Chapter Six
"Friends No More?"
The next day.
"So this is Pewter City," Hoshi said.
"We finally made it here," Andrew replied.
"First of all we need to find a Pokemon Center where we can drop off Rachel's Vulpix," Hoshi said.
Andrew and Hoshi set off to find a Pokemon Center. After wandering around Pewter City for awhile, Andrew stopped and pointed at something down the street.
"Look, that must be a Pokemon Center!" he exclaimed.
They headed toward the Pokemon Center and went inside.
"Let's get something to drink," Hoshi said.
"That sounds like a good idea," Andrew replied as he went off to ask Nurse Joy a question.
Hoshi was sitting at a table in the Pokemon Center drinking chocolate milk when a girl came into the Pokemon Center and walked up to the nurse in charge of the Pokemon Center.
"Hi, my name is Rachel," she said to Nurse Joy just as Hoshi took another sip of chocolate milk.
"Yes, what can I help you with?" Nurse Joy asked Rachel.
Hoshi gasped and started coughing.
"What are you trying to do? Inhale your chocolate milk?" Andrew asked Hoshi as he came back with a glass of orange juice and sat down at the table.
"No I'm not!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"Then what's wrong?" Andrew asked.
"It's just that I was surprised by what I overheard. You see that girl over there by the desk? I think that might be the Rachel we're looking for," Hoshi said.
Andrew turned to look at the girl who was still talking to Nurse Joy.
"There's only one way to find out if she's the one that we've been looking for," Hoshi said.
"What do you have in mind?" Andrew asked.
Hoshi got up, walked over to the girl, and tapped her on the shoulder. "Excuse me, but are you from Viridian City?" she asked the girl.
"Yes I am. Who are you and what do you want?" the girl replied.
"I'm Hoshi," Hoshi replied.
"My name's Rachel," she said.
"Did you lose a Vulpix in Viridian City?" Hoshi asked.
"I sure did," Rachel replied. "Wait a minute. How did you know about that?" she asked.
"I was sitting in the Viridian City Pokemon Center when I overheard two people talking about your Vulpix," Hoshi said.
"So that's how you knew about it. Did you find the Vulpix? Where is it?" Rachel asked.
"One question at a time!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"By the way, I have your Pidgey that a little boy dropped off at the Viridian City Pokemon Center awhile back," Rachel said.
"How is the little boy?" Hoshi asked.
"He's ok. He made it back to Viridian City just fine," Rachel replied.
"That's great!" Hoshi exclaimed. "Could I have my Pidgey back now?" she asked Rachel.
"Sure," Rachel replied as she pulled out a pokeball from her bag and opened it, revealing a Pidgey.
The Pidgey flew to Hoshi and sat on her shoulder.
"Welcome back to the team, Pidgey," Hoshi said with a smile as she stroked it.
"Pidgey," it said as it preened its feathers.
"Follow me," she said to Rachel as she led the way to the table that Andrew was sitting at.
"Hi, I'm Rachel," she said to Andrew.
"Call me Andrew," he replied.
Hoshi picked up the Vulpix that was sitting beside the table. "Here's your Vulpix," she said to Rachel.
"It's really not my Vulpix. I was just caring for it while it was hurt and then I was going to release it back into the wild. But it was taken before I had the chance to release it," Rachel told them as she took the Vulpix.
"You mean you're going to release it?" Andrew asked.
"Yes I am. It looks ready to go back to the wild," Rachel replied.
"Where are you going to release it at?" Andrew asked.
"I thought it would be safe in Viridian Forest," Rachel replied.
"That sounds like a good plan. Let's take Vulpix to Viridian Forest," Hoshi said.
They took the Vulpix just inside of Viridian Forest, released it, and watched it trot away.
"Thanks for your help in finding Vulpix," Rachel said.
"You're welcome," Hoshi said.
"We were happy to help!" Andrew exclaimed.
"It's time for me to be on my way," Rachel said.
They watched as Rachel left.
Andrew and Hoshi were walking back toward Pewter City when they crossed paths with a girl who was walking through the forest as though she was in a hurry.
"Hi, I'm Terra. Listen, I need you to do a favor for me," Terra said, walking up to Andrew and Hoshi.
"What is it, Terra?" Hoshi asked.
"Will you take this pokemon for me? I can't take care of it anymore and I'm unwilling to just abandon it," Terra told them as she took out a pokeball and shoved it into the hands of a surprised Andrew.
"But this is your pokemon. I just can't....," Andrew protested to Terra.
"Trust me on this. Besides, I know you'll take better care of it then I can at the moment," Terra said, interrupting Andrew.
"Thanks," Andrew replied.
"Now I must be going," Terra said as she hurried off into Viridian Forest.
"That was strange. But at least you got a pokemon," Hoshi said to Andrew.
