Chapter Ten
"Expect The Unexpected!"
"Gee, don't these people have anything better to do then stand around and look at a broken window? You'd think they had never seen a busted window before!" Brandon exclaimed under his breath as he looked at the crowd gathered in front of the Pokemon Mart.
"Now Brandon, that was totally uncalled for! Somebody might overhear you!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
"Sorry Elizabeth," Brandon apologized.
The three of them walked up to the crowd to see what had happened.
The screeching stopped.
"What's going on?" Hoshi asked a woman.
"A wild Mankey somehow got in the Pokemon Mart!" the woman exclaimed.
After a few moments, the screeching started back up again.
"I guess that Mankey must have been taking a rest to catch its breath," Brandon said.
Elizabeth was making a weird face at what Brandon said.
"I'm going in there," Hoshi announced.
"You can't be serious about going in there! That Mankey sounds like it's on a rampage!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she tried to change Hoshi's mind.
"Why not? Somebody has to stop that Mankey," Hoshi said.
Brandon and Elizabeth watched as Hoshi walked into the crowd.
Hoshi worked her way through the crowd until she reached the front of it.
"Come on, Brandon! Let's watch the battle!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
"Sure thing!" Brandon exclaimed.
They went through the crowd and up to the store.
Hoshi reached for the door of the Pokemon Mart, opened it, and went into the store where a big mess was laying on the floor near the door. 'What a mess this place is!' she thought to herself when she saw what the Mankey had done.
A metallic crash came from nearby as something hit the floor.
'That sounds like a shelf was just tipped over," Hoshi exclaimed to herself softly. Hoshi pulled out a pokeball as she cautiously walked forward. 'That Mankey is close by. I had better be prepared,' she thought.
The Mankey let out another screech.
Hoshi walked around an aisle in the store and saw a very angry Mankey!
The Mankey looked up as Hoshi came around the aisle.
Hoshi quickly averted her gaze to avoid looking the Mankey in the eye and making it madder.
Mankey kicked something in its path out of the way.
'I can't be sure but I think this might be the same Mankey that I fought earlier,' Hoshi thought to herself.
Mankey prepared to attack.
"Go Pidgey!" Hoshi exclaimed as she threw her pokeball.
Pidgey flew out of the pokeball.
Mankey attacked with a Karate Chop.
Pidgey was caught offguard by the attack.
The attack sent Pidgey flying across the room but Pidgey managed to stop itself before it collided with the wall by flapping its wings.
"Gust Attack now, Pidgey!" Hoshi called out.
Pidgey flapped its wings and sent a gust of wind toward Mankey.
Mankey tried to stand against Pidgey's Gust Attack, but was blown off of its feet. Mankey climbed to its feet again. It leapt at Pidgey, scratching it.
Pidgey squawked as it was scratched.
"Use your Sand Attack now, Pidgey!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Pidgey took a deep breath and then exhaled a cloud of sand right into Mankey's face, partially blinding it.
Mankey tried to attack with its Scratch Attack but the attack missed Pidgey.
"Use your Quick Attack, Pidgey!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Pidgey flapped its wings and rose into the air. It flew toward Mankey and prepared to attack it.
Just before Mankey was attacked, it sprang upwards, climbed over the shelves, and disappeared into the next aisle.
"Come on, Pidgey! We have to find that Mankey before it gets away! We can't let it make a bigger mess in the store then it already has!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Pidgey flew above the shelves.
Hoshi went one way while Pidgey went the other way as they searched the store for Mankey.
Hoshi was at one end of the store when she heard a ruckus at the other end of the store. "Pidgey must have found Mankey!" she exclaimed as she ran toward the source of the noise.
Pidgey was squawking as Mankey was trying to attack it.
Hoshi ran around the aisle.
Mankey and Pidgey were fighting up on a shelf.
"Sand Attack now, Pidgey!" Hoshi yelled.
Pidgey took a deep breath and then blew a cloud of sand toward Mankey.
Mankey was caught offguard by the attack. In retaliation, it ran at Pidgey, knocking it off the shelf.
Pidgey flapped its wings as it fluttered down to the floor.
Mankey leapt off the shelf and landed on the ground.
Pidgey landed on the floor some distance away from Mankey to give its wings a short rest and prepared for its next attack.
Mankey Leered at Pidgey.
"Use your Sand Attack again, Pidgey!" Hoshi exclaimed.
But Pidgey just stood there and looked at Mankey.
