Chapter 3: Team Rocket

Emily and Kiai had been traveling a little ways now. Emily groaned a little. “Man, I never imagined there was so much walking involved in this! My feet are getting tired!” She soon plopped down, groaning. “I'm tired.” Kiai, however, was stern as ever, and seemed un-phased by the length they had walked so far.

Kiai looked down at Emily and raised an eyebrow. “You do realize we'll have traveled, on foot, from coast to coast and beyond before we're done, right?”

Emily groaned. “Don't remind me...” she sighed. “I was all excited about this day, but I never realized how much walking would be involved...” she sighed as Shellshocker hopped off her shoulder and looked up at her.

“Squirtle squirt,” Shellshocker spoke. Emily sighed.

Kiai sighed. “Well, I guess we're taking a break.” He pulled off his backpack and sat down beside Emily. “You know, if you're really that tired, I can carry you. But don't get into the habit...I won't carry you down Victory Road...”

Emily shook her head. “No, it's ok...I'll get used to it...If we just take occasional breaks, eventually I will get used to it enough.” Shellshocker, seeing that they had, indeed, decided to take a break, ran over to where Rattata now was sitting and began having a conversation with him. Emily giggled. “Almost wish we knew what they were saying.”

“Yeah, me too.” Kiai leaned back and stretched his feet out. “I suppose we'll get to Viridian City by tomorrow, at this rate. Maybe the day after. Hey...” he sat up straight, suddenly deep in thought. “I just realized, Slate is going to be the first Gym leader we come across. You'll probably have an easier time with him then I will!”

“That's true, but only if I fight with Shellshocker more. He hasn't been in a Pokémon battle since yesterday...and he lost that one...so odds are he really didn't get any experience from it...” she sighed and looked at Shellshocker. He was still talking with Rattata.

Kiai smiled, “It's ok, there's a long road yet to Viridian, and the bug forest after that before we get to Pewter City.”

“B-bug F-forest?” Emily asked. She had now begun to shake. Her fear of bug Pokémon came out once more and she shut her eyes, trying to calm herself, but it wasn't working well.

Kiai put his arm around her, “Relax,” he whispered, “It's full of trainers. You can't go two steps without being forced into a fight. Plus, you'll be with me. We'll leave Viridian early in the morning and go straight through. It'll be fine.”

“Y-yeah...I guess you're right...” Emily spoke, sighing. With Kiai holding her, she felt more secure. “I'm glad your with me.” She put her head against his chest. There was then an odd noise from the bushes nearby. Emily looked towards the bushes, wondering what was going on.

The bush opened a little, two eyes that seemed to glow were looking at them. “Psy,” a voice spoke from the bushes. “Duck!” the voice shouted as a Psyduck then fell out of the bush. It looked badly bruised, but there was something else strange about this Psyduck. It was an odd blue color, and its skin almost seemed to shine.

“Hey, a Psyduck,” Kiai spoke, not really noticing how the Psyduck was injured, nor that it seemed to shine. “You know, they get some crazy powerful Psychic attacks when they evolve.” As much as he wanted to stand up and catch it, he knew Emily would want to try her luck first. “He's all yours, Emily. Show me your moves!”

Emily blinked. “Yeah...but...” she stood up. “It looks hurt...” she quickly ran over to it, kneeling down. “Oh my...” she put her hand on the Psyduck as she looked at it. She bit her lip as she pulled out a pokéball. “I know I'm supposed to weaken it first but...it already looks really weak.” She tossed her pokéball at it, and it opened, absorbing the Psyduck inside of it. It landed on the ground and wobbled for a minute before the red light vanished. Instead of being happy, she was worried as she scooped the ball up into her hands.

Kiai walked to her and looked at the ball in her hands. “Do you think it's hurt? If it is...we're still some time away from Viridian...and we can't turn back to Pallet Town...”

Emily bit her lip. “There's no Pokémon centers between here and there, is there?” she asked and sighed, looking down at the ball. “It was obviously hurt, because it had been bruised some...I just hope it isn't a Pokémon that ran away from its trainer...because that would just be awful...” There was another sound from behind her in the bushes once more. She turned around, her eyes coming face-to-face with a tall man wearing a black outfit with a red R on it.

