Chapter Five
"Trouble In Viridian Forest!"
A few days later. Hoshi and Andrew were walking by some clumps of bushes in the forest when they interrupted a pokemon who was eating.
"I wonder what kind of pokemon that is?" Hoshi asked pulling her PokeDex and pointing it at the pokemon.
"Nidoran. A poison pin pokemon. Although small, it's venomous barbs render this pokemon dangerous. The female has smaller horns," Dexter replied.
The Nidoran saw them and gave an angry snort.
"That Nidoran doesn't look too happy to me," Andrew said.
"Well, I'd be angry too if I thought that somebody was going to steal my food," Hoshi replied.
"I think we'd better get out of here!" Andrew exclaimed.
"There's too many bushes around here! We'll have to find a better place for a battle! Run for it, Andrew!" Hoshi yelled.
Hoshi and Andrew started running.
Behind them, the Nidoran chased after them.
"Split up! It can't chase after both of us if we separate!" Andrew yelled.
"Good idea!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Hoshi and Andrew split up and ran in different directions.
The Nidoran followed Andrew.
Andrew stumbled on the uneven ground and fell. "Uff!" he exclaimed as he fell.
Hoshi heard him fall and turned to look at him.
Just then, the Nidoran came charging out of the bushes.
"Andrew!" Hoshi screamed.
The Nidoran ran toward Andrew.
Since Hoshi was too far away to help Andrew, she did the only thing that she could do. She pulled out a pokeball and threw it. "I choose you, Penny!" she exclaimed.
Penny appeared in a beam of light.
"Meowth," Penny said.
"Scratch Attack, now!" Hoshi yelled to Penny.
Penny scratched at Nidoran.
Nidoran let out an angry screech.
The pokemon started fighting.
"Andrew, get out of there now!" Hoshi screamed.
"I heard you!" Andrew exclaimed as he got up and ran clear of the battling pokemon.
The two fighting pokemon paid no attention to Andrew.
The Nidoran ran at Penny.
She leapt away and the attack missed her.
"Growl Attack, Penny!" Hoshi called out.
Penny growled at the Nidoran.
A shiver of fear went down the Nidoran's back. Nidoran ran at Penny and sent her flying but Penny landed on her feet.
"The Growl Attack lessened the Nidoran's attacks. Use your Scratch Attack again, Penny!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Penny scratched at Nidoran again.
The Nidoran sank to its knees but tried to rise to its feet.
Hoshi pulled out a pokeball. "Go pokeball!" she exlaimed as she threw the pokeball at the Nidoran.
The pokeball opened up and captured the Nidoran in a beam of light. The pokeball shook for a few seconds then stopped.
Meanwhile, Andrew had caught his breath and came over to Hoshi.
"Are you ok?" Hoshi asked.
"Yes I am," Andrew replied.
"I wasn't planning on catching a Nidoran but guess I got one unexpectedly," Hoshi said, chuckling in relief as she picked up the pokeball with Nidoran in it.
"Hey, what's that over there?" Andrew asked, pointing at something among the trees.
"I don't know. Let's check it out!" Hoshi exclaimed.
They went over to investigate.
Hoshi's eyed widened. "Pokemon!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah. Lots of them," Andrew replied.
"I guess it was a good thing that Nidoran was chasing us or we would have never found this place," Hoshi said.
"Very true," Andrew replied.
Hoshi and Andrew found at least two dozen pokemon carrying cases. Each case had a bright red R on it and contained a pokemon in it.
"Look at all of these cases. How are we ever going to find out which one Vulpix is in?" Andrew asked.
"I guess we'll have to look in every one until we find Vulpix," Hoshi replied.
Just then, they heard some voices nearby.
A couple of people came walking out from in between the trees.
"Oh no. Not them again," Hoshi said out loud to herself.
"Who are you?" Andrew asked.
"What? You've never heard of Team Rocket?" Ericka asked.
"We'll just show you who we are. We are Team Rocket and being bad is what we do best," Britney said.
"Ericka! I should have known that you and Britney were behind this!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"So, you have figured our pokemon stealing scheme out," Britney replied.
"I see that you found a friend since we last meet," Ericka said to Hoshi. Ericka looked over at Andrew and noticed his Rattata riding in his backpack. "Oh look at that. A boy and his Rattata. Your Rattata looks weak and wimpy to me. I doubt if you even know how to use your pokemon to battle with," Ericka told Andrew.
Hoshi was reaching for a pokeball when Andrew stopped her.
"Let me battle them. I'll show them that my Rattata is not weak and wimpy as they say it is," Andrew replied.
"I'll battle them. I've fought these clowns before and I know how to handle them," Hoshi told Andrew.
"Clowns, eh? We'll show you who the clowns are!" Britney angrily screeched.
"I'll take care of this. You just go find that Vulpix," Andrew said.
