Part 3
Totodile stared in awe at the PokeBall as it shook back and forth.
Will the Starly be caught this time? Soon the PokeBall slowed and then stopped all together. Starly was caught. Totodile looked at the ball and then at me. "Yes, you can pick it up," I said. Totodile picked up the ball and looked at it. He began to shake it, up and down, back and forth. He then turned it to the front and stare at the button, wondering what it was for. He slowly and gently pushed down on it. The ball quickly opened and released Starly in a flash of light. Startled Totodile fell to the ground. After the light faded Starly was in full view. Seeing her Totodile jumped up quickly and threw the PokeBall at her head, scoring a direct hit. Starly was knocked off her feet and fell onto the ground from the blow. Shocked, I ran over to Starly and cradled her in my arms. "Totodile! Don't do that!"
"Totodile Dile!" He complained as he pointed towards Starly.
"I know that you just came out of a fight and all but now Starly is on our team. Try to think of her as a friend now, okay." Totodile looked at me a little puzzled, and then looked over at Starly. I wasn't sure he fully understood what I said.
"Dile," he said while nodding his head. Showing that he at least got the point. Totodile walked up towards Starly and patted her on the head, showing he was sorry. Starly turned her head and pecked at Totodile's hand, angry at what he had done.
"Star!" She yelled at Totodile and rested her head back on my chest.
"Totodile!" He said pointing at Starly.
"Well you
did hit her first," I said chuckling. "Okay, lets get you all patched up Starly," turning my attention back to Starly. I reached into my bag and took out a potion. "This might sting a little, Starly," I said as I sprayed some potion on her wing. Starly winced and pulled back her wing, and examined it to see if there was any damage. When she saw none she relaxed a little, but I could tell she was a little wary. "It'll be okay," trying to reassure her. I sprayed some on her chest and cheeks and I gave her an Oran Berry to eat. As I sat there and watched her eat my stomach growled. Just then I realized that I had gone almost a whole day without food. I was starving! I took out a small can of fruit from my backpack, along with a can opener, a plastic fork, and a napkin. Before I opened up the food I looked towards Totodile, he was sitting by himself just a couple feet away. I wondered why he was over there by himself, staring into the sky. I walked over and sat next to him. "So, you hungry?" Totodile turned his attention to me at the word food. "I'm guessing that's a yes," I said smiling at him. Just then it occurred to me, I didn't have any Pokemon Food. Did pokemon eat anything other than that and berries? If they didn't I couldn't give them all of the ones we had now, I needed those in case someone got injured. What was I supposed to do! I thought quickly, trying to find the answer to my question. Starly! Since she's lived here she must know where to find food. "I think if you ask Starly she'll tell you where to find food, Totodile," his excited expression quickly vanished into disappointment; he obviously did not like the sound of that. "C'mon Totodile, is it really that bad? I'm pretty sure if you ask nicely she'll be more than happy to tell you," Totodile gave a thoughtful glance over toward Starly.
"Totodile," was the only thing he said before he got up and walked towards Starly. I couldn't hear what they said over from where I was, but I could tell they weren't getting along. Totodile looked angry, and so did Starly. Just looking at them I could tell that this teamwork thing wasn't going to work out too well, or at least for now. After several minutes of fighting, Totodile stomped off into the woods, frustraited and angry. I hope he'll be okay.
It had been hours and Totodile still hadn't come back. The sun had nearly disappeared over the horizon, it was nearly nightfall. I was worried, and still hungry. I didn't eat when Totodile left, I was taut that it was rude to eat in front of other people while they were without food.
Is he okay? I knew I couldn't just sit here; I had to go find him. I got up and looked towards the woods.
"Starly," she looked up at my call, "we're going to find Totodile."
Totodile
I sat down looking up at the stars, thinking about all that had happened today. I would say the day had gone well. Everything was perfect except the fact that that Starly was here. I hated her, she was so annoying. All she did was complain and argue. I don't know why the kid told me that I had to be her friend. We just fought a while ago and now we have to be friends? That didn't make much sense to me. The kid to me, probably wondering why I'm so far away from everyone else. He sat down next to me; I continued to look into the sky.
"So, you hungry?" He asked me. I quickly turned my head. I had been hungry since our battle. "I'm guessing that's a yes," he told me smiling. He sat there silently for a while, thinking I guessed. I felt a wave of anxiety hit me.