“Uh oh, I've been spotted,” the man spoke. He quickly reached down and grabbed a pokéball from his belt. “Hey, you, girl, you seen a Psyduck come through here? A blue one?” Emily didn't say anything.

Kiai stepped forward. “Yes, we did,” Kiai spoke. “It looked like it was hurt, but when we approached it, it ran away.” He pointed at the bushes across the path. “It went that way. Was it yours?”

The man grinned. “Oh really? Well, it's not mine, but soon it will be the property of Team Rocket.” He tossed his pokéball in the air and it opened, unleashing a large, round, rock-like Pokémon. “I know you have that Psyduck, so how about you give it over real nice like?”

Emily growled a little. “So you're the one that beat it down so badly?” she looked to Shellshocker. “Get ready,” she spoke and Shellshocker turned, nodding. He rushed to Emily's side and the two looked towards the Team Rocket member in front of them. “I’ll never forgive you for harming this Psyduck.”

“Ha! Who needs forgiveness?” the Team Rocket member spoke. “You kids don't know who you're messing with. Team Rocket always obtains what it wants. Graveler, get in there and show this girl who she's meddling with.” The large Pokémon jumped in between the man and Emily, shaking the ground as it did. It looked like a formidable opponent. “That's a nice Squirtle you have, girl. That'll fetch a decent price. After I humiliate you, I'll take it for myself.”

Emily growled. “That's what you think.” She looked to Shellshocker who nodded. “Get ready,” she spoke. “Shellshocker, use Water Gun!” Shellshocker inhaled and, like before, shot out a large burst of water from its mouth. It shot forward and struck the Graveler hard, but the Team Rocket member just grinned.

“A pathetic Squirtle like that can't hurt my Graveler. Graveler, use Rock Throw!” the Team Rocket Member shouted. Graveler jumped into the air and brought its hands together. It almost seemed to form a large rock in its hands, which he then tossed the rock at Shellshocker.

“Dodge it!” Emily shouted. Shellshocker barely managed to jump out of the way. “Quickly, Water Gun!” Squirtle inhaled again, then shot a burst of water straight up into the air, striking the Graveler and sending it flying up, then slamming into the ground. The Graveler slowly rose to its feet, not knocked out yet.

Kiai leaned close to Emily and whispered in her ear, “Careful Emily...this might not be the only one he has...save some gusto for later.”

The man growled, “Ok girl, you asked for it. Graveler, Dig Attack!” The Graveler began spinning quickly, and burrowed straight down into the dirt. “What's your plan now, girl?”

Emily growled. “I know,” she whispered back to Kiai. “Shellshocker, be careful, we don't know where he'll pop up.” Shellshocker's eyes began to dart around as it felt the ground.

“Squirtle squirt,” Shellshocker spoke. Suddenly, Graveler jumped out of the ground from directly under him. This sent him flying into the air, and soon landing hard on his back.

“Shellshocker!” Emily shouted, and Shellshocker slowly stood back to his feet. He growled now. Emily blinked as Shellshocker rushed forward. Shellshocker jumped up, twirling and striking the Graveler with its tail. It knocked the Graveler back some as it landed on its feet. Emily quickly pulled out her pokédex and held it up.

“When angry,” the Pokédex began, “Pokémon can be known to go into a blind rage, which increases their power, but also makes them less likely to dodge attacks.”

Kiai instinctively drew a pokéball from his belt. “Tsk tsk tsk,” the Team Rocket Member spoke, “two on one isn't fair. But don't worry boy, you'll get your chance. Graveler, give it another Rock Throw.” Graveler reached into the dirt and drew out a rock, and hurled it at Shellshocker. It bounced off its head, knocking him back but not out. Shellshocker glared at Graveler, and looked like he was going to charge again.

Kiai hissed into Emily's ear, “You can't keep letting him do this! He's your Pokémon, he needs your help! Tell him what to do!”

Emily bit her lip once more. “Shellshocker! Listen to me! Use your Water Gun!” she shouted. Shellshocker growled a little more, then inhaled once more. Using his rage, Shellshocker pushed the water out of his mouth and at Graveler once again, but this time much harder. The attack hit Graveler hard, and soon knocked it back, and out.

