Chapter 9 - A Step Forward
After finally making their way out of Viridian Forest, the Pokemon Trainer duo found themselves walking along Route 2 once again, just like they had before entering Viridian Forest. It was getting dark out, this time, and James checked his cell phone clock. It was 7 pm.
"We need to get to Pewter City before it gets too dark out," James told Bobby. "Otherwise who knows what kind of Pokemon we'll come across? Plus, Team Rocket could be following us as we speak."
Bobby nodded in acknowledgement.
"Well, if my calculations are correct, we are only half a mile from Pewter City. If we continue up and over that hill over there we'll be able to see it," The 10-year-old boy with thick glasses told his partner.
So the two kept walking, side-by-side as they picked up their pace a bit. No, they really weren't scared, but James had two things on his mind at the time. First and foremost was getting to Cerulean City in time to save Viridian Forest...and Trista. The second thing was the wounded Rhyhorn he was carrying in a Pokeball. Yes, it was getting rest inside of the red and white orb, but rest alone wouldn't heal the poor Pokemon's broken leg. He'd have to get it to a Pokemon Center, and quickly.
Route 2, all in all, was very similar to Route 1 as far as its basic layout was concerned. The only real difference, James noticed, was the fact that there were many more small rocks and boulders hanging around, and the ground was also a bit more hilly. The grass and trees were still present though, but they were getting increasingly harder to make out with the sun almost completely set by now.
Continuing along their path, the two Trainers were suddenly surprised by a brown and white object zipping past them. As it flew straight towards the direction they were heading, it suddenly turned around in mid-flight, as it flew towards them once again. As both of them dodged out of the way, James quickly whipped out his Pokedex and pointed it at the thing as it flew by once more.
"Pidgey, the tiny bird Pokemon," The metallic voice droned. "It is docile and prefers to avoid conflict. If disturbed, however, it can ferociously strike back."
After hearing this information about their attacker, James wondered what they had done to set the tiny Pokemon off. Certainly they hadn't attacked it. Did they wake it up as they were talking? He really didn't know, but at this point he knew what he had to do. Taking a Pokeball from his belt, he threw the things towards the ground.
Squirtle, the tiny turtle Pokemon, came out and was ready for combat. James had, for a moment, thought about using Rhyhorn, but the thought quickly left his mind. The large rock beast was far too injured to battle, even against a Pokemon much smaller than it. Squirtle took an offensive stance as it faced down the wild Pidgey. The little bird Pokemon stopped zipping around, instead stopping for a moment, obviously surprised to see another Pokemon blocking it from attacking the humans again.
"SQUIRTLE!" the blue Pokemon said aloud to the bird. "Squirtle, squirt squirt!"
"PIDGEY!" the tiny bird screeched as it flew down to Squirtle, ready to strike it down with a Tackle.
Squirtle didn't have time to dodge the fast attack, but it did have a chance to brace itself and, as the bird came in at full speed, the turtle Pokemon managed to stand its ground for a moment. Then, the two of them were launched backwards. Both recovering fairly quickly, James issued the first order to his Pokemon.
"Use Bubble, Squirtle!" The Pokemon Trainer ordered.
Bobby, realizing he was now in between the two combatting creatures, ran over next to James and out of the way of the attack. Squirtle took a sharp intake of air and then released a powerful stream of bubbles towards the flying Pokemon. The attack hit head-on, sending the bird Pokemon stumbling for a moment.
"Now Tackle it, while it's stunned!" The brown-haired Trainer commanded.
Squirtle quickly leapt up into the air towards Pidgey, ready to drive it into the ground with a full-body tackle. The wild Pokemon had recovered by this point, however, and countered with a swift Gust attack. The mini-tornado smacked hard into Squirtle, knocking it off course but still heading for its opponent. Then, by some stoke of luck, Squirtle's now greatly altered direction happened to coincide very nicely with Pidgey's new flight path. Hitting the bird hard, Squirtle smashed it towards the rocks which were now beneath it. Pidgey hit them hard, with Squirtle landing on top of the wild Pokemon. There was no motion from either battler.
"Wow," Bobby stated. "I've never seen a double KO like that before."
James was stunned as well.
"Neither have I," He admitted.
So the Trainer, having succesfully defended himself from the wild Pokemon, returned the weakened Squirtle into its ball. Then, seeing the opportunity, took out one of his empty Pokeballs. Throwing it towards the knocked out Pidgey, the ball quickly enclosed it. Shaking only once before signifying a capture, the ball then remained motionless on the ground. James ran over, picking up the now-full Pokeball.
"YES!" He said loudly.