What's the matter with him!? I didn't change my expression so he wouldn't know that I noticed. "I think if you ask Starly she'll tell you where to find food, Totodile," what little happiness I had left quickly vanished. Of all pokemon in the world why did it have to be Starly that I'd have to ask? "C'mon Totodile, is it really that bad?"
Yes! "I'm pretty sure if you ask nicely she'll be more than happy to tell you," I thought about this some. It does make sense, when you ask nicely usually you'd get a nice response.
Fine, I'll do it," I got up and walked over to her. Every step even more painful than the last. When I finally got to her I let out a long sigh. She looked up and frowned angrily.
"What do
you want?" She said coldly.
"I just wanted to know if you could tell me where to find good places for food so I can bring some back and we can eat."
"No, I won't"
"Why not!" I said a little angry.
"You've got a nose! Use it!"
"How is that supposed to help!"
"Use your nose to sniff out the berries!"
"Why can't you just tell me were they are!" I was enraged now.
"Because I'm not going to tell you everything!" I was tempted to just attack her right then and there, but I couldn't, we had to be friends.
"You know what! Fine! I don't need you help!" I stomped off into the woods, frustrated at Starly. How could she act like that! One simple thing I ask and she makes like it's a big deal. That bird will drive me insane one day. As I walked into the woods I noticed how close these trees really where. I hadn't even notice till now. I looked into the bushes and trees, making sure no pokemon were there to make an attack or ambush me from behind. I listened hard, hoping I could here a nearby pokemon sneaking up on me. I walked deeper in the woods, still looking for berries. Who new that they were so scarce! I couldn't find a single one anywhere! I looked up into the sky to see how much time has passed. Not much, but it was getting dark. How could I find food, I had no idea where it was. I was starving and I couldn't find any food. I remembered what Starly had said. I had to use my nose. I new this would be hard I have never found food with my nose before, just other pokemon. I lifted up my head and sniffed the air, nothing. I put my nose to eye level and sniffed the air, still nothing. I then out my nose to the ground and inhaled as deeply as I could, I got something. I followed the scent, moving faster with every step. I was moving so fast that I was running on all fours! Are Totodile even supposed to do that? The scent finally stopped at a bush. I looked all around it; I even looked inside and found nothing. Was my nose just tricking me? Was I just so hungry that I made up a scent? I inhaled one more time, making sure I was right, I found it again! I breathed in harder, trying to figure out where it came from. Circling all around the bush, I found where the scent was strongest, right under the base of the bush. A pokemon must have buried it there to save for later. If I took this it'd be stealing, I wasn't one of those rouge pokemon that went off stealing food, but I was starving, and I needed to bring something back. What choice did I have? I dug my claws into the soil, ripping at it to get to the food. As I dug I saw the dirt uncover something, it was pink and as it moved down to the base faded into a light orange. The fruit was almost heart shaped and round. It was a Pecha Berry! I found food at last! I grabbed the Pecha Berry as fast as I could and gobbled it down. Berry after sweet berry made its way into my mouth. When I finished I had eaten six or seven berries. Not many were left, but there was still enough for a meal. I picked up the rest and carried them in my arms. This whole experience was much easier than I had thought. Guilt washed over me, but I had to do it for the kid. Suddenly I heard leaves rustle behind me, I looked back to see what it was. In the tree perched on a branch, its icy stare boring into me, stood a Sperow.
"You just made the wrong choice," the Sperow let out a long, loud, high-pitched screech that could be heard from miles away. The noise was deafening. I couldn't think strait, I had no idea what was happening anymore, and I had become confused. I looked to the side and all I saw was a wing and feeling massive amounts of pain before being knocked out.
As I regained consciousness I heard mumbling. I couldn't quite make out what they were saying but I knew they were close. I opened my eyes and looked around. I was in a daze so I couldn't figure out where I was, all I really knew is that I was laying on the ground. I turned my head to the right. I saw two Evee talking to each other at the end of the room. They seemed a little worried, but I couldn't really tell. I turned my head upwards toward the roof. There I saw a Spinerak playing with some web. It must have had a lot of time on its hands. The Spinerak stopped what it was doing and looked down at me.
"Ah, he's finally awake," the Spinerak scuttled away, taking its piece of web with it. I sat myself up against a wall and let out a grunt. The two Evee that were talking across the room stopped and looked towards me fearfully. They whispered to each other urgently, and walked over to me with caution. As they approached I could see that they were both boys, very young too. When they thought they were at a safe distance they stopped and examined me.