“What?!” the Team Rocket member shouted. “This just can't be...” he growled. “Stupid useless Pokémon!” he shouted, kicking the Graveler, then hoping on his foot a little as he felt the pain that would come from hitting a huge rock with your foot. “Graveler, return!” he shouted, holding out his pokéball. The beam shot forward and absorbed Graveler back into it. “You'll pay for messing with Team Rocket, mark my words!” he shouted, then turned and ran off.

Emily sighed and Shellshocker walked back over to Emily. She hugged him and smiled. “That was wonderful, Shellshocker, you did great.” She then looked at the pokéball in her hand. The pokéball itself had changed color slightly, becoming a blue color like the Psyduck it held. “Maybe if we run, we can get to Viridian before sundown?” Emily asked, looking at Kiai. “We really need to get him to a Pokémon Center.”

Kiai looked around frantically. “Damn, if only we could get a bicycle from someone...wait!” He held the pokéball in his hand out. “Spearow, we need you!” The pokéball opened, and Spearow obediantly popped out onto the ground. Kiai reached into his bag and pulled out a small notebook and pencil, and scribbled a hasty message onto it. He tore off the page, and wrapped it around Spearow's foot, then grabbed the blue pokéball from Emily's hand. He held it out to Spearow, saying “Spearow, take this to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City. Make sure Nurse Joy gets the message! We'll be there as soon as we can.” Spearow trilled, and flew into the air, snatching the pokéball from Kiai's open palm and flying off due north.

“That's a good idea,” Emily spoke, nodding. “I hope it'll be okay...” she hugged Kiai. “I'd hate for something bad to happen to it just because of that stupid trainer...” she sighed. “We should still run as fast as we can.”

“You're right. Rattata, lets go.” Rattata scrambled up onto Kiai’s shoulder. He hoisted his backpack up, and darted down the path, turning around just long enough to yell to Emily, “Keep up!”

“Of course,” Emily spoke, grabbing Shellshocker and tossing him on her back. She gripped her backpack tight and began running after Kiai. It took them until sundown, but after a few hours of running, they managed to make it in time.

The two burst into the Pokémon center, heaving and panting, sweat pouring down their faces. The sun was setting; they had been running nearly non-stop all day. Kiai helped Emily, who was nearly completely spent, over to a chair in the waiting area, then ran up to the front counter, behind which stood a very proper-looking Chansey. “Um, excuse me, we sent a Spearow here earlier...er...” Kiai was somewhat at a loss, not knowing exactly how to hold a conversation with a Pokémon.

Chansey seemed to understand however, as it squeaked “Chansey chansey!” and ran off through the double doors leading to the medical area. Shortly after, Nurse Joy emerged, looking disheveled but smiling.

“I see,” Nurse Joy spoke sweetly, “you were the ones who sent the Spearow. We received it earlier today, it was quite worn, I hope you haven't been mistreating it. The Psyduck, however, is certainly a unique case...”

“Is it okay?” Emily asked. “I know it was pretty beat up from that Team Rocket guy...”

“Team Rocket?” Nurse Joy asked. “I see...” she thought for a moment. “Perhaps that's it, then.”

“What do you mean?” Emily asked.

Nurse Joy sighed. “Team Rocket has been developing a virus known as the Pokémon Virus, or Pokérus. It makes Pokémon shine, and makes them stronger as well. Some cases have seen Pokémon gain strange abilities they could otherwise never gain...” Nurse Joy sighed. “I fear this Psyduck may be infested with the Pokérus.”

“A virus that makes Pokémon stronger...I don't like that one bit,” sighed Kiai. “Is there anything you can do about it, Nurse Joy?”

“No, there is no way to counter the Pokérus,” Nurse Joy spoke, shaking her head and sighing. “However, if you were the ones who caught him, then that Psyduck is officially registered to you. So, I plan to nurse it back to health, then give it back to you, as long as you promise not to abuse it.”

Emily shook her head. “Of course we won't, Nurse Joy. I love Pokémon.” She looked to Shellshocker, who looked at her and smiled. “Especially water types.”

“Then when I finish healing it, I'll give it back to you. Be careful, though, Team Rocket is experimenting all over the place, so you may run into more Pokémon like these. The best thing you could do is probably catch them, so that Team Rocket can't.”