Mankey stopped leering at Pidgey.
"This isn't working! Try a Gust Attack, Pidgey!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Pidgey went to use a Gust Attack but was attacked.
Mankey used a Karate Chop on Pidgey and sent it flying across the store.
Pidgey weakly fluttered to the floor.
Mankey stood there and watched Pidgey.
"Come on, Pidgey! Don't give up!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Pidgey was still for a moment as it gathered its strength. Then it flapped its wings and flew up away from the floor. Suddenly Pidgey started glowing and then grew larger. The glow faded and a large bird was left in Pidgey's place.
"Pidgeotto!" the bird squawked.
"Oh wow! Pidgey just evolved into Pidgeotto!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Pidgeotto had a 'What next?' look on its face as it folded its wings and landed beside Hoshi.
Hoshi ran her hand over Pidgeotto's head.
Pidgeotto was feeling tired but was determined to finish the battle.
"Mankey's weak! Use your Quick Attack, Pidgeotto!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"Pidgeotto!" it exclaimed as it sprang into the air and swiftly moved to attack Mankey. It hit Mankey and stunned it.
Mankey sunk to its knees breathing heavily.
Hoshi took out a pokeball and threw it at Mankey.
The pokeball hit Mankey and it was sucked inside.
Hoshi watched as the pokeball shook for a few seconds as Mankey tried to break free, and then stopped. "I caught Mankey!" she exclaimed.
The pokeball with Mankey in it glowed, then vanished.
"Huh? What happened to the pokeball?!" Hoshi exclaimed in surprise. 'Elizabeth said that trainers can only carry six pokemon at a time. I guess it was transferred somewhere,' she said to herself.
Pidgeotto let out a tired but happy squawk.
"Return, Pidgetto!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Pidgeotto was recalled.
As she left the store, Elizabeth and Brandon came out of the crowd and walked up to her.
"How did the battle turn out?" Brandon asked.
"Did you catch that Mankey?" Elizabeth asked.
"The battle went fine. I caught Mankey. In fact, it was the same one that I had fought before. I just about caught it earlier, but then the battle got interrupted and the Mankey escaped," Hoshi replied.
"Oh well, that was too bad," Brandon said.
"How could you tell that this Mankey was the same one that you fought before?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well, last time I fought it I had to use two pokemon. It must have still been exhausted from the last battle because I was able to fight and capture it with just one pokemon," Hoshi replied.
"At least you got the Mankey this time," Elizabeth said.
"Yeah, I know," Hoshi replied.
"That Mankey won't cause anymore trouble around here," Brandon said.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I must be going now. I have to go meet a friend and then later, get a badge from the Gym here," Hoshi said.
"See you later, alligator!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she grinned.
"After while, crocodile!" Hoshi retorted, and then laughed.
"Girls! Who can understand them?!" Brandon exclaimed to himself under his breath as he rolled his eyes. Fortunately, his sister didn't hear him say that.
Hoshi was walking through the crowd after the battle when she saw Nurse Joy and went up to her. "Hey, can you tell me how to get to this address?" she asked Nurse Joy as she took out a piece of paper and showed it to Nurse Joy.
"Sure," Nurse Joy replied as she gave the directions to Hoshi.
Hoshi was walking on the outskirts of Cerulean City toward the house of Andrew's uncle. She had a strange feeling. She looked around but didn't see anything so she kept on walking. Just then, she heard a voice behind her.
"So, we meet again Hoshi!" a voice exclaimed.
Hoshi spun around and gasped as she looked behind her. "What do you want?!" she exclaimed to Gabriel and Burakki. There was something about Gabriel and Burakki that made Hoshi feel scared.
"Surely you didn't think that you could get away with spoiling my plans and having some fun at my expense, did you?!" Gabriel exclaimed.
Hoshi just stood there nervously biting her lip and said nothing.
Just then, something flew out of a nearby tree with a rustle of branches.
Gabriel and Burakki both turned to find out what had made the noise.
"Oh, it's only a Pidgey!" Gabriel exclaimed in digust.
While Gabriel and Burakki's attention was diverted, Hoshi crept away from them. She was probably late in meeting Andrew.
Gabriel turned back to where Hoshi had been standing, but she wasn't there anymore. "Hey! Where did she go?!" he exclaimed as he turned to Burakki.
Burakki just looked around. Then he looked toward some bushes that were kind of moving.