"Ok," Hoshi said as she went to find Vulpix.
"You don't scare me," Andrew replied.
"Well, I have a few surprises of my own," Ericka exclaimed to Andrew with a smug look on her face.
"Let's go Rattata!" Andrew exclaimed.
"Rattata," it exclaimed as it jumped out of Andrew's backpack and took its place before Andrew.
"Prepare for another battle, Grimer!" Ericka exclaimed, throwing a pokeball.
A light came out of the pokeball and took the shape of a Grimer.
"Grimer," it said.
"Tackle it, Rattata!" Andrew exclaimed.
The Rattata took a flying leap at Grimer.
Grimer took some damage from the tackle.
"Pound the Rattata!" Ericka exclaimed.
Grimer used its Pound Attack on Rattata.
Rattata squeaked in pain.
"Use your Tail Whip, Rattata!" Andrew told his pokemon.
Rattata turned around and slapped Grimer with its tail.
The Grimer was distracted by the Tail Whip.
"Disable Attack now, Grimer!" Ericka yelled.
The Grimer used its Disable Attack, but missed.
"Tackle Attack, Rattata!" Andrew exclaimed.
The Rattata ran at Grimer. The attack missed.
"Pound Attack, Grimer!" Ericka called out.
Grimer attacked Rattata again.
"Use your Tackle again, Rattata!" Andrew exclaimed.
Rattata's Tackle Attack left the Grimer reeling.
"Grimer, return!" Ericka exclaimed, holding out the pokeball.
Grimer was returned to its pokeball.
Hoshi went over to the carrying cases and started releasing the pokemon that were inside, including the Spearow and Rhyhorn that Ericka had taken earlier.
The pokemon ran and flew back to where ever it was that they were when Team Rocket had stolen them.
"Hey! Get away from those cases! What do you think you 're doing?!" Britney exclaimed.
"Me? Why I'm freeing all the pokemon that you swiped. They don't belong to you and you can't keep them," Hoshi replied. She had five pokemon left to release when Britney challenged her to a pokemon battle.
"If you want to find Vulpix, you are going to have to defeat me first!" Britney told Hoshi.
"I accept your challenge," Hoshi replied.
"You think you have what it takes to beat me?!" Britney exclaimed.
"You're on!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Britney threw out a pokeball. "I choose you, Poliwag!" she called out.
"Poliwag," it said as it appeared.
"That's a cute pokemon. It's too bad that I have to battle it," Hoshi said.
"Let's get this battle going. You accepted my challenge and it's too late to back out now!" Britney exclaimed impatiently.
"Who said that I was backing out of this battle?! All I said was that I thought Poliwag was cute! There's a big difference between expressing one's opinions and backing out of a pokemon battle!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"Whatever," Britney replied in a bored voice.
"Let's go, Bulbasaur!" Hoshi exclaimed as she pulled out a pokeball and threw it.
A Bulbasaur appeared in a beam of light. "Bulbasaur," it said.
"This is your first battle, Bulbasaur. You think you're up to it?" Hoshi asked.
"Bulbasaur," it replied.
"I know you haven't battled before so just do your best," Hoshi told Bulbasaur.
"Bulbasaur," it said.
"Attack!" Hoshi screamed to her pokemon, pointing in Britney's direction.
Bulbasaur got ready to battle.
"Bubble Beam Attack, Poliwag!" Britney called out.
Poliwag blew a stream of bubbles at Bulbasaur.
The bubbles hit Bulbasaur and slightly injured it.
"Tackle it, Bulbasaur!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Bulbasaur ran at the Poliwag and knocked it off of its feet.
"Show that Bulbasaur your stuff!" Britney exclaimed.
Poliwag got back on its feet and resumed the battle.
"Launch another Bubble Beam Attack!" Britney yelled out.
Poliwag blew a Bubble Beam Attack at Bulbasaur.
The attack missed.
"Growl Attack, Bulbasaur!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Bulbasaur growled at Poliwag.
Poliwag was startled.
"Use your Bubble Beam Attack again!" Britney told Poliwag.
Poliwag blew bubbles at Bulbasaur but it wasn't that effective.
"Tackle it, Bulbasaur!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Bulbasaur ran at the Poliwag. The force of Bulbasaur's tackle left Poliwag weak.
As Hoshi and Andrew were battling, they didn't notice other Team Rocket members hauling the rest of the cases away.
"Return, Poliwag!" Britney exclaimed, holding out a pokeball.
Poliwag was recalled.
"Let's go, Ericka!" Britney exclaimed.
"You may have won this battle, but you haven't seen the last of us!" Ericka shouted. She followed Britney as they ran into the forest.
Andrew noticed Hoshi looking around. "What is it?" he asked.