“We'll be sure to keep an eye out for them, Nurse Joy. And we'll spread the word to every trainer we meet. In the meantime...” he looked at Emily, and she looked as tired as he felt. “...I think we need to rest for the night. But first...is Spearow ok?”

Nurse Joy smiled, “Of course it is. You can retrieve it at any time.”

“Thank you,” said Kiai, bowing to Nurse Joy. She led them into the medical area, down the hall a short way and into a small room, where Spearow was standing on a small bed, pecking at a loaf of bread. Kiai walked over to it, beaming. He reached up and stroked Spearow’s feathers, whispering to it, “You did good. Thank you.” Spearow trilled happily, and Kiai returned it to its pokéball.

“And now,” said Nurse Joy, “to bed. I'll show you two to our guest wing.” She led them out of the medical area, and down another hall that looked like a dormitory. She opened a door to a room, empty except for two beds, a lamp, and a phone on a small bureau. “You two can sleep here for the night, I'll wake you up tomorrow morning.” Kiai and Emily both thanked Nurse Joy as she left, and the two fell into their beds. Rattata curled up on Kiai's pillow, and Shellshocker curled up with Emily

Emily snuggled into her bed with Shellshocker. She had, naturally, changed into her pajamas before heading to bed, though she had begun to notice Kiai never did, and began to wonder if he even had any other clothes with him. She shrugged it off and fell asleep. She hoped the night would be uneventful, unlike the night before, but it wasn't. Once again the nightmare began to grip her. She began to roll around in her bed, beginning to breathe heavily as she groaned. “No, you can't...” she spoke. “No, don't come any closer...you can't...” She screamed as she found herself waking up this time. Shellshocker jumped at the scream and looked at Emily, a very worried look on its face.

Kiai was up too, and Emily soon saw him looking over Shellshocker. “Not again, Emily...” he spoke, with a very worried look on his face.

Emily sighed as she closed her eyes. “Every night...” she spoke. She shut her eyes tighter. Finally, she tossed the covers from her bed and ran to Kiai's bed. She hopped onto it and hugged him. Her grip seemed to say that she didn't want to let him go.

Kiai sighed to himself. He wished he could get into the head of his friend and help her, but he knew he couldn't. He pulled the blankets over them, wrapped his arms around Emily, and held her close. “It's ok,” he whispered softly, “I'm here.”

Emily sniffled as tears rolled down her cheeks. “C-can I...sleep here tonight...?” she asked through her sniffles. She didn't want to be away from Kiai at this time.

Kiai paused, but eventually said, “Yes, of course you can.” He held her tighter, not wanting to let her go either.

“Thank you,” Emily spoke, holding Kiai as close to her as she could. She soon managed to drift back off to sleep. Once she was asleep, Kiai also allowed himself to drift into sleep. The night was mostly uneventful from there on. As day came, Nurse Joy opened the door to their room. She awoke them and Emily stretched a bit. As she rolled onto her side, Kiai shifted a little, their lips touching, and his hand gently resting upon her breast, which was covered only by her shirt. Kiai, however, hadn't awoken yet, and she blushed.

Kiai shifted slightly in his sleep, pushing his hand into Emily’s breast and his lips into hers. Emily blushed even more. She was actually enjoying it a little, but this wasn't really how she had imagined her first kiss. After a moment, however, she pushed him off the bed, making him fall with a fairly loud “Thud!” This awoke and dazed him. Emily looked down a bit, her face turning a little redder.

Kiai slowly opened his eyes, staring straight up at Emily. He let out a long, drawn-out, painful “...Oooooowwwwwwwwww...”

Emily giggled a little. “Well, that's what you get for groping me in your sleep.” She turned, trying to pretend like she was upset. Once she had her face turned away from him, though, she blushed a bit more. She was trying to get the thought out of her mind, but the more she tried, the more she thought of it.

“Groping you...?” Kiai laid on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, a look of utter confusion plastered on his face.

“Yeah, grabbing my breasts, like you did the night before last, too,” Emily spoke, turning to look at him and sticking her tongue out at him. “Anyway...I'm going to change...” She stood to her feet, grabbed her backpack, and headed off to the bathroom.

