Chapter Three
"Team Rocket Terror."
Later that same day, Hoshi reached Viridian City. Her long hair was blowing in the gentle breeze. Her pokemon had been returned to their pokeballs and the pokeballs put into her backpack. She wandered around Viridian City. She found a Pokemon Center and went inside to rest. She was sitting there taking a load off her feet when she heard two people nearby talking about a missing pokemon.
"Rachel's not here today since it's her day off. She's been sad ever since her Vulpix disappeared," the girl told him.
"What happened to her Vulpix?" the boy asked.
"She told me that she outside here at the Pokemon Center a few days ago, where she helps out at, with her Vulpix. She went inside the Pokemon center for a minute to do something and when she came back out, her Vulpix was gone," the girl replied.
"Gee, that's too bad. What bad luck. I hope she finds her Vulpix soon," he said.
"I think that her Vulpix was stolen," the girl said.
"Does Rachel know who took her Vulpix?" he said.
No. She doesn't have any idea on who did it. She's as baffled as we are on this," the girl replied.
"Who could steal a pokemon from a Pokemon Center helper?" the boy asked.
"I don't know but Rachel feels bad about it," the girl replied.
The two continued talking as they got up from where they were sitting at and left the Pokemon Center.
Hoshi left the Center soon after they did.
She left Viridian City and headed toward Viridian Forest. She saw something step out of the grass beside the path just outside of Viridian City. It looked like a pokemon. "Let's see how this PokeDex thing works," she said to herself. She took out her PokeDex and pointed it at the creature.
"Spearow, a tiny bird pokemon. It can fly around very fast to protect its territory. Also tends to have a temper," the PokeDex said.
"A Spearow, huh? Ok Rattata, it's your turn," Hoshi said. She tossed out a pokeball containing Rattata. "Go Rattata!" she exclaimed.
A light shot out of the pokeball and took the form of a Rattata.
"Rattata!" the Rattata exclaimed.
"Tackle it, Rattata!" Hoshi exclaimed.
The Rattata ran at the Spearow. The Rattata caught the Spearow by surprise and sent it reeling head over heels.
The Spearow let out an angry squawk as it righted itself. It pecked at the Rattata.
"Rattata," it squeaked as it was pecked.
"Use your Tail Whip!" Hoshi called to her Rattata.
Rattata used its Tail Whip attack on the Spearow.
The Spearow's defense fell.
The Spearow Growled at Rattata.
Rattata's attack fell.
"Tackle it, again!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Rattata raced toward the Spearow and hit it head on.
The Spearow was slightly stunned.
After a few more minutes of battle, the Spearow was captured.
"All right! Another pokemon!" Hoshi exclaimed. "Rattata, return," she called out.
Rattata was recalled.
Meanwhile.
Ericka was still fuming. She remembered what her friend Britney had revealed to her yesterday after she had lost that fight. Hoshi had run off to somewhere and left her with Grimer laying at her feet. She had hurled insults about Penny in Hoshi's direction as Hoshi ran off. "I lost? How can that be?" Ericka asked in disbelief. She recalled Grimer who was laying at her feet.
"You want to get even with Hoshi, don't you Ericka?" her friend Britney, who looked to be about fourteen or fifteen, asked drawing Ericka aside.
"Of course I do! She made me look like a fool!" Ericka exclaimed.
"Well, I have a friend who's joined Team Rocket. His name is James. Team Rocket steals pokemon for a living. Stealing pokemon is what they do best," Britney told Ericka.
"I'll join Team Rocket, steal my way to the top and show people not to make a fool out of me!" Ericka exclaimed.
"I like your attitude, Ericka. You have the right kind of attitude for Team Rocket," Britney told her.
"I sure do," Ericka said.
Ericka's thought of yesterday ended.
Hoshi reached the edge of Viridian Forest. She heard a noise nearby and decided to see what it was.
A little boy about nine years old was being chased by some older kids. The young boy had a head start but the small group of girls and boys who were chasing him was relentlessly gaining on him.
"Allright, Team Rocket wants that Growlithe! Now give it to us!" one of them exclaimed.
"No! Growlithe is mine and I won't give it to you! Keep your dirty hands off of my Growlithe!" the little boy yelled to Team Rocket, holding his young Growlithe in his arms.
"Did you hear that? That kid said that we have dirty hands!" a Team Rocket member yelled.
"Let's get that Growlithe!" another member of Team Rocket yelled.