"S-So, wh-what are you?" The first Evee said. I was surprised that they had never seen a Totodile before. I opened my mouth to answer but the second one cut me off.
"It probably doesn't understand you," this made me somewhat angry, but he was young do I didn't hold too much against him.
"I can understand you perfectly," I said casually. The Evee stepped back, obviously afraid.
"Y-you can talk?" The first one said.
"Of course, aren't I a pokemon just like you? Why would I be so much different? Other than appearance we're exactly alike."
"No we're not," the second one responded, "We would never steal another pokemons food." The guilt came back even stronger than before. I opened my mouth but no sound came out, I couldn't speak. The first Evee looked angrily over at the second.
"Now look what you've done, Claud, you've made him sad, now say sorry."
"But Theo!" He wined.
"Now I said,"
"I'm sorry," he said with his head bent down, "I hope you can forgive me."
"It's alright," I said, "I'm guilty of the crime."
"I'll take that as a confession," a voice said. I looked to the left and saw a large Staraptor about six feet away. He was accompanied by a Sperow, a Pigey, and that Spinerak I saw earlier. "Hello, my named is Arcerdus; I will be one of the pokemon to set your punishment." He looked towards the two Evee, "And why are you two here. You know you aren't allowed to talk to the criminals."
"But-" Theo began.
"But nothing! Instead of trying to come up with lies to make me believe you were talking to him for an important reason, maybe you should be setting a good example for your younger brother!" Theo, put his head down. "Riton, please make sure these two make it back to their den, and give their mother a full report about their shenanigans."
"Yes sir," The Spinerak, who was Riton, scuttled over to the Evee and led them down a corridor. Arcerdus turned his attention back to me.
"Your trial will begin now," he then turned around and went down the passage. The Pigey and Sperow ran over to escort me to a larger room. There I saw one row of pokemon on each side of the room, each with a cold stare that seemed to penetrate through my skin. Near the back, in the center of the room I saw Arcerdus, accompanied by two other pokemon, a Fearow, and a Pigeoto. Just to the side of them was a small Weedle that stared directly at me, anger in its eyes. The two guards walked me further into the center of the crowd, and proceeded to run back to guard the entrance. "We may now begin. This Totodile was accused of stealing another pokemons food. He was found guilty earlier today through confession." Soft murmurs began to build. "We have found that the food belonged to Fredge." He pointed his wing towards the Weedle. "Now Fredge, please explain to us why you stored that food." Fredge stepped forward.
"I stored them their so I could eat it later. It was my secret stash after all," he said stepping backwards. There were nods of agreement.
"Now," Arcerdus began. "Tell us young Totodile, why did you take the food. Please state your name before you answer."
"My name is Eppidus. I took the food because a friend of mind was injured and we were both starving. I was asked to collect some berries for us to eat." I looked at Arcerdus, trying to find anything from his facial expression, I found none.
"And what kind of pokemon is this friend of yours?"
"She's a Starly." There were gasps in the audience.
"Okay, you've heard what you needed to; now let us make a decision. You are all dismissed."
The guards came up and escorted me out of the room. Soon the audience came pouring out.
How long will I have to wait before I get to leave? The kid must be worried about me. If only I knew how much time had passed. It was a long time before the three birds came to announce their verdict. "This was a very hard decision; there were many strong points, with and against him. In the end we couldn't make a fitting punishment, but we did think of something. Theo will have a test of strength. If he is strong enough to defeat an opponent of our choosing he'll be able to go home freely, but with one condition."
"What is it?" A little Starly asked.
"That you will find out if he succeeds, but if he doesn't, he'll have to clean up the whole forest, and never be allowed to leave."
"What!" I blurted out. I couldn't stay here! I had to get back to the kid!
"Oh but yes, young Totodile! Did you think that you'd be able to just walk away no harm done?"
"No, but I didn't think I'd have to fight for it."
"Maybe next time you'd better think about that before you go off and start stealing." I had thought about the consequences but I didn't think they would make me fight!
"Would you like to begin now?"
"You're giving me a choice!?"
"Why of course! You'll be stuck here till you fight, so, if you decide not to fight it'd save me a lot of time."
"Fine, I'll do it now."
