Mr. M’s expression turned to interest, listening carefully.
“I’ve always lived with Pokémon, playing with them, loving them, listening to the wise words my parents to give me, taking in stories my dad would tell me of his past adventures.”
Mr. M looked her down, and noticing her four Pokéballs, asked, “What’s your take on battling Pokémon?”
Saria turned away slightly, saying, “I think Pokémon battling is a great experience, but, after listening to some of the stories my dad told me, I could never bring myself to harm any innocent Pokémon, even if it was wild…” She thought back to her first wild encounter, her face expressing sadness.
Mr. M smiled, “You seek to be like your parents, don’t you?”
She nodded, responding, “Yeah, I’ve always wanted to go on my own journey, so that when I finished, I would have many wonderful and suspenseful stories to tell friends and family.”
“Well then,” Mr. M took a few steps back, “Show me.”
Saria was puzzled, tilting her head, “I’m sorry?”
Mr. M chuckled, saying, “I want to see your Pokémon, show me who is you trust your life with, who you are taking on your adventure.”
Saria reached for a Pokéball, gently tossing it, Eevee being sent out. As Eevee came up beside her, nuzzling against her leg, she knelt down to stroke his fur, saying, “This is Eevee, a gift from my dad for my birthday.” She grabbed two more Pokéballs, gently tossing those to release Bulbasaur and Cyndaquil, “These are the starters Professor Oak let me choose.” She took her final Pokéball and released Shellos, who climbed up her back onto her shoulder, shivering from the slime, saying, “And this is Shellos; After saving her life from a couple of no good Dynamo grunts, she saved my life after I risked it to save Tal’s Jumpluff from a burning Greenhouse.”
Mr. M folded his arms, saying with another chuckle, “Your character stands out; welcome to the Soul, Body, and Mind, Saria.”
“Thank you, Mr. M! I’m really glad I ran into your uncle then.”
“My Uncle?” Mr. M was puzzled, “I don’t have an uncle, though.”
Before Saria could respond, the gym door swooshed open, and the two Vengeance grunts from before entered, the woman saying, “There you are, brat! We’re going to make you pay for having us insulted back in that alley!”
Mr. M turned around, his smile and warmness disappearing, saying, “I suggest you leave quietly.”
Just then the old man Saria had met slowly walked in, saying, “If I had known you had humiliated my grunts, I wouldn’t have told you were Mr. M was.”
Mr. M was now the one starting to get agitated, “Get the Hell out of my Gym!”
The old man, grinning with a wicked smile, stood up, dropping his wooden cane and letting it make a bang against the firm hardwood, grabbing his face and pulling of his crafty mask, a squeamish ripping sound, followed by the ripping of fabric could be heard as the old man, now who appeared as a rather Young man, slightly younger then Mr. M, wearing a business suit, pulling out a bowler hat and putting it on, tipping it.
The man started, “I am Phaze, Captain of the Terra Firma City division of Team Vengeance, and as deceiving as my costume was, you’ll soon quickly realize I’m just as dangerous!”

Chapter 7: The Fighters’ Brawl

Mr. M shook his head, saying to the Vengeance members, “If I told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times: I will not support Team Vengeance!”
Phaze reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue and white Pokéball with two red stripes on it, saying, “Well then, today is the day you change your mind!”
Mr. M put his hand up, signaling to stop, “If a fight is what you want, then that’s what you’ll get; Saria, recall your Pokémon; everyone follow me.” Saria nodded and recalled all four of her Pokémon, keeping up with Mr. M who was leading the five of them to the back of the gym, opening a door and walking into a dark room. Saria and the Vengeance members stood there, curious as to what was going on as he clapped his hands, large lights coming on and showing a large fenced arena in the shape of an octagon.
He continued, “You can battle me in my arena by my rules, and if you don’t like that…” he pointed back to the door, “Then you can get the hell out and stop bothering me!”
Phaze smiled as he snapped his fingers, his two grunts quickly grabbing Saria’s arms, who yelped and begun to struggle against them, saying, “Alright, here’s the deal; I’ll fight you in your arena, by your rules, and if I lose, Team Vengeance will leave you alone for the rest of your days. However…” Phaze’s smile grew wicked, “If I win, you must swear your allegiance to the cause of Vengeance, and Saria’s fate belongs to us.”
Mr. M reached into his sweater pocket and pulled out his Pokéball, saying as he walked to the champ’s side of the ring, “I accept your challenge; it’ll be one on one, one Pokémon each.” Phaze walked up to the challenger’s side, the two of them standing in the respective trainer boxes. Without saying a single word, the two of them threw out their Pokéballs, and from Phaze’s came out a human like Pokémon, tanned and dressed like a boxer. Mr. M’s Pokémon was also human like, tanned as well, but it had no head or neck, but instead its eyes where on the top of its chest, its forearms and legs where coiled and compacted like springs.
Phaze spoke, laughing, “You send out a Hitmonlee against my mighty Hitmonchan? Ha! You will fall quickly; Hitmonchan, do as you wish.”
Mr. M retorted, “Don’t be so sure you’ll win; Show them how to properly fight, Lee!”
The two Pokémon stared each other down, Hitmonchan hopping slightly like a real boxer would, Hitmonlee taking a more martial art’s approach and entering a stance. Suddenly, a bell was rung, and the two dashed at each other, Hitmonchan throwing a fist while Lee threw a foot, their attacks connecting and sending them back. The two realizing this would require more, relaxed and mediated. Hitmonchan was the first to move, Lee not reacting fast enough as Hitmonchan got in close and started to swing his fists furiously, hauling back and smashing Lee in the gut, knocking him back against Mr. M’s trainer box.
Hitmonchan smiles as Lee was knelt on the ground, covering his gut from the attack. He smacked his gloves together, electrically charging them, and dashed towards him, throwing a thunder punch at Lee. However, Lee was most aware of this and rolled out of the way, Hitmonchan missing and Lee, using his hands, pushed out of the roll and kicked Hitmonchan in the face, knocking him back into a side fence. Hitmonchan was dazed for a moment, but quickly recovered as he smacked his gloves, the air around them giving off a cool mist.
Lee got back up, and dashed towards Hitmonchan, but Hitmonchan punched the ground in front of him, freezing the floor, and Lee slipped, Hitmonchan jumping out of the way and Lee smacking into the fence where his foe just was. Hitmonchan took his chance and dashed towards him, prepared to perform another close combat to finish his opponent off. However, Lee was quick to return to his feet and caught Hitmonchan’s gloves, holding them.
The two stared each other down in this power struggle. Something had caught Hitmonchan’s eyes, looking down and his eyes grew in shock and horror; Lee’s right leg was glowing white. Lee lifted his leg and kicked Hitmonchan in the stomach, a loud boom emanating from the kick. Suddenly, Lee let go of Hitmonchan’s gloves, his leg uncoiling and straitening out, pushing his foot further into Hitmonchan and forcing him back, smashing him straight into the opposite fence, denting it.
Hitmonchan fell out of the fence, gasping for air as Lee raised his right hand, which gained a silver sheen to it. Bang. What sounded like a gun shot could be heard as Lee’s right arm uncoiled and straitened out, his hand rocketing forward and smashing Hitmonchan in the face, the sudden impact fainting him instantly. Lee’s arm coiled itself again, returning to his fighting stance as Phaze only stood there, shaking in shock, speechless of what happened.
Mr. M spoke out, “Good Job, Lee. I knew you could win.”
Phaze snapped, yelling, “How?! Hitmonlee always use their legs for combat! By increasing his speed, Hitmonchan should have been the superior fighter here!”
“It’s simple” Mr. M begun to explain, “While you increased your speed, Lee was mediating, focusing his strength. The close combat your Hitmonchan performed was indeed impressive, but it tired him out quickly, its increase to speed making him sloppy. I raised Lee to respond to the opponent’s actions, and waited for the correct moment to unleash its Mega kick. Of course, I did weight training, and had him learn how to extend his arms, enabling him to perform the deadly Bullet punch.”
“Now then” Mr. M pointed towards the Vengeance members, Lee’s stance tightening, saying, “Release my student and get the hell out, and never come back!” Phaze stood there for a moment, still completely speechless as to how the fight turned out. He quickly recalled his Pokémon, snapping his fingers, the two grunts letting Saria go, and started to rub her wrists. The three of them ran out of the door, a few seconds followed the feint swooshing sound of the main entrance.
Saria ran up to Mr. M as he called back his Pokémon, saying, “Mr. M, after watching that, I realize that you were right from earlier.” She gave a slight bow, asking, “Please, if you would, train me to become a better trainer. I would be most honored.”
Mr. M ran his hand into her hair, messing it up as he said with a heart felt chuckle, “Of course, pupil; Go get some sleep, we start in the morning.”