"I wonder what pokemon is in here?" Andrew said, holding the pokeball up and looking at it.
"Open it up and find out," Hoshi said.
Andrew tossed out the pokeball and out popped a Pikachu.
"Pikachu," it said.
"It's a Pikachu!" Andrew exclaimed.
"How cute it is," Hoshi remarked.
The Pikachu jumped into Andrew's arms.
"Time to head back to Pewter City. We still need supplies," Hoshi said, looking at her watch.
They returned to Pewter City and headed to the PokeMart where they bought more supplies.
Andrew and Hoshi were sitting there talking when a girl came up to them.
"I'm Kitt and I heard you mention the Pewter City Gym. If you're looking to challenge the Gym Leader, you're too late. They're not available. However, the Gym is not the only thing here to see. We also have a museum, but I don't think you would be interested in going there," Kitt said.
"That sounds like fun!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"I want to see the museum, too!" Andrew replied.
"Oh, very well then. I'll take you to the museum. I can see that I'm outvoted, anyway," Kitt said.
Hoshi, Andrew, and Kitt entered the museum and started looking around.
"What are these things?" Hoshi asked pointing at some some objects on display.
"Those are pokemon fossils," Kitt replied.
"They look like rocks to me," Andrew said.
"They do resemble rocks to ordinary people but experts can tell the difference between a rock and a fossil," Kitt said as she agreed with them.
"Why is that guy looking at us like that?" Andrew asked as he noticed a middle aged man looking their way.
"A couple of days ago, some clowns.... er, people tried to break into the museum to steal the pokemon fossils here. He probably thinks that you're going to take them or something," Kitt informed them as she saw Andrew give her a funny look at the mention of clowns.
"We're not thieves!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"I'm sure you're not, but these fossils are of pokemon that don't exist anymore," Kitt said.
"Why would anyone want to steal fossils?" Andrew asked.
"I don't know," Kitt replied.
"Oh, hi Katherine. Back again? Don't you ever get tired of hanging around this musty old place?" the man asked in amazement as he walked over to them.
"Hello, Professor Talbot. This place certainly isn't musty or old. Besides, it's nice and quiet in here," Kitt replied.
"Katherine? But I thought your name was Kitt," Hoshi asked in surprise.
"Katherine is my real name but most people call me Kitt for short," Kitt explained.
"I see," Andrew replied.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you like coming here to see the exhibits that we have," Professor Talbot said to Kitt.
"What gave you that idea!" Kitt exclaimed good naturedly.
"Most young people hate coming here. They're always saying stuff like [This is boring! Why are we in this crummy place, anyway? Eew, who wants to look at a bunch of old bones? I'm hungry. Does this place have a snack bar?]" Professor Talbot said.
Hoshi and Andrew were listening in amusement to the conversation between Kitt and Professor Talbot.
"Professor Talbot is the reason that I really didn't want to come here today. He'll talk your ears off if he gets the chance and he's always saying that young people should take an interest in museums. I didn't want you to get bored," Kitt told Hoshi and Andrew.
"Oh no, we're not bored!" Hoshi replied.
"Yeah, this place is interesting!" Andrew exclaimed.
"Katherine's a good trainer for somebody her age. When she's not here, she can be found training with the Pewter City Gym Leader and his Jr. Trainer. I don't know why she doesn't want to go on a pokemon journey," Professor Talbot said before he walked away.
"You train with the Pewter City Gym Leader? Great! I'll challenge you to a match to warm up for the gym!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Kitt was frowning. "I didn't want anyone to know that. If people find out that I train with Brock and his Jr. Trainer Barrett, they'll be bugging me on how to beat the Pewter City Gym and I refuse to give that information out. It wouldn't be fair to Barrett if people knew what pokemon he uses. As for the pokemon journey, I've never really been interested in going on one anyway," she said to Hoshi and Andrew, sounding mildly annoyed.
"That's a good point," Hoshi said.
"We won't ask you which pokemon Barrett uses. We wouldn't want an unfair advantage over him," Andrew reassured Kitt.
"Jr. Trainer? What happened to the Gym Leader of Pewter Gym?" Hoshi asked.
"Nothing happened to Brock. He's off traveling with two other people. Nobody knows when he will return so he left Barrett in charge of the gym," Kitt explained.
"Let's get this battle going," Hoshi said.
"Very well. Let's go outside," Kitt said.
They left the musuem and prepared to battle.
"This should be easy. Get ready to lose," Hoshi said to Kitt.
"We'll see about that," Kitt said calmly.
Andrew looked on as Kitt and Hoshi were battling.
"Go, Pidgey!" Hoshi exclaimed as she tossed out a pokeball.
A Pidgey flew out of the pokeball and got ready to battle.
"I choose you, Sandshrew!" Kitt called, throwing out her pokeball.
Sandshrew came from the pokeball and took its place before Kitt.