"Great! Let us begin." I was led to an enormous room, it was maybe two times bigger that the last. Just like they did in the last room the two guards ran back and stood at the entrance. I stood there for a while, waiting for the opponent. I wanted to get this over quickly so I could return. Finally my opponent came. He entered through a rectangular hole high in the ceiling. He was a Yanmah. When he made it to the ground he circled around me, probably seeing if I was even going to be a challenge. When he stopped he looked towards Arcerdus.
"I'll make quick work out of this one," he said maliciously. Arcerdus walked in between us.
"When I give the signal you will start, not before, not after, do you understand?" He said looking straight at Yanmah. He must've had a record for early starts. He nodded his head. "Good," Arcerdus said pleasingly. He then flew up and perched onto a stick that was hanging out from the walls. Seconds passed, then minutes, when was he going to start? Yanmah looked pretty agitated, maybe Arcerdus was testing him. Arcerdus let out a screech signaling us to begin. The Yanmah threw its body onto me, pinning me down. It was so fast I didn't even have time to react. His mouth began to generate a purple glow; he was getting ready for a poison sting. Just before he got to use it I opened up my hands and scratched him in the face. He wasn't expecting this. When my attack struck he fell back, hitting the ground with a thump. I got up quickly and stood over him before he had time to recover and slashed at his cheeks. As I was doing this, thoughts rushed through my mind.
Was this battle really going to be this easy? I expected a challenge and yet I have gotten none. But I can't think that yet I suppose, after all it just began. When my mind came back to the fight, Yanmah has charged up a Poison Sting and shot it right into my face. I felt sharp pain rush through my body, especially on my cheek.
Am I poisoned? I waited a few seconds for my answer, nothing happened. I guess I hadn't, I didn't fell like I was weakening.
That was a close one, I thought,
I might not be so lucky next time. The Yanmah had just gotten up; I used this chance for another attack. I stared straight into his eyes, making sure they'd lock with mine. When I was sure I had him I quickly changed my expression to an evil and sinister look. He stepped back and just when he did I charged towards him and threw out my claws scratching him again. This time he stood his ground and rammed his body full force into my stomach, knocking my backwards four feet away. I looked up from the ground and saw Yanmah wince in pain. I stood up and charged toward Yanmah, taking out my claws to ready myself. Just as I reached him Yanmah flew into the air, moving back and forth with great speed. I skidded to a halt and looked up at him, how was I ever supposed to reach him? He could easily dodge my attacks with that speed. Yanmah began to glow a light gold, and I felt the Earth shake.
What is happening! Chunks of rock and dirt began to levitate in the air hovering around me. Suddenly all of the rocks hurtled towards me at high speeds. One hit me in the back, and then one from the side, soon all of the rocks made a tight circle around me and all at once, hit me dead on. I felt massive amounts of pain shoot through every inch of my body. After all of the rocks fell to the ground so did I. Weakly I looked up towards Yanmah and saw his glow fade.
How did I survive that? It didn't matter now, I had to win. I slowly got up, trying to ignore the pain I felt.
Maybe if I use Leer enough I can weaken him, giving me and easier defeat. I stared into his eyes once again, changing my expression when the time was right. He faltered some, but quickly flew back into place.
This has the same effect as it had on Starly! This would be good for me. I used Leer again, and again. On the last one he fell head first into the ground causing large puffs of dust to rise. I was still in too much pain and could barely move. The Yanmah flew back up in the air, anger in its eyes. It launched itself at me at an incredible speed. I could barely even see it. He made contact with my body, making me stumble to the side. It banked sharply and came back around hitting me again. It did this several more times before it briefly stopped. I was so weak that I couldn't stand. One more of those and I'd be finished, I had to think of a plan. I thought through everything I knew, everything I had been taught. I noticed that the Yanmah was getting weaker with every blow, this would help me. I made a plan. The Yanmah flew towards me with the same speed it had used before. Seconds before it hit I threw myself down on my back, just after I hit the ground the Yanmah flew over me. Just at that moment I raked my claws down its stomach, causing it to land with a crash. I rolled myself over to see if the Yanmah still had some fight left. It just laid there on the ground unmoving. Without any warning Arcerdus landed just behind Yanmah and examined him. After he was done he looked towards me.
"It seems as if the lad has fainted." Happiness washed over me when he said those words, I was finally done. "You may go now, unless you want to stay here to rest."