Gabriel muttered an angry oath under his breath. "Come on! We can't let that little brat interfere with our plans! Let's go!" Gabriel shouted to Burakki. Gabriel headed in Hoshi's direction.
Burakki ran after Gabriel.
Hoshi saw them coming in her direction and took off running, hoping to lose Gabriel and Burakki among the trees.
Gabriel ran after her.
Hoshi ran through the grove of trees and stopped behind a bunch of trees. She thought that she was safe from Gabriel and Burakki.
Just then, Gabriel came walking into view and looking around him.
Hoshi gave a soft, startled gasp and hoped that Gabriel wouldn't see her.
Gabriel turned and spotted her by the trees.
"Ah, I've found her!" Hoshi heard Gabriel shout as he pointed right in her direction!
'Oh no!' Hoshi thought to herself. She tried to duck out of Gabriel's sight and ran right into Burakki! She turned to run from Burakki but one look at it and she thought better of it as Gabriel came walking toward them.
Gabriel and Burakki finally managed to corner Hoshi by the group of trees.
Hoshi faced her opponents. "Uh, hi guys," she said weakly.
"You sure have caused us alot of trouble and I'll be claiming my prize now, which happens to be your Nidoran! I'm also going to teach you your final lesson!" Gabriel exclaimed to Hoshi.
Hoshi began shaking in fear at the sight of the boy and his Burakki.
Gabriel stared at the pokeballs around Hoshi's waist until he felt that he found the pokeball which contained Nidoran in it. Using his Quick Attack move, he snatched Nidoran's pokeball from Hoshi's belt.
"Hey! Give that back!" Hoshi exclaimed as she tried to grab for the pokeball in Gabriel's hand.
There was a scuffle for the pokeball.
Hoshi's hand closed around the pokeball but Gabriel jerked it out of her grasp.
Gabriel smirked triumphtly. "Nidoran is mine now!" he exclaimed.
Hoshi was not happy that Gabriel took one of her pokemon.
Gabriel angrily yelled something in a loud voice.
Hoshi tried to make out Gabriel's words but didn't understand what he was saying because he spoke too fast. She wanted to look away but could only stare at Gabriel in horror as he continued shouting.
"Now let's see you deal with this! Confuse Ray!" Gabriel shouted as a fired a beam of energy at Hoshi.
In horror, Hoshi could only watch as the Confuse Ray was fired in her direction.
Suddenly, a small blur raced toward them and stopped in front of Hoshi.
The small blur was an Efi.
The Confuse Ray was just a few feet away from Hoshi.
The Efi wasted no time. It quickly fired a Psybeam Attack at the Confuse Ray right before the Ray could hit them.
There was a blinding flash of light as the two attacks collided with each other. The force of the blast was enough to send both Hoshi and Efi flying against the tree behind them.
Efi had the breath knocked out of it when they hit the tree since it had been in front of Hoshi when the Confuse Ray collided with the Psybeam. Efi was sprawled on the ground, trying to catch its breath.
Hoshi whacked the back of her head against the tree, fell to the ground, and lay there, stunned. As Hoshi lay there, she half wished that she had never messed with Gabriel earlier.
Gabriel quickly fired another Confuse Ray at Hoshi.
Hoshi saw the attack out of the corner of her eye and tried to roll out of its path, but was struck by it before she could move.
The Ray enveloped Hoshi and she became confused.
Gabriel laughed in the distance. "This is almost too easy! Now it's time to meet your maker!" he shouted. He started walking toward Hoshi. Then he noticed the Efi and stopped walking.
Hoshi sat up and shook her head to try to clear her thoughts. She still felt kind of confused and knew that she would be sore the next day.
"Ah, an Efi! This must be my lucky day! I'll catch two pokemon at the same time!" Gabriel exclaimed as he threw back his head and let out a triumphant laugh.
Hoshi was angry now. She slowly stood up, though she was in pain from hitting the tree. "How dare you steal my Nidoran! And you can leave that Efi alone, too!" she shouted at Gabriel.
"Who cares?!" Gabriel retorted.
Hoshi felt a strange feeling start running through her. 'What.... what is happening to me?' she wondered to herself. She felt scared because she didn't like the way that it was making her feel.
Gabriel watched as an expression of fear appeared on Hoshi's face.
"Take this!" Hoshi yelled as she stepped forward. Without thinking, she used the Psybeam Attack! A beam of energy appeared and headed toward Gabriel.