"Gust Attack, Pidgey!" Hoshi called out.
Pidgey sent a gust of wind at the Sandshrew.
But the Sandshrew stood its ground and wasn't affected by the Gust Attack.
"Scratch Attack!" Kitt called out to Sandshrew.
Sandshrew leapt at the Pidgey and scratched it.
"Use your Sand Attack, Pidgey!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"Sand Attack, Sandshrew!" Kitt called out at the same time.
Pidgey and Sandshrew sent a cloud of sand toward each other, obscuring everyone's view of the fight.
"I can't see the pokemon!" Kitt exclaimed.
"Neither can I!" Hoshi yelled.
"Scratch Attack, Sandshrew!" Kitt exclaimed.
"Gust ...." Hoshi started to say.
But before she could finish the sentence, a terrible "Twack" was heard.
"What was that noise?" Hoshi asked as the dust started to clear.
When the dust cleared, Pidgey was laying on the ground with Sandshrew sitting beside it.
"Oh no! What happened to Pidgey?!" Hoshi exclaimed as she recalled Pidgey.
"Looks like Sandshrew knocked it out," Kitt told Hoshi.
"Let's go, Bulbasaur!" Hoshi exclaimed as she threw out another pokeball.
Bulbasaur appeared before Hoshi.
"Tackle Attack, Bulbasaur!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Bulbasuar ran at Sandshrew and tackled it.
"Scratch Attack!" Kitt called out.
Sandshrew scratched at Bulbasaur.
"Growl Attack, Bulbasaur!" Hoshi yelled.
Bulbasaur growled at Sandshrew, weakening Sandshrew's attacks.
"Use your Sand Attack, again!" Kitt exclaimed to Sandshrew.
Sandshrew blew a cloud of sand at Bulbasaur, partly blinding it with the sand cloud.
"Tackle it!" Hoshi yelled to Bulbasuar,
Bulbasaur ran at the Sandshrew, but the sand caused it to miss the Sandshrew.
"Scratch Attack!" Kitt exclaimed.
Sandshrew let lose with a mighty scratch that made Bulbasaur fall over.
"Not Bulbasaur, too!" Hoshi exclaimed, recalling Bulbasaur.
"It's your turn, Penny!" Hoshi exclaimed throwing out a third pokeball.
Penny shot out of the pokeball.
"Go get them, Penny! Scratch Attack!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Penny scratched at Sandshrew but her claws just raked across Sandshrew's hard back and did no damage at all.
"My turn! Scratch Attack!" Kitt yelled.
Sandshrew scratched at Penny, catching her in the side.
"Scratch Attack!" Hoshi yelled to Penny.
Penny tried to scratch Sandshrew again, but missed.
"Dig Attack!" Kitt exclaimed to Sandshrew.
The Sandshrew dug underground.
"Look out, Penny!" Hoshi yelled.
Penny came to a stop and looked around, confused.
Suddenly the earth beneath Penny's feet exploded as the Sandshrew emerged from the ground and knocked Penny off of her feet!
Hoshi let out a surprised gasp as the Sandshrew appeared from the ground.
"Scratch Attack, Sandshrew!" Kitt called out.
Sandshrew raced toward Penny and prepared to scratch her.
"Use your Growl Attack!" Hoshi exclaimed.
Penny got ready to Growl at the Sandshrew but it was too fast.
Sandshrew took a swipe at Penny that left her too exhausted to fight anymore.
"Return, Sandshrew!" Kitt said as she recalled Sandshrew.
Sandshrew was returned to its pokeball.
"Would you care to go another round?" Kitt asked as she pulled out another pokeball.
"No I don't. I admit defeat. You won," Hoshi said as she recalled her exhausted pokemon.
"Wise decision," Kitt said.
Hoshi just stood there in shock at having three of her pokemon defeated in a row.
"Looks like I won this battle," Kitt said as she turned to leave.
Hoshi stared disappointedly at the ground for a few seconds. Then she took a deep breathe. "Wait!" she said to Kitt.
"Yes?" Kitt replied as she stopped and turned to look at Hoshi.
"Will you teach me your battle strategies?" Hoshi asked.
"I don't think you're ready to learn from me," Kitt said.
"Sometimes you're just too bullheaded and hate to admit when you're wrong," Andrew said to Hoshi.
"Bullheaded?! Who are you calling bullheaded?!" Hoshi exclaimed to Andrew.
"Well, you have to admit that it's true," Andrew replied. "Back in Viridian Forest, you didn't want to admit you were the one who tore the map so you said that Scyther did it. You insisted that since you had the map, you knew which way to go. Which got us lost in Viridian Forest," Andrew continued.
"Correction. I knew where we were going until the map got ripped," Hoshi replied.
"Now I can see why your parents thought that you were running around getting into trouble," Andrew said.