Chapter 8: Training Exercises – Day 1

Saria woke up in the hotel room she was staying at, which was being paid for by Mr. M; it wasn’t anywhere close to being a decent room, as it was very plain, and very small. However, it still had its own bathroom, so she didn’t care. She went to the bathroom and took a shower, spending twenty minutes in there, as, unlike home, she didn’t have to worry about hot water.
As she came out of the bathroom wrapped in towels, she walked over to the hotel room’s main window, and looked down to see Mr. M’s gym. It puzzled her; why would Mr. M only allow his own students of the gym to battle him? If he were training them, wouldn’t that give the student an upper hand advantage come time for the all important gym battle?
She shrugged, unsure of the answer as she got dressed and left her room, making her way through the hotel and exiting, stopping only at the stop light to wait for the crossing signal to change. As she crossed, she turned to the right and walked down the street, quickly approaching the Gym. She walked up the very tiny flight of stairs that was there, and walked through the swooshing door.
Not five seconds after walking through the door was she nailed in the face with a large, yet soft package, like a firm pillow. The force pushed her onto her back and to the ground. She pushed the package off as Mr. M called to her, “Sorry about that, Lee gets excited when we get new students.”
She sat up, rubbing her nose gently as she asked, “What did you throw at me?!”
“Why your training gear, of course.” She picked up the package, and finally noticed that it had some weight to it. Before she could ask, Mr. M pointed behind him with his thumb, “Changing room is in the back, and until you change, your training is on hold.” She didn’t argue and moved pass him, going through the door to the octagon arena, seeing for the first time arrows that pointed in opposite directions, each saying “locker rooms” on the arrows. She was curious as to why she didn’t see them before, but realized, what with the incident of Team Vengeance, she must have simply missed them the first time.
After twenty minutes of waiting, Mr. M finally saw Saria, who had tied her hair back into a ponytail, was wearing the same thing as him; gray sweater with hood and gray sweat pants. She lifted her arms slightly, saying, “I find it’s hard to move in this…”
Mr. M gave a chuckle, “Don’t worry, it’s suppose to feel like that; the clothes are designed with special material that give it a spread out feeling of five pounds, yet it’s super soft, so you won’t have to worry about hurting yourself if you should fall while wearing it. Give it some time, you’ll get so use to it you won’t feel it any more.”
“Now then, let’s get started, shall we?” Saria nodded as she heard that, excited to finally begin her training. Mr. M gave a small whistle, and Lee walked over to him, turning to face Saria. Mr. M pointed to her, saying, “Given the sheer difficulty of Fire type Pokémon, let’s start your training off with Cyndaquil.”
She nodded, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a Pokéball, tossing it, releasing her Cyndaquil. As they stood there, Saria asked, “What’s the first thing you want us to do?”
Mr. M walked over to them, knelling down and petting Cyndaquil, saying, “We’re going to trade partners: you’ll spare with Lee, and I’ll spare with Cyndaquil.”
“What?!” The idea of dealing with Lee frightened her, after witnessing what he did to Phaze’s Hitmonchan. Before she could protest, Mr. M pulled out a small pair of metal shackles, in each he quickly applies to her wrists, her arms dropping down, struggling to maintain her balance.
Mr. M spoke up, explaining, “Lee is an excellent sparing partner, and has been instructed not to harm you, only push you. As for the shackles, they super compresses weights, weighting ten pounds a shackle, the chain an extra five; even in Pokémon battles the trainer themselves must be prepared.”
Saria’s expression turned to a frown, saying, “This is a joke, right?”
Mr. M picked up Cyndaquil, helping the both of to the Octagon room, saying, “For today, all you need to do is run from Lee.” He pushed her into the Octagon, locking her in as Lee jumped in, taking his position. He carried Cyndaquil back out into the main Gym, grabbing a blast mask and fireproof mittens.
As he closed the door, he walked out a little ways, finally setting Cyndaquil down, who was whimpering from being separated from her trainer. He put the mask on, shield up, as he said to her while putting the mittens on, “Don’t worry, she’s still here. Now then, attack me as best as you can.” He knelt down, standing on his knees as she cried out, and then charged at him, aiming to knock him down.
Meanwhile, Saria was getting back up, having been pushed down for the fifth time since Mr. M left the room. She was panting heavily, the weights tiring her out pretty quickly; this is crazy, she thought, this is nothing like what dad went through. As soon as she was back on her feet, Lee dashed towards her, reacting and jumping to the side to dodge. He turned on the spot, dashing towards her again as she started running, placing his hand on her back and pushing her, the added weight making her trip again.
Cyndaquil wasn’t doing any better then her trainer, as, despite Mr. M being on his knees, was easily dodging her. She decided to try and even the odds, unleashing a smokescreen attack. Mr. M was caught in the full blast, coughing for air as she dashed at him, nailing him square in the chest and knocking him out of the smoke. He got back up on his knees, saying, “It seems she hasn’t gotten into a lot of battles with you, but that’s okay, I intend to make sure when you guys all leave you’ll be ready for anything!”
He watched patiently, waiting for her to make a move. Finally, she dashed through the smoke, charging, but Mr. M took the hit, wrapping his hand around her mouth, starting to poke her. She squirmed in his hand, trying to get away, but didn’t have the strength, and was being constantly poked. It began to frustrate her as Mr. M continued to poke her randomly, saying to agitate her, “What’s wrong, Cyndaquil? I thought you Fire types were stronger then this? It’s pretty pathetic how I’m just holding you here, poking you.”
Finally loosing her temper, the holes on her back erupted into a raging pillar of fire, blasting right in Mr. M’s blast mask. He stopped poking her, putting his hand over the fire to snuff it out, letting go of her and standing up, walking over to the wall and getting a plank of wood, saying, “Okay, I want you to hit this board without moving.” She nodded, igniting the flames on her back again, as she took a deep breathe and spewed out a small fireball, launching it into the board and burning it.
Saria training was starting to pay off as she was beginning to realize how to dodge Lee; she was rarely getting pushed now, although she was very tired from the weights. Finally, after what seemed like forever, a bell rung, Lee stopping in mid dash and jumping out of the Octagon, unlocking it and letting her out. Mr. M was waiting for her, with Cyndaquil, who was making small jumps for joy in seeing her. He walked over to her and unlocked the shackles, quickly catching them and passing them to Lee, who went over and hanged them on the wall next to his fire proof gear.
She knelt down to catch Cyndaquil, who was running up to her, and the two hugged as Mr. M Commented and asked, “Cyndaquil has a lot of potential, and she learned how to perform her Ember attack now. How was the training with Lee?”
She fell onto her back, panting as she relaxed and said, “Very tiring.”
Mr. M laughed, saying, “Very good, it should be tiring. Now then, today’s session is complete; tomorrow, we’ll continue your training, and, it’ll be Bulbasaur’s turn.” She nodded as she simply laid there, Cyndaquil resting on top of her.

Chapter 9: Training Exercises – Day 2

Saria struggled to get out of bed, the training from yesterday making her entire body sore, however, once she sat up, she noticed she was moving quicker, as though gravity was no longer holding her back. She headed into the shower and sighed happily, the droplets pounding on her body, massaging the soreness away. After she got out, she changed into her training gear, slightly curious as to what today’s session would yield.
Not taking very long to reach the gym, the doors swooshed open as she saw Mr. M and Lee sparing, Mr. M holding up special padded mats on his hands, and Lee kicking into them. After the doors closed, Mr. M, without either him or Lee stopping, said, “Good Morning, Saria. Feeling sore?”
She replied sarcastically, “No, I feel like a sponge, all soft and flexible.”
Her sarcastic remark finally broke Mr. M’s concentration and he broke out laughing, Lee knowing that training for the two of them was over. Mr. M walked over to her, saying as he regained control of himself, “Okay, time to bring out your Bulbasaur.” She didn’t have to be told twice, and without a moment to spare, Bulbasaur was out of his Pokéball. Mr. M reached into his pocket, saying, “Today’s session will be just a simple game.”
“A game?” Saria was curious, “What do you mean by a game?”
He pulled out a long, black, silky scarf, saying, “Have you ever heard of Fox and Dog?” She shook her head, Mr. M continuing, “It’s a very simple game of Tag really, with a few twists. The Fox, who will be Lee, shakes some maracas, while the Dog, who will be you, wears a blindfold and tries to tag him, using only the sounds of the maracas as your hint to his location. The game will end when you Tag him once.”
Remembering what happened yesterday, Saria replied, “This isn’t going to be easy, is it?”
“No, not really, but there’s no time limit; take as long as you want, Saria.” He walked behind her and tied the scarf over her eyes, helping her to the Octagon. He said as she stood still, “The game begins when you hear the Maracas shake.” He left the large room, returning to the main area and looking down at a calm Bulbasaur, not worried at all what was happening. He looked down at him and asked, “Tell me, you can use your vines, can’t you?”
He nodded, vines coming out of the base of the bulb on his back, Mr. M smiling. Mr. M reached for a Pokéball and gently tossed it, a large yellow and white mouse with brown scales prodding from its back like a porcupine’s quills came out, standing next to Mr. M. Mr. M walked over to the door to the Octagon room, and picked up a stack of thin planks, saying, “Your training is going to be really simple; I’m going to throw ten very thin, and very weak planks into the air, across the gym. All you have to do is break them, but there’s a catch.”
Bulbasaur tilted his head, “Bulba?”
Mr. M continued, “For each plank you miss, my buddy Slash here will take one hit on you. Ready?”
Bulbasaur cried out, “Bulbasaur!” He readied his vines, like snakes ready to strike. Mr. M threw the first plank lightly, Bulbasaur reacting and bringing a vine down hard on it, the recoil from the attack keeping his vine in the air. Mr. M smiled as he tossed the second one, a bit harder and higher up, yet Bulbasaur destroyed this one with ease as well. Mr. M, with a sudden change in pace, hurled the third plank, Bulbasaur reaching for it, but when it was fully extended, the plank had already reached pass his first vine and flew overhead, Bulbasaur completely caught off guard.
Saria on the other hand ran into the fence, falling onto her back again. She rubbed her face as she heard the distinctive rattling of the maracas, taunting her from behind her. She grunted, moving slowly towards the sound, when suddenly the shaking of the maracas came from her left, stopping in her tracks. She begun to realize, that it wasn’t the sound of the maracas she should be worrying about, but rather, another sound. She listened attentively, the sounds of the random shaking maracas sharp.
Finally, after what seemed to be forever, she begun to hear the pattering of feet on the floor. She dove towards it, missing her target, but smiled as the sudden movement of the maracas to her right showed her that her target was indeed where she had predicted. She got back up, slowly moving as to continue focusing on the sidle sound.
Bulbasaur struggled to his feet, the latest slash on his right side aching in pain as Sandslash returned to Mr. M’s side, having attacked Bulbasaur for missing the third, fifth, and sixth planks. Mr. M consulted, “Bulbasaur, if you intend not to get hit anymore, my suggestion would be start using both your vines. And to help with that, I’m going to do this!” He threw not one, but two planks into the air, Bulbasaur shocked at the tactic. Without thinking, he continued to use one vine, smashing the plank to his right, but when he reached for the one on the left, it was too far out of reach and landed. Sandslash charged at Bulbasaur, ramming their heads together.
He collapsed, panting heavily as Sandslash again returned to Mr. M’s side. Mr. M waited for Bulbasaur to get back on his feet, and sure enough, after a few minutes of waiting, he did. He tossed two more planks, Bulbasaur continuing to use only a single vine. However, Mr. M saw that Bulbasaur didn’t try to even break the second plank, and as Sandslash charged, Bulbasaur raised its back and fired off a few seeds, catching the Sandslash off guard and binding him with the quick vines growing from the seeds, small green spheres of energy gradually floating over to him and healing his wounds, Sandslash tiring out quickly.
Saria smiled as she knew she was getting close to Lee, having felt the rush of air pass her hand as she almost tagged him. She decided to try something new, taking a risk. She once again slowly walked, waiting for the right moment she could strike. The pattering of Lee’s feet was a strong sound for her now, having completely ignored the maracas. She heard his pattering, and she reached out, moving towards his right side. She heard the pattering move to her right, and she smiled as she bent her legs and lunged out towards the pattering, just barely grabbing hold of his left ankle.
Lee stopped moving, reached down and pulled the blindfold off, Saria looking up with a big stupid grin on her face. He helped her up, Saria asking, “You’re pretty good at this game. Is it often people catch you?” Lee shook his body, her smile remaining at his answer. She left the Octagon and headed into the main gym, seeing Bulbasaur bringing both of his vines together and destroying the last plank in the air. She looked down and saw a fainted Sandslash, bound in vines, asking, “Do I want to know what you three have been doing?”
Mr. M looked back towards her, laughing at her question, “Ah, I see you’ve caught him. I take it you didn’t listen to the maracas, did you?”
She shook her head, “No, those Maracas didn’t help.”
He smiled as he moved to the side, allowing her to pass and meet up with her Bulbasaur, “I didn’t think they would, which means your session for today is finished.”
She moved over to Bulbasaur and started to pet, but he writhed with pain at her touch. Curious, she took a second look and saw that Bulbasaur had a bump on his head. She asked, “Might I ask why my Bulbasaur had a lump on his head?”
“Well…” Mr. M begun, “Half of his training was to teach him to properly harness his Vine whip attack, which will be home work for tonight: To get him to destroy 20 planks without missing.”
“Half of his training?”
“Yes, that’s only half. The other half was to force him to use leech seed, a very helpful Grass move that allows him to bind a Pokémon up and transfer energy between the two, that energy also having healing properties. I should also note, that in order to escape from a successful leech seed attack is to recall your Pokémon.”
“Well then,” Saria said, “Then I suppose, other then homework, our session is done for today?”
“You’re correct, Saria. Tomorrow’s session will be a bit more intense, and, Shellos will be your partner for tomorrow’s session. Before you leave, make sure you get 20 planks for Bulbasaur’s homework.” Saria nodded as Mr. M lead her to the Octagon room again, showing in the opposite corner of the room, was a large stack of planks. She walked over, and having Bulbasaur help her carry them with his vine whip, left through the swooshing doors of the gym.