Kiai’s face turned red as it sunk in what he did, though he didn't really feel it was worth knocking him to the ground. He got up, and pulled a change of clothes out of his backpack, and proceeded to undress. He pulled out a non-descript white t-shirt and a pair of shorts, identical to what he was already wearing, save for a little less dirt. He pulled them on, decided he was still tired, and crawled back into the bed, pulling the blanket over his head.

Emily entered the bathroom and walked in, setting her backpack down next to her. She shut the door, locked it, and proceeded to pull off her shirt. She dropped her pants, then walked to the nearby mirror and looked into it. After a moment, she turned and walked back to her backpack, now pulling out a different outfit, consisting of a blue mini skirt that had little cyan colored polka dots, along with a brown halter top, which she first tied at the bottom, then pulled up and tied around her neck. Once she was done, she pulled on her outfit a little, then frowned. “Either this outfit shrank, or I grew a bit since I last wore it...cause it's tighter then I remember...”

Emily then proceeded to put her clothes back in her backpack. She then left the bathroom and opened the door to their room. She blinked when she saw the big lump in Kiai's bed. She sighed. “Kiai, come on, wake up.” She walked over and pulled the sheets off his bed.

Kiai sat up, grabbed the sheets from Emily's hands, and laid back down, mumbling something about “five more minutes.”

Emily sighed, then, once again, pushed Kiai off the bed. “Get up you lazy bum.”

Kiai's hand reached out of the tangle of blankets that he fell off the bed with, grabbed the pillow, and pulled it down to the floor. Emily sighed. She looked to Shellshocker and nodded. Shellshocker rushed over to him and, once Emily had removed any covers that covered him, Shellshocker inhaled, blasting Kiai with his Water Gun attack. “Wake up, you lazy bum.” She then pulled the pillow away and hit him on the head with it.

Kiai sat up, his head dripping wet. He stood up to face Emily, then shook his head violently, splashing her with droplets of water. Emily held her hands up to try and block the water. Once he was done, she giggled. “Serves you right,” she spoke. “Next time you should wake up when I tell you to.”

Kiai glared at her for a few seconds, then smiled. “Yes Ma'am,” he spoke and snapped his hand up in a mock salute, clicking his heels together.

Emily gave him a half glare, then turned. “Anyway, let's grab some food and go see how that Psyduck is doing.”

“Good call,” Kiai said, grabbing his backpack as Rattata leapt onto his shoulder. They strolled out of the Pokémon Center into the bright morning sun. It was a picturesque day, and so early in the morning, nearly no one was out yet. They spotted a cafe just down the street, where they had their breakfast. Emily tried out a few desserts, while Kiai scrolled through his Pokédex for information the Pokérus, and Squirtle blew bubbles for Rattata to chase.

While she ate happily, Emily couldn't help but think about the Psyduck that was still at the Pokémon Center. After she had finished, she pulled out her pokedex. “Psyduck...hmm...”

“Psyduck, the duck Pokémon,” the Pokédex spoke, “when its headache intensifies, it starts using strange powers. However, it has no recollection of its powers, so it always looks befuddled and bewildered.”

“Hmm...so it uses its powers best when it has a headache?” she pushed a button, which moved to the next Pokémon in the list.

“Golduck, the duck Pokémon, he is the evolved form of Psyduck. The webbed flippers on its forelegs and hind legs and the streamlined body of Golduck give it frightening speed. This Pokémon is definitely much faster than even the most athletic swimmer.”

“So it evolves into Golduck, huh? Interesting.” Emily smiled. “Golduck looks so awesome!”

“Mmm...” nodded Kiai, without looking up from his own pokédex, “Golduck is critical for water-type trainers, as it's hands-down the strongest Water-type with Psychic powers. Sure you have Slowbro and Polywrath, but they're both far too difficult to deal with.” Once again, Kiai seemed to be a walking, talking pokédex. At length, he closed his pokédex and stood up. “Come on, I know you're eager to see how Psyduck is doing.”

Emily blinked and closed her pokédex as well. “Yeah, that Psyduck was pretty badly injured yesterday, so I really do hope it is okay now.” Emily stood to her feet and followed Kiai back to the Pokémon Center. There, Nurse Joy greeted them.