"Leave my parents out of this!" Hoshi snapped.
"I don't know why I bother being your friend! I've had it with you and your superior attitude! You're not as good of a pokemon trainer as you think you are! In fact, you stink as a trainer! Your pokemon would be better off with another trainer! I'm out of here! " Andrew declared as he started to walk away from Hoshi.
"You were right, I was wrong," Hoshi admitted.
Andrew stopped, but didn't turn around.
"I was such a jerk. I screwed things up by letting my attitude get in the way. I treated one of my friends badly and nearby destroyed a good friendship. I'm sorry for the way that I acted," Hoshi said as she started crying.
Andrew could tell that Hoshi was being sincere. "Hey, don't cry. It's ok. We all make mistakes. It took alot of guts to admit that you were wrong," he said as he turned around and walked toward Hoshi.
"Thanks. I guess I messed things up by refusing help when I needed it and acting like I knew what I was doing when actually I didn't," Hoshi said.
"Don't worry about it," Andrew told Hoshi.
"Now I feel a whole better," Hoshi replied.
"By the way, how did you know the Nidoran thought that we would steal its food?" Andrew asked.
"I learned that one the hard way. I was sitting at the desk in my room using some colored pencils to draw a picture and Penny was beside the desk eating from her dish. Anyway, one of the pencils rolled off the desk and landed beside Penny. She must have thought that I would steal her food or something because when I leaned over to pick up the pencil, she clawed my hand a good one. I don't blame her for scratching me. Of course, I was only eight when it happened," Hoshi explained.
"Hey, I remember that! So that's why your hand was bandaged up for awhile!" Andrew exclaimed.
"Just one of life's lessons that I've learned," Hoshi said.
"You used quick thinking when that Nidoran attacked us. After I tripped and fell, I was too scared to think and just froze. What a coward I am," Andrew said.
"You're not a coward, Andrew. Everybody gets scared at times. Remember the time when I fell off the bridge and thought I was done for? Then you and Scyther came along and helped me out. I used to think that bugs were icky until you and Scyther showed me that they're not so bad after all," Hoshi reminded Andrew as she laughed.
"Oh yeah. You're right about the part at the bridge. I remember that you used to scream and jump everytime you saw a bug. You did the same thing whenever you saw a Rattata, too. It was hilarious to watch your reactions to seeing a bug or a Rattata," Andrew said, laughing.
"Ugh! Did you have to bring that up?! I was just a kid back then! Stop embarrassing me!" Hoshi exclaimed to Andrew.
"That's the whole idea!" Andrew exclaimed as he laughed about it.
"Ooh! You want to talk about childhood fears?! How about this one! Who was the seven year old who climbed a tree to show off and then got stuck in the tree?! When I came along, you were crying like a baby. You tried to tell me that you were tired and just resting but I knew that you were crying because you didn't know how to get down. I ended up having to climb the tree and help you get down." Hoshi said, laughing at the memory.
"Don't remind me of that! I don't want to talk about it!" Andrew exclaimed.
Kitt was listening to the conversation between Hoshi and Andrew. "So, Hoshi really does care about her friends and pokemon. I misjudged her. I thought she only cared about pokemon training," Kitt said to herself. In spite of herself, Kitt burst out laughing, too. "I hate to interrupt your little trip down memory lane, but didn't you want me to help you become a better pokemon trainer?" Kitt asked Hoshi.
"That's right. I did ask you to help me become a better trainer. Sorry about the interruption," Hoshi replied.
"It's ok. How long have you been training pokemon?" Kitt asked Hoshi.
"About a week," Hoshi admitted.
"A week! That hasn't been enough time to learn the basics of pokemon training! You'll never get anywhere if you keep underestimating your opponents! It seems that you don't know as much about pokemon as you thought you did," Kitt exclaimed.
"I guess you're right," Hoshi said.
"How many battles have you fought in?" Kitt asked.
"I fought in a couple of battles in Viridian Forest," Hoshi said.
"Viridian Forest? That place is full of wild pokemon and Bug Catchers! Hardly even worth challenging!" Kitt exclaimed.
"You do have a point," Hoshi admitted.
"You're nowhere near ready to take on the Pewter City Gym! Gym Leaders are a lot different to battle than wild pokemon and amatuer pokemon trainers," Kitt told Hoshi.
"Wow! Gym Leaders sound challenging!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"They are," Kitt replied.
"I'm ready to learn," Hoshi said.
"I'll help you raise your pokemons' levels. I usually don't do this but I'll make an exception for you. Barrett is tough to beat unless your pokemon are at the right level," Kitt replied.
"Let's get started!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"We'll start tomorrow. It's getting late and we both have pokemon that need to be healed before they're ready to battle again," Kitt informed Hoshi.
"You're right. I guess I forgot that in my excitement," Hoshi replied.
To Be Continued