"No," I whispered weakly, "I can make it home."
"I doubt that," he said looking at me seriously, "I'll have two of our guards to bring you back to the spot you were first seen. There you can find your way home." Just as he said that, almost as if it had been rehearsed the two guards took me away. It turns out that I was underground the whole time, and I had been under there for hours, the sun had completely gone down when we emerged. It took us a while, but I was safely put back at the base of the bush were I found those berries. The two guards nodded to me before running off back into the woods. I was still weak, but I had regained some strength when the guards took me back. Sniffing the air, I found the scent of the kid and followed it all the way back. When I passed the bushes that lead to the clearing I felt happier than I ever had before. I was out of the woods and I felt safe. I walked to the area we rested in, there I saw a triangular shape sticking up from the ground, and perched on the very tip was Starly. She must have heard me approach because one of her eyes shot open.
"Welcome back," she said quietly and closed her eye once again. I walked into the triangle, I saw the kid laying down inside his hat placed into a corner. I was so happy to see him again. I quietly walked in and lay down next to him. Just then I remembered Arcerdus said something about a condition if I won.
I wonder what it was. That was my last thought before I closed my eyes and drifted off into sweet sleep.
Forest
I woke up with sleep still in my eyes. I had been up nearly the whole night the previous day searching for my Totodile. I looked to the side of me and saw him sleeping soundly next to me. I became surprised, excited, and happy at the same time.
"Totodile!" I yelled as I swiftly picked him up and held him in my arms. He was startled awake of course, but calmed down when he realized it was me. Now with my new companion returned to me, I was even more motivated to continue our journey. I stepped out of my tent ready to leave. I quickly took it down and put it in my backpack, and then we were off. Totodile walked beside me while Starly perched on my head. She wasn't heavy so I didn't mind. We walked maybe twenty minutes before I saw a break in the trees. I started to run, throwing Starly off my head, forcing her to fly after me. I stopped when we reached the end, giving Starly a chance to get back on my head. As I looked out I saw a plain that seemed to stretch on for miles "Wow," I said in awe, "I wonder what kind of pokemon live out here." I took out my map to see if there was a name for this place. There was, it was called Long Valley. I put my map back into my pocket, and we set out into the plain.
Part 3: Continued
As we walked I noticed that the grass seemed to get taller and thicker, right until it reached my knees. I looked towards the mountains. They were a great distance away, but luckily for me they were closer that I had thought. There weren't many trees here; in fact I only saw one. We walked for about three hours before we heard a rustling in the grass. We all got ready for whatever there was to come. The noise got closer, soon I saw the grass blades move. Suddenly a Vulpix jumps out of the bushes and runs behind my leg, scared of something. Starly jumped off my head to comfort the Vulpix.
"Totodile?" He said looking at the Vulpix.
"Vulpix Vul!" It replied. Totodile looked towards the grass and growled, tensing himself. Soon a Poochyena jumped from the grass. This one looked like any regular Poochyenas I've seen; only this one had a scar on its nose. The Poochyena growled at us when it came. Perhaps this Poochyena was what the Vulpix was running from.
"Poochy!" It yelled at Totodile.
"Totodile!" He yelled back. The Poochyena became angry; he must have said something to anger it. They began to yell at each other. And by the sounds of all of it, nothing was nice. Then, without any warning the Poochyena bit Totodile in the leg. Totodile cried in pain. He then took his claws and scrapped then across the Poochyenas back, causing it to cry out too. The Poochyena let go of Totodiles leg and jumped back. The Poochyena ran towards Totodile and tried to tackle him, but Totodile dodged out of the way and scratched it in the back again. At this point I didn't think I needed to say a thing, Totodile seemed to have it under control. The Poochyena quickly turned around and tried to bit Totodile again, but was only scratched in the face. Totodile scratched the Poochyena on its side, causing it to fall onto the ground. Totodile pinned it down and used Leer. After a few moments Totodile released Poochyena. I expected it to run or try to make another attack but it didn't dare move. Totodile looked towards me. "Dile Totodile!" He said to me. I didn't get what he was trying to say until he pointed towards Poochyena, he wanted me to try and catch it. I took out my PokeBall and threw it at the Poochyena. It was sucked in by a flash of red light. The ball sat on the ground gently moving back and forth…
(OOC: I hope the Totodile part was okay.)