“Welcome back,” Nurse Joy spoke.

“Thank you, how is that Psyduck doing? Is he okay?” Emily asked.

Nurse Joy smiled. “He's perfectly fine, today,” her face changed to showing sadness as she finished, “but he still has the Pokérus. So please, keep watch on him, won't you?”

“I will,” Emily spoke, nodding. Nurse Joy handed the still blue pokéball to Emily.

“What about the pokéball?” Emily asked.

“It's a result of the Pokérus. The pokéball becomes shiny as well...”

Emily looked at it. “Interesting...well, as long as Psyduck is okay.” She tossed the pokéball to the ground, and the blue Psyduck popped out.

“Psy...duck...” the Psyduck spoke as it tilted its head.

“I'll nickname you...” she thought for a moment. “Goldy.”

“Psy...duck...” the Psyduck spoke as it tilted its head.

Kiai raised an eyebrow. “I...guess that means he approves?”

“Psy...duck...” the Psyduck once again spoke as it once again tilted its head.

“...Sure, why not,” Kiai spoke. “Anyway, Nurse Joy, is the Pokérus contagious?”

Nurse Joy shook her head. “No, we can get it to the point where contaminated Pokémon won't spread it to others.”

“Well, that's good, I suppose...I'd hate for all of our other Pokémon to catch it...although...” she thought for a moment, envisioning what Shellshocker would look like shiny. She shook her head and shrugged it off. “While I don't agree with it, it does make the Pokémon look pretty cool.” She held up the blue pokéball. “Goldy, return!” the beam shot out and absorbed the blue Psyduck into the ball. She turned to look at Kiai. “I'm a little surprised you didn't ask why I named it Goldy, as it isn't a Golduck, or gold colored.”

Kiai shrugged. “I remember when we were young and you used to call me Ponyta. Ever since then, I never really questioned your decisions in naming things...I knew it would just be asking for trouble.” Kiai was sadly unable to dodge the smack that Emily aimed for the back of his head.

Emily cleared her throat, then turned away from Kiai. “Well, anyway, if we're going to go for badges, we should start making our way to Pewter City, right?”

Kiai was about to answer that question when a loud “Stop thief!” was heard outside. Emily quickly darted forward to find out what was going on. Outside the Pokémon Center stood a scared woman. “That man stole my son's Pokémon!” she told Emily, and Emily turned, seeing a man running off. He was a bit far to see clearly, but he didn't wear a Team Rocket outfit, or so it appeared.

Kiai ran outside just after Emily, as Officer Jenny ran past them, blowing her whistle. Kiai quickly grabbed a pokéball on his belt. “Spearow, Peck Attack!” Spearow popped out of the pokéball in mid-flight, and flew swiftly toward the thief. It passed Jenny and caught up to the thief, pecking madly at his head, stalling him just long enough for Jenny, Kiai, and Emily to catch up.

“Get off me, you dumb bird!” the man shouted.

“Stop right there,” Jenny spoke, grabbing the man by the arm. “Who are you, and what are you up to?”

The man growled, then looked to see Emily and Kiai approaching him as well. The man grinned. “Awesome, the bosses plan worked,” he spoke, pulling his arm from Officer Jenny. “Listen, Officer, I'm just doing a job my boss told me to do. You see, he said if I steal a Pokémon sometime around this time, he was certain that you two,” he said the last part as he turned to look at Kiai and Emily, “would appear.” He tossed the pokéball up and down in his hand. “So, here, you can have your ball back, now that I've gotten your attention.” He tossed the pokéball away and Jenny caught it quickly. “I challenge you to a two-on-two match. You both bring out a Pokémon, and I'll bring out two of mine.” The man grinned. “Winner takes the loser’s Pokémon.”

“We decline.” spoke Kiai simply.

“Aww, what's wrong, you scared?” the man asked, laughing. Officer Jenny once again grabbed the guy. “I told you, you can have your ball back, now go away.” He managed to break free of Officer Jenny, then hit her in the side with his arm, knocking her down. He smirked as he looked back at Kiai and Emily. “Now, then, as I was saying. You and I are going to duel, two-on-two, or do you need some convincing?” He pulled out a pokéball and tossed it into the air.