"What the heck?! Vulpix is gone! Oh no, I've failed! And I was so close to freeing Vulpix, too!" Hoshi exclaimed hanging her head to hide the disappointment in her eyes.
"I know that you're disappointed about not freeing the Vulpix. But there's always next time," Andrew told Hoshi.
"Wait a minute. Team Rocket can't have gotten too far. I think I know of a way to find out which direction they went in!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"How are we going to do that?" Andrew asked.
"Easy!" Hoshi replied, pulling out a pokeball and throwing it. "I choose you, Spearow!" she exclaimed.
A Spearow shot out of the pokeball.
"Spearow, we need to find Team Rocket. Can you find out which way they went?" Hoshi asked the Spearow.
"Spearow," it replied.
"Good. Now take off flying and see if you can discover which way they are headed," Hoshi told the Spearow.
The Spearow took off flying to help search for Team Rocket and the missing Vulpix.
About half an hour later, the Spearow returned.
"Did you locate Team Rocket for us?" Hoshi asked the Spearow.
"Spearow," it replied.
"Spearow's found Team Rocket!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"Let's go," Andrew answered.
They both followed Spearow as it led them to where Team Rocket was.
"Look, there's the Team Rocket camp and the last five pokemon!" Hoshi exclaimed as they looked through the bushes.
"That was very ingenious of you, Hoshi. Team Rocket probably never thought that you would use your Spearow to find them," Andrew said.
"Thanks," she said, beaming.
"The only Team Rocket member I see in sight is Ericka," Andrew said.
"She should be easy to defeat. Let's take her by surprise," Hoshi replied.
"Good idea!" Andrew exclaimed.
"Give it up, Ericka!" Hoshi shouted as she and Andrew dashed out to face Ericka.
Ericka seemed surprised to see them but didn't back down.
Hoshi went over to the carrying cases.
"What are you doing?! Those five pokemon are ours!" Ericka exclaimed as Hoshi released the last five pokemon.
All of the pokemon except for Vulpix ran into the forest.
"Allright, we finally got Vulpix!" Andrew exclaimed.
"So it's you again!" Britney exclaimed to Hoshi as she appeared from behind the trees and walked forward until she was beside Ericka.
Vulpix was standing beside Hoshi and Andrew.
Hoshi turned to face Ericka and Britney. "Your scheme is over. We found and freed all of the pokemon that you stole. We're returning Vulpix to its rightful owner," Hoshi told Team Rocket.
"We stole Vulpix and it's ours now," Ericka said.
"If you want to have another pokemon battle, I can arrange that," Hoshi told Team Rocket. She took out a pokeball. "Go Nidoran!" she exclaimed as she threw the pokeball.
A Nidoran appeared from the pokeball.
"Nidoran," it said.
Andrew threw out a pokeball, too. "I choose you, Scyther!" he exclaimed.
"Scyther," it replied as it appeared.
"Britney, we never healed our pokemon from the last battle!" Ericka exclaimed.
"Just leave everything to me," Britney replied.
"What are we going to do?" Ericka asked.
"Get ready to use your Tackle Attack, Nidoran!" Hoshi told her pokemon.
"On second thought, we will be leaving now. We've got to be somewhere else. Right, Ericka?" Britney said, nudging Ericka.
"Yeah, that's right. Well, it was nice talking to you but we've really got to run. See you around," Ericka said to Hoshi and Andrew.
Ericka and Britney headed into the forest.
"Return Nidoran!" Hoshi called out holding out the pokeball and recalling Nidoran.
Andrew recalled his Scyther as well.
"Now to find Rachel. I'm sure she wants her Vulpix back," Hoshi said, looking down at Vulpix.
Later on in the day Hoshi and Andrew were walking along when they met a boy in the forest.
"Is one of you a pokemon trainer?" he asked.
"I am," Hoshi replied.
"Great! My name is Jason and I challenge you to a pokemon battle!" he exclaimed.
"Let's battle!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"I'm the best pokemon trainer that there is," Jason boasted. He took out a pokeball. "Go, Pikachu!" he exclaimed.
A Pikachu appeared.
"Pikachu," it said.
"Let's go, Nidoran!" Hoshi called out, tossing out a pokeball.
Nidoran appeared from the pokeball.
"Tackle Attack, Nidoran!" Hoshi told it.
Nidoran ran at the Pikachu. The blow knocked Pikachu off its feet.
Pikachu climbed to its feet.
"Use your Thundershock!" Jason exclaimed.
PIkachu sent a bolt of electricity at Nidoran and hit it.
The Nidoran was slightly singed.
"Growl Attack now, Pikachu!" Jason exclaimed.
Pikachu growled at Nirodan and decreased the power of its attacks.
"Hang on, Nidoran! I know you can do it!" Hoshi called out to it. "Tackle Attack, Nidoran!" Hoshi continued.