"Congratulations," Bobby said, patted him on the back. "That is your first legitimate capture of a wild Pokemon."
Normally, James would've sat around to celebrate, but he knew that walking around the wild at night without any healthy Pokemon was probably a bad idea. So, clipping the new Pokeball into his belt, he grabbed Bobby and ran towards Pewter City, hoping to find a Pokemon Center in time to save Rhyhorn.
====================
It had only taken a few moments. Well, for two of his Pokemon anyway. James had handed over all three of his Pokeballs to the nurse on duty, who insisted that the two Pokemon Trainers call her NURSE Joy. So, after handing their Pokeballs over to be healed, they did. Only five minutes later, both Squirtle and Pidgey had been healed back to full health, along with Bobby's Pinsir and Kakuna. Before he could inquire further, Nurse Joy filled him in on the situation.
"Due to the nature of the injury," The red-haired Pokemon healer started. "Your Rhyhorn probably won't be back on his feet for at least another day. I'm sorry about the delay, but maybe you should be more careful with your Pokemon from now on."
Now, James wasn't an angry person. In fact, a lot of people told him he was TOO nice sometimes. But Nurse Joy, assuming that HE was the one that had injured the Rhyhorn, sent him right over the edge. He was, however, able to control himself at the last moment.
"Excuse me?" He asked her. "I'll have you know that Bobby here and I SAVED that Rhyhorn from Team Rocket, thank you very much. If it wasn't for us he'd probably be DEAD right now!"
The nurse, obviously taken aback by the Trainer's tone of voice, said nothing aside from a murmured apology and something how James and Bobby should return in a day to check up the injured Pokemon. Leaving the Pokemon Center, feeling completely horrible about what he had just done, James decided to go to a nearby bench to sit down and gather himself for a moment.
He and Bobby both too a seat on a stony object. Looking up, James noticed something about Pewter City. Almost every single building was constructed from stones or boulders. He had heard this rumor, of course, but didn't actually believe it until his own eyes were laid upon it. It appeared that the only building not made from stone was the Pokemon Center they had just come out of, with its glass doors and windows and white walls with the pink roof. It certainly was rather futuristic compared to everything else in the place.
There were also quite a few people about the city. At least, there were more than James had seen in Viridian City. He didn't know why, but he guessed it probably had something to do with less Team Rocket activity in this area. They didn't seem to have a strong foot-hold here, he noticed. After all, their HEADQUATERS was located right in the middle of Viridian City. That couldn't be good for tourism...
"What do you think we should do until tomorrow, then?" The black-haired Pokemon Trainer asked James. "This place doesn't seem like it has much to do, despite its size."
The Pokemon Trainer thought about the question for a moment. In truth, he really couldn't figure out a good place to do something to pass the time. Admittedly, it was almost 9pm, so the duo would probably be better off finding a place to stay for the night at this point.
"I say we find a cheap Hotel," James told Bobby. "That way we can wake up early and check on Rhyhorn."
"Sounds good to me!" The Bug Pokemon Trainer replied.
After they left the bench, they didn't have much hassle at all in finding a place for the night. There was actually a nice, reasonably priced hotel only a block down the road from the Pokemon Center. James had some money for his journey, so he offered to pay for Bobby's stay as well. The two slept the night in the place and got up bright and early, full of energy and ready to head off towards Cerulean City.
Stepping outside into the bright mid-day sun, the two realized that they had actually slept much longer than they had anticipated. Checking his cell-phone clock, James realized that it was noon!
"Talk about sleeping in," He said to Bobby. "Well, let's get to the Pokemon Center and check up on Rhyhorn."
After the short walk, the two entered the place were immedietly greeted by Nurse Joy once again. Did she work here all the time?
"Oh, you must be here for Rhyhorn!" She said excitedly, apprently having forgot the entire conversation she had had with James yesterday. She didn't seem upset at all. "Well it's right in here! He's all healed and ready to go!"
She held a Pokeball in her hand. So Rhyhorn was healed and ready for combat. This was something that James hadn't planned for yet. In fact, he was sure that if he used the Pokemon in battle it probably wouldn't listen to a darn thing he said. Not only were Rhyhorn's notoriously dim-witted, but it also seemed like a very powerful Pokemon. It probably wouldn't even respect James as a Trainer yet. And then there was the Pidgey he just caught...
Forcing a smile on his face and taking the Pokeball gratefully, he and Bobby left he Pokemon Center once more, heading East towards Cerulean City. Apprently, they had to go through a place called Mount Moon before they got there. THAT was going to be fun. Taking it all in stride, James wasn't going to let any of this stuff get him down. He needed to get there no matter what so he could save Trista and Viridian Forest!
To be continued...