Gabriel used his Quick Attack move to avoid the attack, and then darted off to the side of Hoshi.
Hoshi spun around to face Gabriel.
Gabriel had a strange expression on his face as he stared at Hoshi. "What is this?! Efi powers?! Finally, I've found the person who uses Efi powers! Not surprising it's a girl, but you, of all people! I never would have guessed that you had the Efi powers!" he shouted as he dropped Nidoran's pokeball in surprise.
The pokeball rolled in Hoshi's direction.
Hoshi quickly grabbed the pokeball, straightened up, and then put it back on her belt.
"This is a surprising turn of events!" Gabriel exclaimed.
Hoshi backed away nervously until she was standing near the Efi.
"You just made my job a whole lot easier! But don't worry, I won't tell anyone that I found you until after I have some fun!" Gabriel exclaimed with a smirk on his face.
'Where'd that come from?' Hoshi asked herself as she began to tremble.
Efi opened its eyes and looked up at Hoshi. "Hi," the Efi said.
Hoshi jumped back. "Wah! Am I imagining things or did that Efi just talk?!" she exclaimed in surprise.
"You didn't imagine it. I can talk," Efi said to Hoshi.
"A talking Efi. How interesting! Now that's something you don't see everyday!" Gabriel exclaimed to Burakki as he looked at Hoshi and the Efi.
"That's not surprising since I can talk, too!" Burakki exclaimed to Hoshi.
"First a talking Efi, and now a talking Burakki! This is almost unreal!" Hoshi exclaimed, looking from the Efi to Burakki and back to the Efi again.
"Yeah, well life is full of surprises so get used to it!" Burakki exclaimed in reply to Hoshi.
"You got that right, Burakki!" Gabriel exclaimed.
"Efi reminds me of a wizard from the way that she talks," Hoshi said to herself softly.
"So! You think that I sound like a wizard!" Efi exclaimed to Hoshi.
Hoshi had a startled expression on her face as she looked at Efi. "You heard me! But how?!" she exclaimed to Efi.
"I happen to have good hearing," Efi explained. "Why did you say that I sound like a wizard?" Efi asked Hoshi.
"Well, you do have a mystical sounding voice, Efi. That's why I said that you reminded me of a wizard," Hoshi explained.
"I find your comment to be very interesting," Efi said, looking at Hoshi.
Hoshi felt a shiver run down her back at the way that Efi looked at her.
"I can tell that you're scared Hoshi, but don't let that guy intimadate you," Efi said.
"You stay out of this, Efi!" Gabriel shouted.
"Leave Efi alone!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"Back off!" Burakki snapped at Hoshi and Efi. He stepped forward and stopped beside Gabriel.
"Don't tell us what to do!" Efi exclaimed to Burakki. She was bristling with barely suppressed anger.
Hoshi looked up at the sky in disgust.
Gabriel had a fighting look in his eyes.
"Stop! You don't know what you're doing! It doesn't have to be this way!" Hoshi exclaimed to Gabriel.
Gabriel glared at Hoshi. "Don't get smart with us!" he snapped at her.
Hoshi wearily sighed in response and rolled her eyes. She had a feeling that she knew what was coming . She really didn't want to do it because she had someplace else that she wanted to be at, but Gabriel wasn't giving her any choice.
"Your attack earlier was very impressive! Can you handle this?!" Gabriel shouted. He ran toward Hoshi.
"Here it comes right back at you!" Hoshi exclaimed as she quickly dodged his attack, then shot a Psybeam Attack at Gabriel.
Gabriel had to stop short under a tree as the Psybeam Attack hit him. He fired a Confuse Ray at Hoshi in retaliation.
The Confuse Ray struck Hoshi as she was preparing to use her Swift Attack to fire a bunch of stars at Gabriel. Hoshi gasped and gave a sudden jerk as the Ray hit her. She tried to use her Swift Attack but became confused as the stars went wide and missed their mark.
"Darn! My attack missed!" Hoshi exclaimed in dismay.
Gabriel was smirking at the fact that Hoshi's attack missed.
Efi was watching the battle from underneath a nearby bush.
Gabriel was getting ready to attack again.
Hoshi took a few deep breaths and gathered her energy. She quickly fired a Psybeam Attack at Gabriel. A large beam of energy appeared and hit the tree behind Gabriel.
Gabriel looked up at the apple tree that he was standing under. "I'm out of here! I don't want to get bapped on the head by one of those apples!" he exclaimed.