Chapter 10: Mr. M’s Final Exercise

The sun shined in on Saria’s face, still sleeping. She mumbled, turning over. Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide, realizing that the sun never hit her in the face in her hotel room. Panicked, she dashed out of bed and into the bathroom, jumping into the shower. Not taking any luxuries, she was out and washed almost as quickly as she got in, her hair still soaked as she went to put on her training gear.
Luckily for her, it was Sunday, which meant for her that she wouldn’t need to worry about waiting for the crossing light. As soon as it turned, she dashed towards the gym, the doors barely swooshing open as she stood in the doorway, gasping for breath. Mr. M sat in the middle of the room on a lavender pillow-mat, legs crossed, arms resting on his legs, eyes closed, breathing soundly.
Mr. M, without breaking his meditation, spoke to her, “Hello Saria.”
“Sorry I’m late! I over slept today…” Saria came in, taking her time to catch her breath.
“That is alright, Saria, I can understand; after all, it is Sunday, a day of rest.” Mr. M finally opened his eyes as she was roughly standing five feet away from him. He continued, “After much thought, I believe, depending on how today goes, I may finally allow you to battle me for my badge.”
“Really?! That’s incredible, thank you, Mr. M!” Saria was excited to hear the news, having almost forgot about her sole reason for training here.
Mr. M stood up, picking up his pillow-mat as he said, “Today’s session will be a little bit harder then what you’ve done so far; please, follow me to the Octagon room.” Saria didn’t question the request and followed. Upon entering the room, however, her jaw dropped in awe as she saw the floor of the Octagon was no longer the solid wrestling mat she had been training on, but rather, what appeared to be a large fenced sandbox.
She asked, curious, “What happened to your Octagon, Mr. M?”
Mr. M responded, Saria turning to her right and finally noticing that Mr. M had continued on and grabbed some Sparing equipment, saying, “Today’s session will be very dangerous; it’ll be a fight between Lee, and you with your Shellos.”
“What?! That’s crazy!” Saria was shocked at the task before her, subconsciously accepting the gear as Mr. M passed them to her.
“I give you this final test as a way for you to get familiar with a different terrain, as you won’t always be fighting on firm ground.” Mr. M went over to his champion’s booth, Saria stepping into the octagon after putting the gear on. The gear was bulky as well, including a headpiece, gloves, shin guards, elbow guards, and a body piece. After struggling with her pockets for a moment, she finally grabs Shellos’ Pokéball and lets her out.
Mr. M, from the booth, tossed his familiar Pokéball and unleashed Lee, who immediately upon release begun to stretch. After quickly stretching, Lee took an offensive positioning, Mr. M saying, “In order to pass this, you and your Shellos must work together to best Lee. There is no time limit, and Lee will be using all his moves at his disposal. The match begins when the bell rings.”
Saria looked down at Shellos, “Ready, buddy?” She gave a joyous cry, Saria putting her fists up. What seemed like a long moment of silence was finally broken when the bell was rang, Saria, Shellos, and Lee all approaching one another. Lee started the battle off by sweeping with his right leg. Saria, seeing this, jumped, but realized it was a bad mistake as Shellos was caught off guard and flung towards the fence. Saria cried out, “Shellos, are you alright?!”
Mr. M pointed towards her, saying, “You should be more worried about yourself, Saria…” Upon hearing that, she turned just in time to receive a kick to the left side of her face, Lee leaving his foot up as Saria fell to the ground. She got back onto her hands and knees, spitting out a bit of blood from having cut her cheek a bit. She got up, he face stinging from the pain, on the verge of tears; this was nothing like what she had done previously.
She felt a slight nudge against her left leg and looked down to see Shellos was fine, if not a little shaken from the kick herself. She put her fists, saying as the two approached Lee, “Water Pulse Attack!” Shellos didn’t waste any time and took a deep breath, spewing out rings of water towards Lee. Lee, however, saw this and stepped to his left, letting the rings pass him and shatter on the fence in front of her, getting some of the sand soaked. Saria figured he would side step and swung her right hand at him, hoping to catch him off guard, however, lee put up his arm to deflect and swung his leg.
Saria wasn’t going to get hit by it again, and jumped back, pulling back her left hand. She lunged forward with her left, Lee rolling to her left to dodge, kicking sand towards Shellos, temporally blinding it as Lee sprang from the kick and landed another blow on Saria, this time getting her in her left rib cage. She fell back to her knees, tears rolling down her eyes as she held her left side, which was writhing in pain.
Mr. M, who had closed his eyes and crossed his arms after warning her, spoke, “I know it’s painful Saria; however, now is not a time to cry. It is a time to grind your teeth, get back on your feet and press onward, studying the battle in its entirety, and discover a method that’ll allow you victory!” Saria opened her eyes, her vision blurry from her tears, looking around to see that Lee only stood there, waiting for his opponents to make a move. She turned and saw Shellos, who was using her water pulse attack on herself to clean the sand off her.
Saria got back up, asking, “Shellos, are you okay?” sighing with relief at her cry of content, Saria put her fists back up, and slowly approached Lee.
Mr. M quickly added, “Don’t forget your training, Saria. Otherwise, you’ll never win.” Saria nodded as she closed in, Lee having entered his stance once again. She took the first action again, throwing a left jab. Lee sidestepped and used the slight increase in distance to throw his left leg again. Saria saw this and caught the leg, although it still hurt her hands. However, Lee extended his leg, straightening it out, and then quickly retracting it, cuffing her hands in his leg.
Shellos saw in horror as Lee, on one leg, took this chance and attacked a defenseless Saria, a few fists to the face, a couple to the gut. Trying to think quickly, Shellos remembered that she was hit with sand earlier, blinding her. Not having much other choice, she bit into the sand, taking a large mouthful. She scurried over to Lee, who had his attention focused on the now bruised Saria.
He felt a nudge at his free leg, and looking down, his eyes grew in shock as Shellos spit the mud bomb at lee, the wet, sandy gunk covering his eyes, allowing Saria to go as he required to regain his balance. Saria fell to the ground, Shellos scurrying to her side. She nudged her, who immediately hugged her, whispering, “Thank you, Shellos. I owe you one.”
Wiping the tears from her eyes as best as she could, she approached Lee, her anger raising and threw a right punch, hitting Lee in the chest. He stumbled back a bit, quickly regaining his balance. She walked up quickly and threw a left hook, but Lee rolled out of the way, kicking sand and launching another rolling kick attack. Saria would not be caught by his leg a third time and rolled back, Lee missing. Upon finishing the roll, she dug her hands into the ground, and with a furious battle cry, lunged head first towards Lee, head butting him in the chest.
Mr. M started clapping as Lee hit the ground, saying, “Excellent, Saria! You and Shellos performed miraculously!”
She herself fell to her knees, panting heavy, crying softly as her tears rolled down her face, Shellos scurrying over to her side. In a vain attempt to speak without letting him know she was crying, said, “…It was no problem, Mr. M”
Mr. M left his booth and walked into the Arena, helping her up, wiping a tear off her face as he said with a slight chuckle, “Your strong for your age. What played in your favor was Lee making a big mistake: he forgot there was two opponents.”
She leaned on him, saying, “Thank you, Mr. M” Shellos nuzzled her leg, smiling at the affection she was receiving. Suddenly, her eyes turned to shock as she felt another hand grab her shoulder. She quickly turned to see a battered Lee, the wet, sandy gunk wiped from his eyes. He put out a hand, and Saria smiling, shook it.
Mr. M smiled, “I think your finally ready, Saria. Tomorrow, I’ll accept your Gym challenge. Until then, my advice is to rest.” Saria nodded, recalling Shellos and leaving the Octagon, heading for the locker rooms when Mr. M called out, “Oh, and Saria, one more thing.”
“Yes Mr. M?” Saria was curious as to what he wanted to add.
“The Training suit is yours to keep, a present if you will. Also, don’t worry about wearing that tomorrow, you can wear your regular clothes.” Saria smiled, immediately removing the sparing gear, wearily leaving the Gym, heading back to her hotel room to get her much needed rest.