The little boy was breathing heavily for breathe, but he knew that he had to keep running. He couldn't let them get his Growlithe.
"It's Ericka!" Hoshi exclaimed under her breathe. She followed them along the path to see where they were going.
The little boy ran on a bridge that crossed the river below. Team Rocket wasn't too far behind. Soon they caught up to the little boy and surrounded him.
"Ericka! Why don't you go and pick on somebody your own age!" Hoshi yelled as she reached the bridge.
Team Rocket turned around at the sound of Hoshi's voice.
Hoshi ran across the bridge and came to a stop in front of the young boy.
"Well if it isn't Hoshi again." Ericka replied.
"Scram. This doesn't concern you. Now go on about your business and pretend that you never saw any of this," Britney said to Hoshi.
"Yeah. Make like a tree and get lost!" Ericka yelled.
"Leave! It's make like a tree and leave! Get it right!" Britney yelled at Ericka.
"So what? Who really cares?" Ericka shot back at Britney.
"You should learn how to get sayings right. You make us look bad when you get them wrong," Britney told Ericka.
"Oh shut up Britney," Ericka muttered under her breathe.
"Make like a tree and leave? That's a good one, Britney!" one of the boys replied as he laughed about it.
"What about me? I was the one who said it first," Ericka said, wanting to be given the credit for saying it.
"Yeah, but get it right like Britney said," a male Rocket said.
Ericka pouted and glared at the Rocket but he ignored Ericka glaring at him.
"You need to leave this little boy alone! Can't you see how exhausted that his Growlithe looks?" Hoshi yelled at Ericka.
"Shut your pie hole! I don't have to listen to you!" Ericka retorted to Hoshi.
Team Rocket started menacingly circling around Hoshi and the young boy like a hungry pack of wild Arcanines as Hoshi and Ericka were arguing.
The Growlithe would have growled at Team Rocket but it was too tired to.
Tears came to the little boy's eyes. Though he didn't know Hoshi he was glad that she was taking the time to stick up for him against the bullies who were trying to take his Growlithe. He made the attempt to hold the tears back because he didn't want anyone to see him crying. His Growlithe licked his face as if to say that it'd be alright. He gave his Growlithe a hug in return.
The young boy looked out over the edge of the bridge and noticed how far that they were from the ground and the river below them. He looked at Team Rocket in fear. Team Rocket had them cornered on the bridge and he thought for sure that they would steal his Growlithe from him.
Hoshi felt herself getting a little scared. She turned to the little boy. "Are you ok?" she asked him.
"Yes I am," he replied.
She pulled out her Pidgey. "You need to leave. It's not safe here," she told the boy. "Got that?" Hoshi asked him.
"Yes, I do," he said.
"Good. Now take my Pidgey and go to Viridian City," Hoshi replied.
The young boy nodded in agreement as he recalled his tired Growlithe and got on the Pidgey. The Pidgey took off from the bridge with him. He was wide eyed as they flew into the air. He had never flown before so it was kind of a new and scary experience to him.
Hoshi watch them fly off.
"Stay out of Team Rocket's way. You should have left when we told you to," Ericka said.
"If it's a pokemon battle that you want, then it'll be a pokemon battle that you will get," Hoshi told Ericka.
"You're on! Let's battle!" Ericka exclaimed in that smart-mouthed manner of hers. She took out a pokeball and released a Spearow.
Hoshi pulled out a pokeball, too. "I choose you, Rattata!" she exclaimed as Rattata appeared.
The Spearow was rapidly flying around in the air.
"Use your Peck Attack on that Rattata, Spearow!" Ericka exclaimed to it.
The Spearow swooped down to attack Rattata in response to Ericka's command.
"Use your Tackle Attack to counter-attack, Rattata!" Hoshi called out.
Rattata ran toward the Spearow. It tackled the Spearow.
"Use your Growl Attack, Spearow!" Ericka exclaimed.
The Spearow Growled at Rattata. Rattata's attack fell.
"Tail Whip, Rattata!" Hoshi called out.
Rattata used Tail Whip and made Spearow's defense fall.
"Peck Attack!" Ericka yelled.
"Tackle it, Rattata!" Hoshi called out.
Rattata ran at the Spearow as the Spearow was going to peck Rattata. They hit head on. The force of the blow sent Rattata flying back several feet.
"Oh no, Rattata! Return, Rattata," Hoshi said in dismay.
Rattata was recalled.
Hoshi reached for Spearow's pokeball. But before she could grab the pokeball and summon Spearow, Ericka yelled out something.