A couple more apples fell to the ground.
"Mark my words, we shall meet again!" Gabriel exclaimed as he stared at Hoshi.
Hoshi felt scared at Gabriel's words.
"Let's get out of here, Burakki!" Gabriel shouted.
'Good riddance!' Hoshi exclaimed to herself.
Gabriel and Burakki ran off as more apples fell from the tree.
Several hours later, Hoshi slowly opened her eyes. She found herself laying on a bed in a strange room. 'Where am I?! How did I get here?!' a confused Hoshi thought to herself as she sat up. Then she noticed a Efi beside her. "Where did you come from, Efi?" she asked.
"Hello. Nice to see you again," the Efi said.
"Again?! Who are you?! Have we meet before?! How did you get here?!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"I'm the Efi that you helped out earlier. You gave me food when I was hungry so I decided to come back and help you in return," it said.
"Well, that explains everything," Hoshi replied.
"My name is Celena," Efi replied.
"Wait a minute! You... you can talk!" Hoshi stammered in a delayed reaction as she stared at Celena in surprise.
"Of course I can talk!" Celena replied.
"My name is Hoshi," she said to Celena
Just then, Andrew came walking into the room.
"Hi, Andrew," Hoshi said.
"So you're awake. I thought I heard you waking up," Andrew said.
"Yeah, I'm awake," Hoshi replied, sleepily.
"The Efi seems to like you. Is it the same one that we found earlier?" Andrew asked.
"Yes it is. I let it go and it somehow came back," Hoshi replied.
"Hi Andrew," the Efi said.
Andrew's mouth dropped open in surprise. "That.... that Efi just spoke!" Andrew exclaimed in surprise.
"Don't look so surprised, Andrew!" the Efi exclaimed.
"I know how you must be feeling, Andrew. The Efi talked to me shortly before you came in and I was just as surprised as you were," Hoshi explained.
"Call me Celena," Efi said.
"Hi Celena," Andrew said.
"Nice to meet you," Celena said to Andrew.
"By the way, what were you doing in the middle of the path to Cerulean City, Celena?" Hoshi asked.
"I was trying to rest because I was tired from walking around," Celena patiently explained.
"I think Celena is a pretty name," Hoshi said.
"Thanks. Celena means moon. I like watching the moon come out at night. That's where I got the name Celena from," the Efi replied.
"How did you learn to talk?" Hoshi asked Celena.
"I used to live near a cabin occupied by a family. The family used to sit outside on their porch in the afternoon during their free time and read. Sometimes, they would read aloud from their books. At first, I sat and watched them from a distance. Eventually, I took to hiding under their porch when they were reading. They never knew that I was hiding under their porch, for I was careful not to be seen by them. As time went by, I began picking up the human language. The family was a happy one who enjoyed doing things together. I had a blast watching them. One of their favorite things to do on nice breezy days was flying kites," Celena said. She smiled fondly as she rememered the happy memories. "One day, the family was talking about the places that they would like to visit someday. That was when I got the urge to travel. So I left my home to see the world, though I would still occasionally return to my home near the cabin," Celena continued.
"A talking Efi. This is amazing!" Andrew exclaimed.
"Yeah, I know," Hoshi replied.
"You took a nasty bump on the head. Do you remember how it happened?" Andrew asked Hoshi.
"No, I don't," Hoshi replied.
"I happened to see part of your fight with Gabriel," Andrew explained.
"Gabriel?! What about him?!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"You used Efi powers against him! I saw you use them!" Andrew insisted.
"That can't be possible. Last thing I remember was seeing Gabriel appear from out of nowhere right in front of me while I was on my way to your uncle's house. Everything after that is a blur," Hoshi explained, looking scared and confused.
Andrew suddenly realized Hoshi didn't remember any of the battle that had occured earlier. Hoshi seemed bothered by talking about this so he decided not to bring up up again and upset her further.
"My head hurts and I feel stiff all over," Hoshi complained, holding her head in her hands.
"Actually, what really happened is that you tripped over a tree root, hit your head against the tree, and became confused. You're at my uncle's house. I helped him bring you here. He wondered what had happened to you so I basically told him the same story that I just told you about falling and hitting your head against a tree," Andrew said.
"You seem full of surprises, Celena!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"I guess you could say that!" Celena replied.
"Celena, would you consider joining us on our journey?" Hoshi asked.