Chapter 11: Smokestorm

Saria was having more trouble getting out of bed today, a her face and left rib cage sore from yesterday’s training, more of which she considered a beating then training. The shower didn’t help her either, each water droplet feeling like a hot burning needle was piercing her skin and stabbing her where it hurt most. After finishing, she put on her regular clothing, sighing with content she didn’t have to wear her training gear; it was, of course, heavy clothing and would have more then likely just made moving around worst.
Not in any rush, she took her time and walked out of the hotel, making her way back to Mr. M’s gym, excited despite the pain at finally getting the chance to earn her next badge. Finally making to the doors, swooshing open for her, she walked in, Mr. M once again meditating. As she approached, Mr. M spoke out without opening his eyes, “Saria, how are you holding up?”
“I’ve been better… Mr. M, I can finally Challenge you today, right?” Saria was once again no more then five feet away when Mr. M opened his eyes and got up, taking his pillow-mat with him.
“Of course, follow me to my office.” Mr. M led her through to the Octagon room, pass the ring itself to another door she had missed all the time she was here. She stepped into his office behind him, and saw that it wasn’t a very big room, about a bit smaller then her bedroom at home. As she looked around, she saw pictures of Mr. M with his Pokémon, and a metal hanging from the wall behind his desk. The metal was silver, but with a strong tint of green, with ‘5th’ shown on it.
Mr. M placed his hand on the wall closest to the back of his office, right next to the right corner and he slid the wall back, showing a small alcove, which inside held a blue teleport pad. He stepped on it, and much like with Tal, vanished in the blink of an eye. She didn’t waste any time and followed suit, being teleported to the same large gym arena as Tal’s, only his room was bare, with the exception of the battlefield. His battlefield, much to her shock, was made of dirt and sand.
Mr. M grabbed a Pokéball, saying to her, “I wish you luck, Saria, as I won’t hold back. I’ll start things off easy for you though, go, Lee!” He tossed the Pokéball, Lee taking his place as he was released.
Saria grabbed her own Pokéball, “Cyndaquil, let’s do this!” The little fire mouse cried out joyously as it took the field, Lee entering his famous battle stance. She would start the battle off, “Cyndaquil, tackle attack!”
“Lee, Meditate!” Cyndaquil cried out as it charged against Lee, who closed his eyes, relaxing, not worried as he was quickly hit by her, stepping back to maintain balance. “Lee, Bullet punch attack!” Lee nodded. Bang. Again, a sound similar to a gun shot was heard as Lee’s arm uncoiled and straightened, his fist smashing into her, knocking her back to Saria’s feet, who knelt down to see if she was okay. Lee’s arm returned and coiled as she got back up on her feet, igniting the fire on its back and letting out another battle cry, this one of pure anger.
As Lee stepped forward, Cyndaquil approached him, charging for another Tackle. However, Lee rolled out of the way, Saria smiling as she yelled, “Cyndaquil, Ember attack to retaliate!” She turned around to see Lee’s foot coming at her, and taking in a deep breathe, spewed out a fireball at Lee, nailing his foot, crouching to avoid the attack. As Lee landed, he quickly knelt for a second, his foot burnt from the fireball.
Mr. M smiled as he said, “Impressive work, Saria. However, Lee, let’s finish this with a good old Mega kick!” Lee, despite the pain, walked over to her, his right leg beginning to glow.
Saria knew what was coming, and quickly responded, “Cyndaquil, Smokescreen attack!” She put the flames on her back out, spewing a thick black cloud, covering Lee and her. Lee, not wanting to miss, brought his foot up and kicked. However, instead of hitting her, he placed his foot right above her back, upon where she ignited her flame and let it burn viciously, this proxy ember attack singeing and burning his other foot.
As he put his other foot back down, Mr. M called out, “Bullet Punch, Lee, hit her hard!” Bang. Another shot of Lee’s Bullet punch was heard, but this time, a loud poof was heard as dirt and sand flew out of the smoke cloud, Lee’s eyes widening in shock at missing his target.
Suddenly, Saria called out, “Cyndaquil, Tackle attack, now!” She nailed Lee, unsure where the attack would come from, in his back, being knocked to the ground and out of the smoke cloud, finally disbursing. Lee tried to stand back up, but the surging pain from his burnt feet left him on his knees, Mr. M recalling Lee, knowing he was done.
Mr. M took another Pokéball, saying, “I’m not surprised you beat him, but what I am surprised with is your diversion tactic. Very well played, Saria.”
“What can I say,” Saria said, “This is one of the first strategies I learned.”
“Well, if you think that’s good, then get a load of Slash!” He tossed his Pokéball, the Sandslash taking the field. Without warning, Mr. M started the new round off, “Slash, Sandstorm.” Slash raised his claws into the sky, and suddenly, a fierce wind came out of nowhere, picking up the sand from the dirt and tossing it around, hindering Saria and Cyndaquil’s vision. On top of that, the sand was pelting Cyndaquil, very slowly starting to tire her out.
Saria gave her next order, “Cyndaquil, Ember attack!” She took a deep breath, spewing out another fireball, landing a direct hit on Slash.
However, Mr. M laughed, “Saria, I never knew you were a comedian! Don’t you know? Fire types have little to no effect on Ground types, and with Sandstorm up, my Slash can shrug off anything you throw at him. Slash, time to trim her down, Slash attack now!” Slash dashed towards her, and before she could see it, Slash brought his sharp claw down on her, the force knocking her back, leaving three large white stripes on her head.
Saria, beginning to worry, said, “Cyndaquil, don’t give up! Tackle attack!”
She charged towards Slash, but Mr. M had other ideas, “Slash, time for the finisher; Dig!” Slash quickly began to hack and slash away at the ground, quickly climbing down into the hole he made, burying himself. Cyndaquil missed, stopping, standing still in wonder of where her opponent went. Suddenly, she felt the ground bulge out from under her, unable to move out of the way in time as Slash’s claws shot up from the ground, knocking Cyndaquil out cold.
Saria took her Pokéball and called her back, “Thanks Cyndaquil, you did the best you could.” She took a moment to think about what Mr. M was doing, and how to best counter Slash. She grabbed her Pokéball, and tossed it, “Shellos, time to come out!” The pinkish slug took the field, the Sandstorm still kicking around.
Mr. M shrugged, saying, “Slash, use Slash attack!”
Saria didn’t want to get Shellos hurt, “Shellos, Water pulse!” She took a deep breath as Slash dashed towards her, claw raised to strike. However, Shellos fired off its rings of water, nailing Slash and sending him back just enough to miss.
Slash was breathing heavy now, soaked from the rings. Mr. M ordered, “Dig attack, Slash, take them by surprise!” Once again, Slash dug his way underground, hiding, waiting to strike.
Saria knew this, and gave an unorthodox command, “Shellos, Water pulse all around you on the ground, now!” Shellos wouldn’t argue, and cried happily as it fired off ring after ring of water, making the dirt damp and soaked. Once again, the ground under her was bulging, but the water was making the dirt more compact, and harder to break through. She scurried off the bulge, and taking aim, fired one more water pulse at the uprising Slash, taking it out of battle, the Sandstorm finally coming to a halt as well.
Mr. M was shocked, but never the less returned Slash, quickly getting his final Pokéball, saying, “Saria, you have done well to have bested Slash, as his speed is what usually defeated his foes. However…” Mr. M smiled confidently, “I’m afraid I can’t let you win. Time to end this, Kipert!” He tossed it, and from the Pokéball came a large humanoid fish, with large fins for eyebrows and an equally large fin for his tail. It cried out, “Swampert!” Taking the field, Mr. M ordered, “I need the ground to be brittle again, so Kipert, use earthquake!” Kipert nodded, and jumped straight up, forcing himself to slam back onto the ground hard, sending shockwaves through out the dirt and breaking it up, Shellos being tossed aside like a rag doll, fainting.
Saria recalled Shellos, thanking her. She grabbed another Pokéball, “Eevee, I choose you!” The little fox came out, attempting to scare Kipert who merely laughed.
Mr. M gave his next order, “Kipert, Take down!”
“Eevee, Sand-attack!” As Kipert charged towards him, he spun around on the spot, using his tail to flick some of the sand up into Kipert’s eyes, blinding him as he tackled him straight into the ground, bruising himself in the process.
Grabbing hold of Eevee, Kipert raised his arm as Mr. M commanded, “Finish it! Hammer Arm attack!” Without hesitation, he brought a closed fist down on Eevee’s head, fainting it instantly.
Saria cried out, “Eevee, no! Return!” the red beam hit and recalled Eevee to his Pokéball, Saria grabbing her last one. She took a deep breath, saying, “Bulbasaur, it’s all up to you now.” She tossed it, the Bulbasaur taking the field in Silence.
Mr. M spoke, “I need to end this before you gain advantage; Kipert, Take down!”
Saria quickly ordered, “Bulbasaur, dodge it and use Leech Seed!” Bulbasaur nodded as Kipert charged towards him, still trying to rub the sand out of it’s eyes as Bulbasaur jumped out of the way, firing a few seeds at Kipert, which exploded into vines that wrapped around, although they were too small to bind him. As the green spheres slowly formed and went to Bulbasaur, Kipert charged at him again, determined to hit him.
Saria spoke out, “We need to keep our distance, use Vine whip!” Bulbasaur brought out its two vines, and alternating from each vine, unleashed a barrage of whippings down on the charging Kipert. The whips leaving green whiplash marks, combined with the energy lost from the Leech seed was taking its toil on Kipert, and, Just as he nailed Bulbasaur with the Take down, sending him back, Swampert collapsed, exhausted completely, unable to move.
Mr. M clapped, laughing, “Well done! Well done indeed! You have not only bested my Pokémon and me, but you have also showed that you have grown form the training. One thing I need to ask, where did you get the idea for making the ground wet?”
Saria smiled as the two of them recalled their Pokémon, “My dad, of course. He explained in one of his stories that even the environment can be used to attack a foe.”
Mr. M walked over to her, a big grin running across his face as he held out a small badge, shaped like three circles connected together, one red, one blue, and one yellow. He handed it to her, saying, “I, Mr. M, here by Congratulate Saria Violet on a well fought battle and reward you with the Unity Badge! With this badge, you can now teach Pokémon non-battle moves with the HM’s.”
Saria tilted her head, “HM’s?” She knew of TM’s, Technical Machines, but this was her first time hearing of a HM.
Mr. M explained as he pulled out a fancy disc, “HM’s are Hidden Machines, capable of teaching Pokémon valuable field moves, for getting around in this world. I present you with the first of the HM’s, HM 01: Cut.” She took the disc, placing it into her TM case. Mr. M added, “Unlike TM’s, an HM can be used for multiple times.”
Saria smiled as she put the Badge in her vest, saying, “Thank you, Mr. M!”
“Don’t worry, you’ve earned it. Now, stay out of trouble, and Good Luck with the rest of your Journey!”
“Oh, that reminds me! Mr. M, can I come back with you to Terra Firma City, please?”
Mr. M tilted his head, curious, “Why? What’s the occasion?”
Saria explained, “I was suppose to go meet Officer Jenny at the Police station, but with the Team Vengeance incident and all that Training, it slipped my mind till now.”
Mr. M smiled, saying, “Sure, I’ll even come with you.”
“Thanks, Mr. M” Saria and Mr. M stepped back onto the Teleport pad, vanishing once again, returning to Terra Firma City.