"Attack her, Spearow!" Ericka yelled, gesturing toward Hoshi.
The Spearow rapidly flew at her.
Hoshi ducked and took a step backward.
Ericka took a step forward.
Hoshi felt the railing of the bridge against her back. One of the bars of the railing must have been lose because she felt it give slightly when she leaned against it. With a look of wide-eyed horror on her face, she realized that Team Rocket was going to try to force her off of the bridge! She felt her foot slip off the edge of the bridge. Hoshi slipped off the edge of the bridge but managed to grab the framework of the bridge before she fell very far.
Ericka had an evil smile on her face.
Hoshi started sweating out of fear. "Don't look down! Don't look down!" she reminded herself. She felt her sweaty hands slowly slipping off of the framework of the bridge. She closed her eyes. Her hands slipped off of the bridge. Hoshi felt herself falling. 'No!' she screamed to herself in terror. She thought that this was the end. Suddenly, she felt something grab her around her waist in mid-air. She gasped in surprise as she stopped falling.
"Looks like I got here just in time!" a familiar voice exclaimed.
Hoshi opened her eyes. A Scyther had ahold of her by the waist and had stopped her from falling. "Andrew! What are you doing here? I haven't seen you for four years! What have you been doing lately?" she exclaimed as she stared at Andrew on the Scyther in surprise. Andrew had been one of her friends in Vermillion City before he moved away.
"There will be time enough later to answer your questions and explain things to you. Right now we've got trouble. Big trouble. Look over there," Andrew said, pointing toward the bridge.
Hoshi looked toward the bridge. Team Rocket was gathered at the side of the bridge looking at them with an angry look on their faces. Ericka must have said something to the Spearow because it started heading in their direction.
"I think that Scyther might be able to easily take out that Spearow, but not when it's supporting two people!" Andrew exclaimed.
'Oh no!' Hoshi exclaimed to herself as she saw the Spearow flying their way.
"Let's go! Get us out of here now, Scyther!" Andrew commanded.
Scyther took off with Andrew and Hoshi aboard.
Behind and below them, Team Rocket was running across the bridge in their direction as Hoshi and Andrew flew away on Scyther. But neither one of them noticed Team Rocket running in their direction. Ericka recalled the Spearow as Hoshi and Andrew flew out of their range.
A few minutes later.
"Ok, We're far enough away from them. Let's land here, Scyther," Andrew said.
Scyther landed at Andrew's command.
"I'm surprised to see you, Andrew," Hoshi said.
"You're surprised to see me? I never thought that I'd see you here," Andrew replied.
"Scyther? Scyther?" the Scyther asked Andrew.
"Scyther wants to know if you're ok," Andrew said to Hoshi.
"Yeah I am, Scyther. Thanks for the help," Hoshi replied.
"Scyther! Scyther!" it exclaimed.
"Scyther says anytime. He's glad that he was of some help," Andrew replied as he told Hoshi what Scyther said.
"What about my Pidgey? I sent it back to Viridian City with a little boy. We have to go back and get it," Hoshi exclaimed.
"I said I'd answer your questions and explain things to you, didn't I? After that, then we can go get your Pidgey," Andrew reminded her.
"Oh yeah, that's right. You did say that back at the bridge," Hoshi said.
"Besides, you're still shaking like a leaf from your encounter there. This will be a good time for you to calm down," Andrew said.
"I guess I am still a little scared from that," Hoshi replied.
"I believe that you had some questions for me," Andrew said.
"Yeah, I do," Hoshi replied. "Where do you live now? How did you find me?" she asked Andrew.
"Well, after my family left Vermillion City, we moved to Viridian City. I've been living there for the past four years. I was passing through Viridian Forest when I saw you run by after those bullies. And since I still remembered you even after four years, I decided to see if you could use any help," Andrew replied.
"That figures!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"I thought that your parents didn't want you to be a pokemon trainer?" Andrew asked.
"They didn't, but they've loosened up and stopped trying to make me be what they wanted me to be. They finally realized that I would never be happy being forced to be something that I'm not," Hoshi answered.
"Anyway, I'm glad that we met up again," Andrew said.
"Well it's lucky that you showed up when you did, Andrew," Hoshi replied.
"Are you ready to hit the road again?" Andrew asked.
"Yes I am. I'm not scared anymore. Let's go get my Pidgey," Hoshi replied.
Andrew and Hoshi started back towards Viridian City to get Hoshi's Pidgey.
To Be Continued