A snake like Pokémon appeared and hissed. “Ekans, let's convince them to duel. Use your wrap attack...on Officer Jenny!” The Ekans obeyed, wrapping itself around Officer Jenny and squeezing her tight. Jenny tried to break free, but couldn't. “Now, for every time you decline, my Ekans will squeeze her harder.” He pulled out two more pokéballs. “Go, Sandslash and Charmeleon!” he shouted. He tossed the two pokéballs into the air and a brown, mole like Pokémon popped out of one, the other was more like an orange dragon without wings with a fire at the end of its tail.

Kiai stared at the man for a while, debating his position. Finally, he decided. “Spearow, Rattata, Shellshocker...attack the Ekans.” Kiai himself lunged at the man, his fist balled up, hitting him square in the nose. The man didn't have time to react before Kiai hit him again in the gut, doubling him over. Before Kiai could do anymore, he felt a surge of pain on his back, and warm blood drip down; Sandslash was defending its master, while the Charmeleon didn’t seem to care.

Kiai turned, but couldn't do much more than back away, until a large red glove punched the Sandslash hard in the side of the face, sending it skidding across the ground. “Good work, Hitmochan!” shouted Jenny, as Spearow, Rattata, and Shellshocker wrestled with the out-matched Ekans. The man looked up, a bead of blood flowing from his nose.

“Dammit!” he spoke, and holding out a pokeball, “Sandslash, ret-” at that point, a pair of handcuffs fell over his wrist. “You're under arrest for Pokémon theft and association with known criminal element Team Rocket, as well as assaulting an officer of the law.” Jenny picked the man up by the collar, and began dragging him away. As she did, he looked back and scowled at Kiai and Emily.

“Team Rocket won't give up!” the man shouted.

Emily sighed and shook her head. “Some people...” she sighed and shrugged. “I guess it's good to know none of his Pokémon have the Pokérus, though...so Team Rocket isn't infecting all of their Pokémon with it.” She sighed again. “Anyway, we should get going...I sure hope that's the last we see of Team Rocket...at least for now.”

“They won't try anything with Jenny on the watch, but as soon we leave the city limits all bets are off.” Kiai sighed. He was expecting action and adventure, but he wasn't expecting his safety to be at risk. He looked down at Rattata, who was looking proudly back up at him. He smiled. Somewhere inside him, he knew they would make it through ok. He pointed a pokéball at Spearow and called out, “Good job Spearow, Return!” Spearow zapped back into its pokéball, and Kiai knelt down and lifted Rattata up.

Kiai gazed into Rattata’s eyes, and it seemed to stare back. Rattata seemed just as determined as Kiai did. “Right.” he said, placing Rattata on his shoulder and turning toward Emily. “Should we be off? If Team Rocket won't relent, neither will I. I'll see this through to the end, no matter what.”

Emily nodded. “Yeah, let's go...I doubt that Team Rocket will try much of anything once we get into...” she paused and shuddered. “Viridian Forest...” She shuddered again and wrapped her arms around Kiai. “You'll be there to help me, right?”

“No, I'm going to leave you at the first Kakuna cluster.” Kiai spoke, sounding very indifferent.

“You better be joking about that,” Emily spoke, pushing against him a little.

“Joking about what? Dropping a Caterpie down the back of your shirt?” Kiai spoke, still sounding indifferent, and somewhat cold.

Emily pouted. “You wouldn't really do that, would you?”

Kiai leaned down and put his face close to hers, a very stern look in his eyes. He paused, staring hard at her. “No.” he said simply, and broke into a grin as he playfully tapped her nose.

Emily let go of him and put her hands on her hips, her face showing a somewhat annoyed look. “That wasn't very funny, you know?”

“Listen kiddo...” Kiai began, his voice softening. “If I can beat off three Beedrills with a stick for you, I can be there to see you claim first prize at the Pokémon Tournament Championship.” He smiled, and began walking down the road...before he paused, turned around, and sheepishly said, “If I let you win, that is,” before breaking into a run.

“If you let me win?” Emily growled a little, but playfully. She then dashed off towards him, quickly snatching Shellshocker off the ground as she did. The two then began to run off towards Viridian Forest and the next great part of their adventure.