Chapter 12: Rivalry

Saria and Mr. M had conversed in small chat as they walked from his gym towards the police station, covering details about her training and how she could further improve upon herself and her Pokémon. Finally, after what seemed to be a thirty-minute walk, they arrived at the police station, the two large lamp polls near the doors, resting at the top of the stone walkway. Saria had never seen a real police station before, but she wasn’t worried, so Mr. M and her walked up the steps, entering the station.
Upon entering, Officer Jenny spoke out, “Oh, Saria, I was starting to believe you forgot about me!” She got up from the main desk in the lobby and walked towards them.
Saria scratched the back of her head, slightly embarrassed as she said, “Well, actually, I did. I was busy training under Mr. M to obtain his badge for the Pokémon League.”
“Oh, the Pokémon League? Well then, I have something even better for you.” She walked away, heading down a hall to the left. Saria looked up at Mr. M, whom looking back, only shrugged. Finally, after a few minutes of waiting, Officer Jenny returned with a mountain bike. Saria’s expression turned to shock, her jaw dropping as Officer Jenny said, “We confiscated this bike from a Team Dynamo grunt who was starting trouble with Team Vengeance. Normally, we just auction off criminals’ possessions like paintings and vehicles, but for your attempt to help me against those Vengeance hooligans, I want you to have this, as my way of saying Thank you.”
Saria was still in complete shock at hearing this, but a gentle nudge from Mr. M broke her out of it, “T-thank you, very much, Officer Jenny!” She walked over and grasped the rubber handles of the bike, her fingers sliding into the pre-made grooves with ease. The frame of the bike was a blush red, showing it had several gears on it. She looked up to Officer Jenny, asking, “Would you happen to know how to get out Terra Firma City to get to the Pokémon League Headquarters?”
Officer Jenny pointed towards the left hall, saying, “When you leave the station, just head directly east. If you stay in a straight line, you can’t miss it.”
Saria pulled the bike along side her, saying, as she was leaving, “Thank you guys!” The doors closing behind her, she lifted her bike, which was a bit heavy, quickly walking down the steps. She hopped on it, the pedals just far enough her legs fit perfectly on the bike. She begun to peddle down the road, and quickly was seeing the dome on the horizon. She continued on, and within thirty minutes, she had arrived at the dome, amazed at how quickly she got there.
Suddenly, her Pokénavi started ringing. She pulled it out, flipped it open and asked, “Hello?”
“Oh, Saria, I forgot to give you something.” It was Officer Jenny on the other end, “I’m transferring it now.” Saria started to hear some odd beeps, and pulling the Pokénavi away from her ear, she saw that a transfer was taking place; suddenly, upon completion, an odd Pokéball, all red with its usual black stripe, and a white painting of a bike on the top piece, materialized, hovering above the Pokénavi’s screen.
Saria put it back up to her ear, taking the odd Pokéball before doing so, “What’s with the Pokéball, Officer Jenny?”
She answered, “It’s actually not a Pokéball, despite design. It’s used for storing your bike when you aren’t using it. Pretty cool, huh?”
Saria smiled as she clicked the button, a blue beam hitting the bike and storing it into the Itemball, shrinking it to size and attaching it to her belt, “Yeah, Thanks again, Officer Jenny!” the two hanged up, Saria finally heading into the dome. She walked up to Nurse Joy, presenting her Pokéballs; she hadn’t had the chance to heal them since her battle with Mr. M.
As her Pokémon where healing, Nurse Joy asked, “So, how goes your adventure?”
Saria smiled, saying, “It’s going great! I already have two badges!”
“That’s wonderful! May I see them?”
Saria didn’t mind, saying, “Sure.” She opened her vest, proudly showing off her only two badges.
Nurse Joy then spoke up, “Umm… don’t you have a case to put them in?”
Saria tilted her head, asking, “A case?”
“Yes, a Trainer case, that also houses your Trainer card.” Saria shook her head, never having received one. Nurse Joy smiled, saying, “Well then, your in luck. As part of the Pokémon league’s Headquarters, I’m also charged with the task of assigning new Trainers their Trainer card and case.”
Saria asked, “Then why didn’t I get one when I first came here?”
Nurse joy scratched the back of her head in confusion, “Well that’s the odd thing, the Pokémon League mails them out to all new potential trainers, timing it so they arrive on their Birthday…” a smile becoming her, she turned to the Pc beside her, saying, “That’s alright, I’ll just check the data bank.” She did a search for Saria’s name, but after a minute of waiting, the Pc showed no matches. Nurse Joy wasn’t discouraged at all, pulling out a camera that was docked on the other side of the Pc, saying, “Since you don’t seem to be in the data base, I’ll add you. Smile for the camera.”
Saria smiled, a bright flash engulfing her face, then fading away just as quick, Saria blinking to regain her vision. Nurse Joy worked away on her entry as she re-docked the Camera, Chansey walking over to the counter and returning Saria’s Pokémon. After a minute of waiting, a loud clicking and whizzing noise could be heard, followed by a soft ping that ended the noises just as quickly. Nurse Joy reached under the counter and pulled out a small silver case, about as long as her hand completely laid flat.
Nurse joy opened it, inserting the Trainer card, and then passes the entire case, saying, “Here you go Saria.”
Saria smiled as she transferred her badges, “Why thank you, Nurse Joy!” She put the case in a pocket on the inside of her vest anyway, although having a trainer card made her smile.
Nurse joy pointed behind her with her thumb, “After seeing your badges, my recommendation for where you should go next would be to Mallua town.” Saria didn’t waste any time and rushed for the north dome exit, calling back to her and thanking her once again. Upon heading outside, she pulled the Itemball off her belt and tossed it, her bike standing on its leg as the Itemball returned to her. She hopped onto her bike and pedaled, following her Pokénavi carefully.
The trip took her most of the rest of the day, the sun starting to slowly set as she arrived to Mallua village. As she put her bike away she felt she had stepped into a movie, as the building for Mallua town where like those found in old feudal Japan, the people out walking around wearing clothing of that time period. She walked through town, seeing a small tower near the northwest section of town. However, she would soon come to a halt as she saw a familiar person, wearing army boots, jungle cargo pants, and a leather jacket over a red T-shirt. Her expression turned to anger as Jake pulled out a Pokéball, yelling out, “I was wondering when I’d get to battle you.”
Saria pulled out her own Pokéball, saying, “Jake, what are you doing here?!”
“Same reason as you.” He pulled out his own trainer case and showed he had already won four badges. They were badges she had never seen before as he closed it, saying, “I just won my badge from here, so I was on my way out, when lo and behold, I stumble into you.”
Saria, despite her anger, could only form a smile on her face as she said, “If your looking for a battle, then you’ve found one, Jake!”
Jake chuckled as she said that. He responded, “You, battle me? I find that hard to believe, but all right, I’ll set the rules: one on one, one Pokémon only. If you can win, then I’ll take back everything I’d said about you, and even tell you how to beat the Gym Leader here.”
Saria nodded, “Go, Eevee!” As she tossed the Pokéball, Eevee came out and took an offensive stance, staring down Jake as best he could. Jake begun to laugh as Saria called out, “What’s so funny?!”
Jake gently tossed his Pokéball up into the air, saving as he caught it, “The fact that you sent out an un-evolved Pokémon against me, and a weak one at that! This will be over quick, I promise you that. Go!” He tossed his Pokéball, appearing from it was a large panther like Pokémon, towering in size compared to Eevee, a black blade prodding from the right side of its head, white hair stroked downward on its left side, its fur all white, paws black.
Saria made the first move, “Eevee, Tackle attack!” He charged at his large foe, nailing him dead on. However, his foe merely laughed as he bounced off of him, the size difference obviously playing a big factor.
Jake laughed again, saying, “Wow, you really must be getting by on sheer luck, as any other Pokémon of equal strength to Absol should have moved him, even at a third his size.” His expression and tone quickly became serious, “Absol, prepare yourself!” It nodded at the command, the air around Absol starting to pick up and swirl. Eevee got back up and tried to Tackle it again, but again, it merely bounced off him. Jake cried out, “Absol, Razor Wind!”
Absol rolled its head counter-clockwise, flicking it down hard as those swinging with the blade on its head, all the wind swirling around it formed and shot off the blade, flying towards Eevee and smashing into him, propelling him all the way back to Saria’s feet. She didn’t say anything as Jake recalled Absol, saying, “Just as I thought.” He started walking towards the exit to town, saying as he passed her, “You better hope we don’t meet again… Rookie.”
She turned to Jake who continued to walk away, about to say something, but was cut off by a young woman’s voice, “Don’t bother, Saria.” She turned around to see a young woman, obviously a priestess, standing where Jake had stood during their battle. She introduced herself, “I am the Priestess and Gym leader of Mallua town, Hinata.”
Saria gave a slight bow, saying, “I am S—”
“Saria Violet, from Freshdew town. I have been awaiting for your arrival.”
“How the hell did you know that?” Saria was slightly shaken from that.
“I know many things, my dear. However, you seem you could use some sleep, as it is near nightfall and you have been traveling all day.” Saria didn’t want to even try and argue that fact. Hinata smiled, “Good. Then come, I’ve prepared a room for you back at the temple.” The two of them walked towards the Tower, Saria knowing that when morning came, she would demand some answers as to what was going on.