"Well.... I wasn't planning on joining you two, but I guess I can. It's not like I have anything better to do," Celena replied.
"Welcome to our group, Celena," Andrew said.
Celena stopped talking as they heard somebody approaching the room they were in.
Andrew's uncle came walking into the room.
"Hi uncle Bill," Andrew said.
"So you're Hoshi. Andrew has told me about you. How are you feeling?" Bill asked Hoshi.
"Very sore and tired," Hoshi replied to Bill.
"Yes, I can see that. A few days rest and you should feel a whole better," Bill replied to Hoshi.
"I really don't want to be a bother to you, Bill," Hoshi said.
"Nonsense! It's no trouble at all! Besides, it's been awhile since I have had any company. I'm sure that your pokemon would enjoy the break just as much as you two would," Bill exclaimed. He looked at the Efi. "So you have a Efi. It's not very often that I see one of those around," Bill said.
"It's not really my Efi. I found it earlier and then let it go. It came back later on," Hoshi informated.
"That's quite interesting," Bill replied.
"By the way, I caught a Mankey earlier," Hoshi told Andrew.
"That's great to hear, but we will talk later. I don't want to tire you out," Andrew replied.
"Andrew is right, you know. From what he tells me, you both had a busy day today," Bill said.
"Go back to sleep. You're hurt and need the rest," Andrew said.
"Ok," Hoshi replied as she lay back down and closed her eyes.
A few days later.
"I guess that break was good for us. We needed some time to relax," Andrew said.
"I know what you mean! Bill was right. The pokemon enjoyed their rest, too," Hoshi exclaimed.
"Do you two have any plans for today?" Bill asked Hoshi and Andrew as he came in from outside.
"I'd really like to catch another pokemon," Andrew said.
"There are Oddish and other pokemon around here if anyone wants to catch one," Bill replied.
"An Oddish? I've always wanted one of those!" Andrew exclaimed.
"You must like Oddish," Hoshi commented to Andrew.
"I guess you could say that," Andrew replied.
"When you two get back from catching pokemon, I'll show you my lab," Bill said.
"That sounds like fun!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"Come on, Hoshi! I want to go catch an Oddish!" Andrew exclaimed.
"Let's go, Celena!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Celena jumped into Hoshi's arms.
"I'm coming! Wait for me!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Andrew hurried out the door.
Hoshi followed behind him.
They walked along the path until they came to a grassy area.
"We should be able to find an Oddish here since they live in areas of tall grass," Andrew.
"This weed patch looks like it hasn't been mowed since the beginning of time!" Hoshi exclaimed as she chuckled.
Andrew kind of glared at Hoshi. "Weed patch?! You call this a weed patch?! The grass is tall, but not that tall! For your information, this is where certain kinds of wild pokemon can be found and not just a weed patch!" he exclaimed. Then he stopped as he looked at Hoshi. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that to you," he apologized.
"It's ok. Don't worry about it," Hoshi replied. She was still laughing.
"It's nice to see that you're acting normal again. You just weren't yourself these past few days while you were recovering," he said.
"I know. I didn't exactly feel like myself either for awhile. It sure was fun to goof off for awhile but now it's time to get back to business," Hoshi replied.
"I should have known that you were trying to get my attention with your little comment about the weed patch!" Andrew exclaimed.
Hoshi just laughed in response.
Celena was watching them with interest. "It's another nice day. That breeze feels nice," Celena said to Hoshi.
"It sure does!" Hoshi exclaimed with a grin.
Andrew pulled out a pokeball and got ready to catch a pokemon.
"Celena, why are you so reluctant to talk in front of other people?" Hoshi asked the Efi.
"That's a simply question and one that I don't mind answering. I'm not sure how people would take to a talking pokemon. I don't want to spook anyone like I did with you two," Celena explained.
"You're a thoughtful Efi, Celena," Hoshi said.
"Thanks," Celena replied.
"You know, I'm starting to get used to the way that you talk, Celena," Hoshi said.
"I don't blame you for not wanting to spook other people," Andrew said.
"I'm glad that you understand," Celena replied.
A pokemon stepped out of the grass and onto the path in front of Hoshi, Celena, and Andrew. The pokemon had what appeared to be green leaves coming out of the top of its head.
"It's an Oddish! I'm going to catch it!" Andrew exclaimed.
"Go for it, Andrew!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"Go pokeball!" Andrew exclaimed as he threw his pokeball.
To Be Continued