NIdoran ran at Pikachu again but missed.
"Thundershock again, Pikachu!" Jason exclaimed.
Pikachu discharged a Thundershock at Nidoran. The Thundershock hit Nidoran and it fell to its knees, exhausted.
Hoshi pulled out a pokeball and was going to recall Nidoran when Andrew interrupted her.
"Don't recall Nidoran just yet," Andrew said.
Why not?" Hoshi asked.
"We only have a few pokemon potions and antidotes left. If you use another pokemon, there won't have enough supplies left to heal them," Andrew told her.
"Why didn't you tell me that we were almost out of pokemon supplies!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"I just did," Andrew replied.
"I think I'm in trouble. Without enough potions and antidotes there is no way that I can win this battle," Hoshi quietly said.
Jason overheard their conversation and got an evil look in his eyes. "I'm going to win this battle for sure!" he boasted.
Nidoran got up and started backing away.
Pikachu sat down and firmly refused to battle anymore.
"What's wrong with you?! Get up and continue the fight! We are winning this battle!" Jason yelled at his Pikachu.
"Pika, Pika," it exclaimed sadly.
"I don't want any of your excuses! Just get back in the battle!" Jason yelled at it.
"Pika, Pika!" it said as it refused to listen to Jason.
"Ungratefully little Pikachu," Jason angrily muttered.
A girl on a Ponyta burst from in between the trees. She came to a stop in the middle of the battle, interrupting it. She was wearing a hooded cloak with the hood pulled up over her head. "Stop!" she exclaimed.
"Get out of our way! We're having a pokemon battle here!" Jason rudely demanded.
Hoshi and Andrew stared in surprise at the strange girl.
"I was enjoying myself until you guys came along and started making a bunch of noise!" the girl exclaimed, jumping off of the Ponyta. "I am Pretty Soldier Sailor Wildfire," she continued. "Your Pikachu looks tired to me," she said to Doug, looking at the Pikachu.
"Who asked you?!" Jason exclaimed.
"You just can't keep pushing pokemon to battle without giving them a rest when they're tired or you'll break their spirit and then they won't be good for anything. Good trainers know when their pokemon need a break. Pokemon have feelings, too you know. They also need a trainer who care about their pokemon. And you are neither," Sailor Wildfire replied.
"It's my business how I want to treat my Pikachu! Stay out of this!" Jason shouted at her.
"It would also help if you weren't rude to everybody. Now give your Pikachu its freedom," Sailor Wildfire told Jason.
"It's my Pikachu and it's not going anywhere! Guess I'll just have to teach you a lesson!" Jason exclaimed as he walked toward Sailor Wildfire.
"That's what you think," Sailor Wildfire replied as she fired an Ember Attack into the air.
Jason saw the Ember Attack and got scared. "You can keep the Pikachu! Just.... stay away from me!" he screamed as he fled into the forest, leaving the Pikachu behind.
"What a jerk!" Hoshi exclaimed as they watched him go.
"You can say that again," Andrew replied.
"Thanks for your help in getting rid of that guy," Hoshi told Sailor Wildfire.
"I don't need any thanks," she replied. Sailor Wildfire got back on her Ponyta. She turned to look at Hoshi and Andrew for a few seconds, then turned back to her Ponyta. "Let's get going, Ponyta!" she exclaimed.
As Sailor Wildfire rode away, she didn't notice the Pikachu that was on Ponyta's tail.
"Look at that. It looks like she's picked up a friend," Andrew said, gesturing to Sailor Wildfire and her Ponyta.
Hoshi giggled at the sight of the Pikachu hanging into Ponyta's tail.
"I can't stand people like that Jason. They act and talk tough but at the first sign of trouble, they turn and run away. If they are going to talk tough, then they should at least have the courage to back up their words," Hoshi said to Andrew.
"I know what you mean," Andrew answered.
"I hope we don't run into any more people like that," Hoshi said.
"There. That took the last of our pokemon potions and antidotes but at least your Nidoran is ready to fight again," Andrew said as he finished healing Hoshi's Nidoran.
"I just hope we don't have to fight any more battles before we get to a town and can replenish our supplies," Hoshi said.
Then Hoshi and Andrew went on their way.
"I don't know who Sailor Wildfire is, but there's something about her powers that makes me think of a Ponyta," Hoshi replied.
"I wonder if our paths will cross again?" Andrew asked.
"Who knows," Hoshi replied with a shrug.
"The trees are starting to thin. I thought we'd never find our way out of here," Andrew said.
"Look. There's a town in the distance!" Hoshi exclaimed pointing to it.
"And just in time. The sun is starting to set. If we hurry, we might be able to make it to the town before nightfall," Andrew replied. "I'm tired and hungry," Andrew said.
"We both are. It seems like we ran around in the forest the whole day," Hoshi replied.
To Be Continued