Chapter 13: The Invitation

It was a beautiful morning, the sun rising on the horizon, casting back the darkness of the night. The light poured on to the land, and in through a window. The room was lit up a bit, and a girl lay in bed, soundly asleep. Suddenly, a woman’s voice could be heard outside the room, “Saria, Time to get up! You don’t want to be late.”
Saria mumbled, “Hmm… five more minutes’ mom…” she rolled over, continuing to sleep. Suddenly, the tip of tail, yellow with a black tip and in the shape of a lightning bolt, gently touch Saria’s cheek and sent electricity through her body. She locked up, shaking, finally relaxing as it ended, fully awake now. She looked over the side of her bed to see the little yellow mouse, with bright red cheeks, acting cute. She sighed, saying with a hint of happiness, “Good morning, Pika.”
A knocking soon came to the door, Saria’s mother speaking, “Saria, It’s your father’s birthday, so please get dressed and hurry on down stairs.”
“Yes mom, give me a few minutes.” She sat up and hopped out of bed, bending over and pushing Pika to the door, saying as she opened it and pushed him out, “A girl needs her privacy to change.” Before Pika could protest, she shut the door. She walked over to her dresser, her expression of happiness gone, consumed with only confusion, “Was it all just a dream? Last I remember I was sleeping in Mallua Tower as a Guest of Hinata’s.”
She shook her head as she opened up her dresser door, but was quickly shocked to see it empty. She pulled open another one, again the same result. She began to frantically pull out her dressers, screaming, “Mom, where are my clothing!”
“Check the closet, dear.” Saria ran over to her closet and opened it, and was completely baffled; the only piece of clothing in her closet was a beautiful white dress with long sleeves and a skirt all the way to the floor, a bright green broche just below the neck, baby blue hi-heel slippers, and a silk veil, adorned with small jewels of all different colors. Knowing this couldn’t be hers, she gave herself a slap to the left side of her face, immediately falling over, writhing with pain; if this was a dream, she should have woken up from that. Taking a moment to regain herself, she undressed from her pajamas and changed into the dress, feeling slightly embraced.
She finally left her room, and headed down the stairs, lifting the front of her dress slightly so she wouldn’t trip over it. As she made it to the bottom of the stairs, her father greeted her, “Good morning Saria. I take it form the thumping Pikachu shocked you again?”
Saria nodded, saying, “Happy Birthday Dad, and yes, Pika shocked me again.”
“Pikachu, you should know better then to do that.”
Pika protested, “Pi, pika pi.”
Saria’s father sighed, “I suppose your right…”
Just then Saria’s mother came in from the kitchen, bringing sausages and a newspaper, saying, “Ash, you know very well that Pika shocked you too when you wouldn’t get up at home.”
Before Ash could retort, Saria asked, “Umm… neither of you care that I’m wearing a dress?”
Saria’s mother and Ash looked at each other, confused. Ash responded as he took the newspaper, “Why should we? You always wear that.” He looked at the front page, his state of confusion replaced with a hint of sadness, “Oh dear… That Utopian Crusader fel—”
Saria interrupted him, “Utopian Defender, Dad.”
“Right, Utopian Defender. Anyway, says here he was found dead last night, the cause of death seems to have been a large stab wound in his shoulder, but blood tests show the weapon in question was coated in poison, which was the true cause for his death.”
Saria frowned at the news, but before she could further develop any feelings of mourning, the doorbell rang. Needing to get that news off her mind, she hurried to the door, “I’ll get it!” She opened the door, and instantly lost any feelings of depression she was having as she saw Jake, wearing a formal Tuxedo, black dress shoes, a black bowtie, and his hair slicked back, as though he was a super spy from a movie.
Saria immediately spoke, “What the hell are you doing here, Jake?!”
Jake took a step back, saying, “What gives, Saria? Are you feeling okay, you normally aren’t this grouchy.” Saria attempted to respond when the thought hit her: normally not this grouchy? Does this mean Jake and me are actually… friends? Before she could respond, Jake continued, “In any case, Professor Oak wants us to meet him.”
“Why is that, Jake?”
“Apparently, he’s got big news to tell us.”
“I wish I could go, but it’s my Dad’s Bi—”
Before she could finish, she felt a small tug on the side of her dress, looking down to see Pika. She then heard her father, “Don’t worry about me, I have special plans with your Mother tonight. Isn’t that right, Misty?” Misty turned her head away slightly, not responding to the question but blushing a deep crimson red. Ash continued, “Pikachu, you look after her, alright?”
“Pika, Pikachu!” Without another word, Jake grabbed Saria’s hand and pulled her along, Pika in casual pursuit, the three of them quickly arriving at Professor Oak’s Lab.
Saria broke her hand free of Jake’s grasp as they got there, Professor Oak exclaiming with sheer joy, “You two are so lucky!”
Saria asked, “Why is that, Professor?”
“Because, today confirms a rumor that has been going around Islet Mungo: there is indeed a Champion of the Pokémon League for Islet Mungo. What’s more, he’s invited the two of you to have a meeting with the champ.”
Saria and Jake were taken back by surprise, Jake saying, “That’s incredible!”
Professor Oak continued, “Yes, and as such, the Champion has arranged transportation for you. I think it should have arrived by now.” Saria and Jake looked at each other, and then proceeded to leave, only to see, once they got outside, a cybernetic chariot with no wheels being pulled by two flaming unicorns, Rapidash, and a black cloaked figure at the reins. Professor Oak spoke up, “Ah, Jimmy, right on time, as usual.”
The figure didn’t say anything, but nodded to respond. Professor Oak opened the chariot door, Pika being the first to enter. Saria, seeing Pika calm about it all, followed suit and entered, followed quickly by Jake, whom closed the door behind him. Shortly after the three of them took their seats, the chariot was hit by a single hard tug before they started moving at a smooth pace. They sat in silence, Saria unsure of what was really happening. Suddenly, they jerked to a halt, the Rapidash neighing in fright. Taking action, Saria opened the chariot door and leaped outside, only to see seven, dark purple-cloaked figures standing in front of their ride.
Saria spoke, “Are you guys stupid or something? You could have been killed, standing in the middle of the road like that!”
The figure in the center, speaking in a monotone voice, sending shivers down her neck, spoke, “We are the seven who serve the Keeper. We have been waiting for you.” Suddenly, Pika jumped out of the chariot onto Saria’s shoulder, and from there leaped out in front of the Rapidash, staring down the cloaked figures. A moment of silence occurred. Finally, the three figures on each side of the center figure moved off to the side of the road, the center figure speaking, “So be it, you have been chosen. We will meet again, rest assured of that… Violet.” Suddenly, all at once, all seven cloaks fell, as though they were merely held up by a few fingers and collapsed onto themselves.
Pika proudly walked back to the chariot, Saria following as she questioned herself on who those seven figures could be. Again the chariot was hit by a hard tug before moving into a smooth pace of speed. Again, silence befell the inside of the chariot, Saria completely confused and baffled by the day’s events: just what the hell is going on, Saria thought to herself. Before she could ponder the thought any further, the chariot slowed down to a gentle stop, hinting that they must of arrived.
Jake was the first to exit, followed by Saria, finally Pika. Before any of them could close the chariot door, Jimmy flicked the reins and drove off, heading off into the horizon. The three of them looked up at the familiar dome, Jake finally breaking away form the looking and opened the main entrance, the inside of the dome completely changed; all that was inside was a descending staircase. Jake waved his hand, saying, “Pika, would you care to take lead?”
Pika nodded, “Pikachu.” Pika lead Saria, followed by Jake, down the surprising long flight of stairs, all light being cut off as the door was shut behind them. After a few minutes in the dark, another light, although weak, shined at the bottom of the stairs. As they approached, it grew brighter, despite still being weak. After finally making it to the bottom, they appeared in what appeared to be a large throne room. Before they could take in the sight for all its worth, the clattering of metal could be heard. They looked down the room to see, raising from a throne was a person who was dressed as a Black knight in full armor, a black cape with crimson red trimming, and instead of a sword at their side was a master ball.
The three of them carefully approached the figure, but as soon as they were ten feet away form the stairs, a large stone slab fell, locking them in the throne room. Scared at the events unfolding, the three of them looked to the Black Knight who was slowly approaching, just stopping short after moving ten feet from the throne. Jake swallowed his fears and took lead, asking, “Are you the champion?”
The knight grabbed his master ball like a sword pulled it, throwing it at the highest point of unsheathing, and from the master ball’s flash came a silver laser, which shot Jake in the center of his chest, flinging him back up against the stone slab, Saria gasping in shock at the sudden attack. She looked back to see that the knight was using a completely new Pokémon: It’s color red with orange-yellow trimming, the feet of a large chicken, with a human like right arm, but with an eagle like talon and mounted cannon, a large lance like stinger for a left arm, two large red wings with three equally large white wings under the red ones, fluffy cloud like ears, and a smooth oval head with bright blue eyes.
Saria took a step back, completely terrified of what was happening. Suddenly, the unknown creature lunged at her, Stinger thrusting towards her. She shrieked, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to get out of the way in time, fear freezing her in place. Just then, Pika spoke out, “Saria, use Protect!” She didn’t think twice, throwing her arms up to protect her, turning her head away, eyes closed, as a blue transparent barrier formed in front of her, repelling the creature’s attack.
Saria opened her eyes as she saw she was fine, the creature returning to its starting point. She then asked, “Pika, you can talk?!”
Pika replied, “Yes, but right now, there is more pressing matters.” He scurried in front of her, saying, “Come on, you’ve heard how well I’ve battled, so let’s put this reject away!”
Saria’s fear was quickly fading, her fist clenching, saying, “Pika, Flash!” Pika tensed up for a moment, a bright white flash of light pouring into the room, blinding the Knight and the unknown creature.
Pika called out, “Now, while there’s an opening!”
“Pika, Volt Tackle attack!” He charged towards the creature, quickly being engulfed by a dense sphere of pure electricity, ramming into the creature, sending it back into the Knight, destroying them both instantly without trace. Saria sighed with relief, turning back and running to Jake. As she knelt down and tried to tend to Jake, he vanished, along with the throne room, leaving her and Pika in a dark abyss. She screamed, completely frustrated now, “Just what the hell is going on!” She then broke down, crying, feeling defeated.
Pika walked up to her and nuzzled against her, saying, “This was all only a dream, Saria, and you’ll wake up soon.”
She looked to Pika, confused, trying to speak, despite her sobbing, “A d-dream? How th-though? I slapped my s-self and didn’t wake up.”
“Of course, I’m blame for that, but…”
She sniffled, “But what?”
Pika turned away, “I… I have to leave, now. This is Good-bye, Saria.”
Saria screamed, “No! You can’t leave! Not again!…” Tears begun to roll down her cheek without rest now, grabbing hold of Pika and holding him tightly against her. Pika waited for her to calm down a bit before using his tail to wipe some of the tears away.
He spoke as he slipped through her arms, being transparent now, “Do not mourn for me, Saria, for I finally have no regrets now. Remember that I will always be watching over you, whether you realize it or not.” Pika faded, Saria left alone in the dark abyss.
Suddenly, Saria sat straight up in bed, screaming, “No!” She stopped, realizing that it was just a dream. She wiped her face and saw she was indeed crying. She looked back at her pillows, completely wet from her tears.
Just then, Hinata spoke from the entrance of the guest room, “So, did he finally get to say Good-bye to you?”

Chapter 14: Spiritual Bond

Saria yelled at Hinata, “How the hell did you know that?! Who are you!?”
Hinata gave a soft, calming smile as she answered, “As you already know, I am the Priestess and Gym Leader of Mallua Town. What you are unaware of is my… gift.”
Saria tilted her head in confusion, still rather upset from her dream, “Gift?”
Hinata nodded, “Yes, my gift. You see…” Suddenly, a Gastly flew in through the wall opposite of Saria, coming to the side of Hinata.
Saria yelped, “Ah! A ghost!”
Hinata petted the Gastly, saying, “My gift allows me to communicate with the dead; I can see, touch, and understand ghosts.”
Saria pointed out, “If that’s true, then why can I see that, whatever it is.”
“You can see Gastly because it chooses to let you. However, I should note, what you consider to be a Ghost type Pokémon, aren’t real ghosts, so to speak.”
Again, Saria tilted her head, having calmed down, and was now in a confused state, “What do you mean?”
Hinata explained, “When a Pokémon dies, all the negative energy caused from battles or committing sins leaves their souls, building up and taking form, which is what causes the birth of wild ghost types. When a ghost type dies, all that negative energy is dispersed, allowing both the first deceased Pokémon and newly deceased ghost type to leave this world.”
Saria let her head hang loose for a moment, looking down at her lap, saying, “So, even after Pika’s death… he never really left?”
Hinata nodded, “However, not all Pokémon leave for the next world once their ghost type counter part has died. Some Pokémon choose to stay, each with its own reason. Pika was one of them who chose to stay here. Even now I see him.”
Saria brought her head up, anger suddenly taking her. She hopped out of bed, charging at Hinata, swinging her fist, “Stop lying to me!” Hinata took a step back, Gastly floating between them. Saria’s fist connected with Gastly, dispersing it. Saria, in complete shock, slumped down onto her knees, saying very faintly like, “My god… I killed it…”
Hinata shook her head, her calming smile still on her face, “No you haven’t, Saria, look.” Saria looked up and saw the gas that once was Gastly swirl and reform into its dark sphere, Gastly opening its eyes. Hinata continued, “Ghost types can’t be harmed by physical means.”
Saria hanged her head again, beginning to softly cry. Pika’s death was a very emotional subject for her, something that would haunt her life, and having dealt with his death a second time only made it worst. Through her tears she felt a warm sensation on her right cheek, but knew nothing was touching her, and that her tears were causing it.
Hinata begun to leave the room, saying, “Get dressed, Saria.”
Saria, wiping her tears away, sniffling, asked, “Why?” She turned to look through the window that was above her bed and saw that the moon was still high in the sky, “It’s still night time though.”
Hinata looked back, her smile having never left her face, “I know why you came here, and I accept your challenge. After all, it was Pika who told me all about you.” Before Saria could register that remark, Hinata left, closing the door behind her. Completely distraught, she slammed her fist onto the floor, letting out the longest scream of anger she could muster. Saria got up, attempting to regain her cool, went over to her backpack and started to pull out her clothing, when she grabbed her TM case. She stared at it, remembering all that happened to her ever since she left Freshdew town. She set the Tm case aside, getting dressed.
It would be an hour before Saria left the Tower, having followed arrows left by Hinata. See looked around, the moonlight illuminating the town. She walked around for a bit, curious as to where Hinata could be. Suddenly, from behind her, Hinata spoke, “Are you calm now?”
Saria turned around to see Hinata standing exactly where Jake stood earlier that day. She nodded, saying, “Yes, I’m feeling a bit better, but still a bit upset from what happened.”
Hinata nodded, saying, “I must confess, I have an unfair advantage against you, since I am able to communicate with the dead, I have come to learn you are an exceptional Trainer. If you were to use all four of the Pokémon you have with you, I would surely lose. As such, I wish to set a restriction on the two of us: We will only be allowed to use two Pokémon each, one on one. Does that sound fair to you?”
Saria nodded, saying, “Of course. You are the Gym leader; it’s your choice. But I only have one question.”
“What would that be?”
“Why aren’t we battling in your arena?”
Hinata giggled, saying, “I only use that for challenges made in the day. At night, I enjoy battling outdoors, regardless if the moon is out or not.” She reached into her white Gi top, pulling out two Pokéballs, saying, “Now then, when you have selected your two Pokémon, we will begin.”
Saria took all four Pokéballs she had, and looked at them, thinking. After a moment, she put two of them back, saying, “I’ve made my choice. Let’s Battle!” Hinata nodded, and both of them tossed their first Pokéball. Hinata choose to release a Gastly as her first one, Saria choosing Cyndaquil. Cyndaquil cried out, igniting the flames on its back, taking an offensive stand, Gastly staring it down while floating.
Saria pointed towards Gastly, “Cyndaquil, Ember attack!”
Hinata calmly gave her command, “Gastly, Sucker punch.” As Cyndaquil took a deep breath, Gastly charged at her, closing its eyes and reshaping itself into a dark, closed fist, upper cutting her in the chin, prematurely spewing her fireball out and barely hitting her foe, landing on her back and rolling back to Saria’s feet, the flame on her back not going out by sheer will power and anger. Saria noticed this of her, thinking of how she could put it to use. Hinata spoke, “I know how dangerous Fire type Pokémon are. You made the same mistake as Jake Berial did.”
Saria smiled, saying, “Yeah, well, I’m sure you fainted his Fire type, didn’t you?”
Hinata nodded, saying, “Indeed, and now I shall do the same to you; Gastly, Sucker Punch.”
As Gastly charged towards Cyndaquil, Saria smiled, saying, “Cyndaquil, smokescreen attack!” She put her flames out, spewing out a black thick cloud of smoke, aiming it at the approaching Gastly. However, upon touching the smoke, the Gastly stopped charging, suddenly becoming confused. Hinata, however, was unmoved by these events. Saria gave her next command, “Cyndaquil, Flame wheel!” She cried out, charging towards her foe, once again igniting the flames on her back. As she approached, Gastly saw the faint light of the flame, and charged towards it.
However, Cyndaquil leap up into the air, curling herself into a ball and spinning herself forward, fast enough for the flames on her back to completely consume her, approaching Gastly faster then it expected, Gastly unable to complete its attack before being hit hard by Cyndaquil, knocking it out of the air and onto the ground, a few feet away from Hinata, having fainted from the critical blow.
Hinata silently recalled her Gastly, her smile unbroken. She spoke, “As expected, I knew you would find a way to beat my Sucker Punch strategy. Pika was right; you are an exceptional Trainer. However, now to really test you; go, Mismagius.” She tossed her second Pokéball, a dark witch like figure without arms or legs appeared floating in front of Hinata. She continued, “Unlike Jake Berial, I never used Mismagius against him. I should also point out, no trainer who has faced Mismagius has ever beaten it.”
Saria smiled, saying, “Then I suppose I get to be the first. Cyndaquil, Flame wheel!” Cyndaquil cried out again and charged at her foe.
Hinata was unmoved and gave her next command, “Double team.” Mismagius then suddenly split into seven copies of itself, Cyndaquil smashing into a fake and dispersing it. Mismagius surrounded Cyndaquil, who was confused at why there were so many of them.
Saria quickly shouted, “Cyndaquil, smokescreen attack!”
Hinata shook her head, saying, “Mismagius, Finish this; Shadow Ball!” The six remaining Mismagius started to gather particles of dark, purple like energy, Cyndaquil putting out her flames. Suddenly, all six fired a concentrated sphere of dark purple energy at her, pain surging through her, causing her to faint, Mismagius’ double team finishing, revealing that it was behind her.
Saria spoke, “Cyndaquil, Return!” As she returned to her Pokéball, Saria held up her second one, grasping it tightly. She tossed it, not saying anything as Eevee came out, letting out a joyous cry.
Hinata giggled, saying, “I’m disappointed in you, Saria. I would have thought you would have known that Ghosts couldn’t be harmed by physical means. Mismagius, Mean look.” Mismagius’ eyes had a glare to them, Eevee enraged, no longer caring what happened.
Saria gave her order, “Eevee, Sand attack!” Eevee spun around on the spot, flicking his tail and kicking up dirt, a small cloud hovering in front of Mismagius’ eyes.
Hinata commented, “I see you continue to use the same strategy, but it won’t work, as you can’t harm Mismagius. Mismagius, use Psywave.” It relaxed, pinkish-purple rings emitting from its head and, like an ocean wave, hit Eevee, trapping it in varying pain. Saria closed her eyes, smiling. Hinata asked with a giggle, “What’s the matter, giving up?”
Saria shook her head, opening her eyes, “No, I’ve won.” Hinata was curious as to what she meant, when Saria spoke, “Eevee, let’s show her what we’re made of!” He nodded slowly, flexing to break free of the Psywave’s hold when it was weakest, and begun to gather particles of dark, purple energy in a relaxed state. Hinata’s eyes widened, her smile finally gone and replaced with an expression of true shock, knowing exactly what was about to happen.
Saria pointed towards the Mismagius, whom after having its Psywave broken free, was shaking in place to disperse the dirt cloud. She yelled, “Eevee, Shadow Ball attack!” Eevee slowly brought its head back, and then suddenly snapped it down, his whole body tensing up as he unleashed the concentrated sphere of dark purple energy. Mismagius finally shook the cloud away, only to be horrified at seeing the sphere rapidly approach it. There was no mistaking it: the attack hit, a deep booming sound could be heard as the result, knocking Mismagius’ hat off and sending it to the ground.
Hinata was lost for words as Saria walked over and cuddled Eevee, saying to him, “We did it, Eevee, we won!”
Finally, Hinata spoke, her expression of shock remaining, “…How? How did your Eevee know that attack?”
Saria pulled out of her pocket fragments of what appeared to have been a CD, saying, “There will be certain enemies who you can’t defeat through Physical means. If you hadn’t reminded me about that one fact, I would have never bothered to teach Eevee Shadow ball. That’s why you were waiting for so long; I took the time you gave me to change to teach Eevee that move.”
Hinata’s shock faded and was quickly replaced with her familiar, calm smile. She silently recalled her Mismagius as she walked over to Saria, saying, “Pika was right, you are an exceptional Trainer. I know you will go far.” She reached back into her Gi top, and pulled out two things: her badge, and what appears to be a necklace, with a round pendant, a web of string strung through it, having attached to the bottom of the pendant eight long white pieces of string, fluffed out like a tail.
As Saria took her prizes, she asked, “What’s with the necklace?”
Hinata answered, “It is a Spirit catcher. I know how painful it is to lose a loved one, but as long as you wear that, you’ll be able to feel their presence, however faint it may be. It is my gift to you, Saria, I would hope your journey takes you and Pika to many places.” She looked down, passed Saria and Eevee, as though looking at something, although nothing was there. She continued to speak, but it was obvious it was not to her, “I have experienced first hand what his daughter can do. You will continue to fulfill his final command, I take it?” There was a silence, finally Hinata finished, “Good. Then I will pray for you. For you, and Saria.”
Saria recalled her Eevee, asking, “Was that…”
“Yes, it was Pika. He says he is very proud of you.” Saria started to tear up, but felt her right leg tingle warmly, as though she was being tugged on. Her reaction caused her to look down, but of course, she didn’t see anything. She wiped the tear from her eye as Hinata told her, “Spend the rest of the night at the Tower. When you get back up, use the Teleport under your bed to reach my arena and leave the Pokémon Dome.”
As they walked back to the Tower, she whispered quietly, “Thank you, Pika.”

Chapter 15: Joyful Revenge

Saria stepped through the teleporter, yawning from a slight lack of sleep. Rubbing her face as she walked through the gym arena doors, she proceeded to Nurse Joy’s stand, asking as she presented her Pokéballs, “Whom would you recommend I should battle next?”
Nurse Joy handed the Pokéballs to Chansey, saying, “I’m not quite sure. However, your timing is perfect, as I need to ask a favor of you.”
Saria tilted her head, “A favor?”
She nodded, holding up a letter, “Yes, a favor. You see, I need to deliver this letter to my Sister in the port town, Ardougne, but the post master takes his time delivering letters, and I need this sent to her today, not in a week. So, could you help me out, please?”
Saria took the letter, saying as she placed it in her backpack, “I can do that no problem for you, Nurse Joy.”
Nurse Joy smiled widely, saying as Chansey handed her back Saria’s Pokéballs, “Thank you so much! Just follow the main road to the east, and don’t take any turns, and you should get there pretty quickly.” Saria nodded as she grabbed her Itemball and run towards the eastern exit, tossing it as the doors swooshed open, her bike standing before her outside.
She hopped onto her bike and pedaled, a gently breeze cooling her. It wasn’t long before she realized that the road was completely straight, which gave her a smile, as she pedaled as hard as she could until she tuckered out, and then just glide down the road for the rest of the trip. She took the time she was gliding to see the scenery, and was amazed at all the different sorts of Pokémon; Butterfree and Beautifly playing together, Machop sparring with one another while being supervised by an older Machoke, and a group of Diglett singing together, although Saria giggled at the fact they could only say their name over and over.
Finally, in the distance was the port town, Ardougne. She could see several ships, one of which was a large cargo ship, where a gigantic yellow crane was lifting long, metal, rectangular boxes of different colors onto the Cargo ship. As she got closer, she could start to smell the salty air that was rising from the sea, flocks of Wingull flying high above the sailors that littered the loading docks and boardwalk. She started to gain speed when she realized she was on a slight hill, as she looked down and saw at the foot of the hill, and greeting her into Ardougne was the Pokémon center.
She didn’t want to rush herself, and not wanting to crash, she pulled on her breaks carefully, and came to a gentle halt, roughly fifteen feet away from the main entrance. She recalled her bike and walked towards the door, but as soon as she got within five feet, the door begun to swoosh open, someone else coming out of the building. Before she could react, two Team Dynamo grunts came rushing out the door, the first one pushing her aside, knocking her to the ground as, it was a familiar male, said, “Stay out of our way!” She looked in awe at the scene developing, the second grunt carrying something, wrapped in a black cloth.
As she got up and started to dust herself off, Nurse Joy came rushing out the doors, yelling, “Come back here, you thieves!”
Saria asked, “Nurse joy, what happened?”
She sighed, holding her chin with her left hand, “it’s awful, those two goons came in just as we were transferring some Pokémon eggs from the nursery to the shipping courtiers, and they managed to steal one of the eggs!”
Sarah was shocked, saying as she turned her gaze at the fleeing Grunts, “What?!”
She nodded, “Worst yet, in the confusion of the matter, our records of what each egg was suppose to hatch was scrambled, so we don’t know what was stolen.”
Saria had heard enough, dashing off to chase them, yelling back, “Don’t worry, I’ll get the egg back to you no problem!” Her training was paying off, as she was gaining on the grunts. The grunt holding the egg looked back and saw they were being chased, and said something to the grunt in front, although Saria was too far back to hear. They run onto a busy street, hoping to lose her, however, by doing so they gave her enough time to catch up and keep a steady eye on them; their uniform gave them away pretty easily.
It would only be a matter of minutes before they would arrive to an abandoned warehouse, Saria in hot pursuit. As she entered the door, she heard another familiar voice, “What the hell took you two so long? You where suppose to grab at least three eggs apiece, and be done within an hour!”
The grunt that had pushed her down responded, “Sorry, Jason, we ran into some unexpected trouble, in addition to getting chased down by some girl.”
Saria’s expression turned to anger, as she realized exactly whom all three of those grunts where: they were Jason, Diaruga and Arsalan, the Dynamo Trio. She stepped forward, taking hold of a Pokéball, yelling, “How dare you! First you attack a defenseless wild Pokémon, then you destroy the home of a Gym leader, and now you’re stealing Pokémon eggs! I won’t stand for it!”
Arsalan turned around, who was holding the egg, saying, “Well, well, well, look who was chasing us! It’s that little girl who humiliated the three of us!” He put the egg down on a crate, saying as he reached for a Pokéball, “I’ve been waiting to get back at you, brat!”
Suddenly, Jason held a hand up, Arsalan and Diaruga halting, Jason saying calmly, “Boys, get the egg to the boss. I’ll deal with her.” He snapped his fingers, and a large section of the floor between Saria and he opened up, revealing a pool. He grabbed a Pokéball, saying as Arsalan picked up the egg and both Diaruga and he left through another door behind him, “I would think by now you’ve gotten better, but I’ll give you a heads up; you’re on my space now, and I rule the battlefield. Go, Relicanth!” He tossed his Pokéball, a shiny blue fish with light brown spots and a light brown hat dived into the pool.
Saria switched Pokéballs, saying, “If you want a water battle, then a water battle you’ll get, scum! Shellos, Go!” She tossed her Pokéball, Shellos diving into the water in front of her.
Jason laughed, “Ha! You use a weak Shellos against my shiny Relicanth? Oh how much fun this is going to be! Relicanth, take down attack!”
“Shellos, Mud bomb!” As the opposing Relicanth charged towards Shellos, it took a deep breath and spewed out a large clear brown sphere, landing a direct hit on the Relicanth, blinding it slightly, just enough for Shellos to swim out of the way, Relicanth bumping into the wall, the pressure making the water raise up and splash all over Saria. Saria shook herself, “Damn it, I’m soaked!”
Jason smiled wickedly, “Aw, poor baby, all soaked and no way to dry off. Well, drying off is the least of your worries; Relicanth, Harden!” Suddenly, the Relicanth gave off a silver sheen, and the mud that covered its face slipped off and broke into nothing, floating harmlessly. It charged at Shellos again, who fired off another mud bomb, and although landing a direct attack, it broke through it with ease and smashed into Shellos, the two of them floating there, Relicanth tired and sinking, Shellos battered and raising.
Saria cried out, “Shellos! Don’t give in! We have to win, we have to!”
Jason mocked her, “Oh, shellos, stop him, we must!”
“Shut up!”
“Ha, never. I told you that Shellos was weak! Relicanth, Head smash!”
Saria looked towards Shellos, “Shellos, watch out!” she looked down at her foe, who was swimming back to gain ramming speed. She closed her eyes, and suddenly, small particles of light, tanned light started to gather to her, being absorbed. Her foe charged at her, like a rocket, aiming to take her out. Her body begun to glow the same light tan, then suddenly, at the moment of impact from Relicanth, she released the energy, sending Relicanth and herself in opposite directions, slamming into the walls opposite of their trainers, both having fainted, the pressure from the attack making the water raise again and splash them both.
Both Saria and Jason looked down into the water and saw neither of them moving. They each recalled their Pokémon, Jason saying, “I’m surprised, actually. Not many people beat Relicanth.”
Saria begun to walk around the pool, saying, “I said we needed to win, and we did just that. Now then, I’m going after that egg.”
Jason stepped in front of her, saying, “It was a double KO, but more importantly, I can’t let you interfere!”
Saria didn’t stop, as she grabbed Jason by the collar of his sweater, and hauling off her fist, smashed him in the face with a right hook, letting go of his sweater to let him land in the water, saying, “I’m not normally a violent person. However, I cannot stand scum like you!” She walked on confidently as Jason resurfaced, rubbing his face as it tingled warmly, watching her go through the door toward his colleagues.

Chapter 16: Grunt Master Ganon

Saria stepped through the door, her cloths completely soaked and dripping. She saw Diaruga and Arsalan guarding the egg, which was sitting on a pedestal. She took a Pokéball, saying, “I’ll only ask once; return the egg.”
Arsalan smiled as both Diaruga and himself grabbed their Pokéballs, saying, “I knew Jason was too weak! Why he was put in charge of this operation, I may never understand. What I do understand, however, is that I’ll be getting my Revenge on you!”
Diaruga added, “Yeah, and you insulted my Shinx! You’ll pay dearly! Go, Tangela!”
“Lickitung, come out!” The two of them tossed their Pokéballs, a small bundle of vines with feet and eyes stood before Diaruga, and a large lizard with an equally large tongue stood before Arsalan.
Saria grabbed another Pokéball, and tossed the both of them, “Bulbasaur, Eevee, let’s go to work, boys!”
As her Pokémon took the floor, Arsalan took the first move, “Lickitung, Screech!” The Lickitung gave out a high-pitched screech, Saria being forced to cover her ears, as Eevee and Bulbasaur were forced to suffer.
Diaruga took the next move, “Tangela, growth!” Suddenly, Tangela started to breath deeply, with each intake getting bigger.
Saria regained her poseur, saying, “Eevee, sand attack!” He spun on place, flicking his tail and kicking up dirt and dust that was on the floor and spraying it at Lickitung, but his foe lifted his tongue and blocked the attack. However, Lickitung started to gag on the dirt and dust, and Saria didn’t waste any time, “Bulbasaur, leech seed!” Without another word, he raised his back, and fired several seeds at Lickitung, binding tightly to his limbs.
Arsalan laughed it off, “You expect those to harm us? Lickitung, Slam!” Lickitung scurried over to Eevee and brought its tongue down hard on him, slamming him into the ground, Eevee crying in pain.
Diaruga pointed at Bulbasaur, “Tangela, bind attack!” Tangela unleashed some of the vines from its body and quickly wrapped around Bulbasaur, squeezing on him.
Saria took no time at all to react, saying, “Eevee, Bulbasaur needs your help! Get Tangela while it’s busy, use Shadow Ball!”
Diaruga’s eyes widen, yelling, “Tangela, stop attacking!” However, it was too late, as Tangela finally realized why his trainer gave that odd order, Eevee tensed up, and let fly the familiar sphere of dark purple energy, landing a direct hit on the un-expecting Tangela, fainting it from a Critical hit.
With Tangela’s fainting, and the energy from the Leech seed helping Bulbasaur, Saria gave her next order, “Bulbasaur, let’s finish this! Vine whip!” he wiggled out of the bindings, two vines pulling out of the bulb on his back, and begun to furiously beat on Lickitung, seeing it was quickly tiring his foe. They knew they where beaten, and both recalled their Pokémon. Diaruga and Arsalan looked at each other, seeing an Angry Saria, with her Eevee and Bulbasaur at her side.
Suddenly, a deep voice bellowed, “How dare you! I gave you a simple task, and you get humiliated by a little girl!” Diaruga and Arsalan started to quiver, turning back and saluting as an older man walked into the room, his hair black with yellow lightning stripes in it, draped in a black cloak.
Arsalan begun to speak, “B-Boss, we can explain, you se—”
“Silence!” Saria’s anger took a back seat to her shock as she saw how roughly Diaruga and Arsalan were being treated. The man continued, “You know we require lots of eggs, and you only bring back one. How disappointing.” He looked over to Saria, whom upon making eye contact, returns to a firm and angry expression. He continues, “And who the hell do you think you are, rushing in here and humiliating my men? The Utopian defender or something?”
Saria responded, “I am Saria, and I’m here to reclaim what belongs to the Pokémon center!”
The man laughed, “So you’re Saria! It is a pleasure then. Boys, hold her!”
As Diaruga and Arsalan rushed at her, She shouted, “Bulbasaur, grab the egg and both of you, run!” before anyone else could react to the order, Bulbasaur swung his vine and wrapped it around the egg, retracting it and, along with Eevee, left the room as Saria put her fists up as Diaruga got ahead of Arsalan and lunged towards her. She side-stepped, leaving her leg there for a moment to trip him, as she ducked at Arsalan and forced him over her, landing on top of Diaruga.
The man tilted his head up slightly, saying, “Boys, gloves.” Diaruga and Arsalan reached into their pockets and pulled out black fingerless gloves, and after slipping them on, charged at her again. She ducked again and swung her leg, tripping Diaruga again, standing up quickly, throwing an upper cut at Arsalan and knocking him to the floor. Suddenly, a pair of arms slid under her armpits and the hands locked together behind her head, her arms stuck helplessly in the air.
Jason spoke as he held her, “You guys are getting whipped by a little girl. That’s pretty sad, guys.”
Saria struggled against it, “Let me go!” before she could use her legs, Arsalan and Diaruga got up and quickly moved over, holding her legs and arms in place. The Man stepped forward, smiling. She asked, “So what now, Mister?”
The man unclipped something and suddenly threw his cloak off, revealing to be wearing a red and blue Military uniform, wearing the same belt the grunts had for their Pokéballs. He took one of his Pokéballs, saying, “Now? Well, you know too much, so we have to “put you down”.” He tossed his Pokéball, and a large Yellow humanoid figure came out, having a tail and antenna, and covered in black stripes, except on his chest, where a large black thunderbolt was instead of stripes. Before Saria could protest, the man walked up to her, and pulling a silk scarf out of his top left vest pocket, bundled it up and gagged her, making sure it was firmly in. He said as he started to walk back, saying, “Nothing personal, but, I can’t stand people screaming in pain, and this is a safety precaution. Electabuzz, Thunder punch!”
Saria’s eyes widened as she realized, she was still soaked. Electabuzz’s hands started to spark violently, suddenly punching her in the gut. She hauled over as much as the trio would allow, the intense pain from the punch hurting, but just as quickly as she hauled over, her body tensed up as electricity ran through her, the gag doing its job as she did indeed scream in pain, but was muffled. Finally, after the electricity stopped, she panted heavily through her nose before taking another blow to the gut, going through it all again.
The man laughed as he watched Saria being beaten upon, saying, “Not so tough now, are you? She looked up, wearily at him, and his expression of joy faded as he saw in her eyes a glimmer, her expression obviously angry. He turned to Electabuzz, saying, “Play time is over Buzz, Kill her!” Buzz nodded, and put his left hand on her shoulder, electrocuting her as he pulled his right fist back, ready to land the final blow. Suddenly, one of the windows broke, and descending quickly, tackling Buzz was an Umbreon. The man and the trio were in shock, but Saria didn’t care what was happening. She took this time to jerk her right arm free, smashing Arsalan in the face and freeing her left arm.
As she worked on getting Diaruga and Jason off her, The Utopian Defender spoke, while falling into the room from the broken window, “Villainous scum! You resort to dirty tricks and outnumbering your opponents, resolving to even kill your opponent!” As he landed, the man yelled in Anger, “Gah! What the hell?! The Defender is here!” The distraction worked perfectly, and Saria was free, ignoring the gag and running towards the exit, following Bulbasaur. As the trio got up and started after her, the man screamed, “Ignore her! Deal with him, I’ll handle the brat!” He ran after her, with Electabuzz following.
As soon as she got out of the room, she pulled the gag out, shoving it into her pocket, saying to Bulbasaur and Eevee who had only gone as far as half of the room, “Come on guys, we need to get out of here, Now!”
As soon as she caught up to them, the man called back, “Leaving so soon? Electabuzz, Thunder attack! Destroy the Egg!” Electabuzz clapped his hands together, and a small storm cloud formed above Bulbasaur. Eevee knowing this would be bad, ran towards him and leaped above him, the sudden thunderbolt striking him, fainting him instantly. He fell on top of Bulbasaur, who lost grip on the egg and it slipped out, being launched forward. Saria, without thinking, dived for the egg. She grabbed it, twisting her body in the air and landing hard on her back, sliding a bit thanks to the wet floor.
She looked at the egg and saw a large crack was forming, shocked as she said, “Oh no, it broke!” however, suddenly, the egg begun to shake, the crack getting bigger. Suddenly, a small pink ponytail prodded out of the egg, as the shell begun to crack away, revealing a small pink oval like baby, with an empty pouch on its stomach. The baby looked at Saria, and squealed with joy, “Happiny!”
The man was furious now, “No, it hatched! Damn it all! The plan is ruined!”
Saria put Happiny down, standing up as she recalled both Bulbasaur and Eevee, “You’ve got a lot of nerve, Mister. You’re nothing but a bully! And for the injustice you’ve caused, I’ll see to it personally that you go down!”
The man laughed, “Ha! Not likely, as you still don’t realize who you’re dealing with!” He gave a salute, saying, “I am Grunt Master Ganon! I specialize in electric type Pokémon, and I am also the Ardougne Gym leader!”