I woke up and sat up in bed. Today is my big day, I
thought. I stretched my arms and let out a yawn. I rotated
my neck and found myself looking at my Vulpix, Blaze,
curled up on the other side of my double bed, sleeping.
Why do I have a Vulpix even though I don't have a
pokemon trainers license? He was a gift given to me when I
was 10, sort of a pokemon to practice training... more of
a companion than a trainee for me. He's been with me for 4
years. I've trained him in combat, groomed him, and taught
him everything he knows... he's my best friend.
I leaned over and scratched Blazes head. He looked
up at me, yawned and, stretched much like I had.
I'm 14 years old. I missed my chance for a pokemon
license when I was 11 due to a lack of studies. I had just
moved to Pallet a year before and did not have enough
experience studying under Professor Oak. Now I'm one of
the top pokemon enthusiasts. I don't care that I'm "a late
bloomer" because I'm going to be the best, and nothing's
going to stop me.
I got out of bed and took a shower. I didn't have to
meet with Professor Oak till 9 o'clock with the other
trainers. Right now, it was only 7. I dressed in jeans
and my official Pokemon League shirt. During this time,
Blaze just lazed around my bedroom.
Blaze followed me downstairs for breakfast. I fed
him then prepared some toast for myself.
"Today's your big day," my mother said.
"Yup," I answered as I sat down at the kitchen table
and munched on my toast.
"When do you have to leave?" she asked, tying her
long black hair back and staring at me with her vibrant
green eyes.
"Nine," I replied, "but I'm going to get there early
so I can have first pick on which Pokemon I get."
"Good idea," she said, "You're father can't wait to
challenge you... that is if you make it that far."
"Don't worry, I will."
The breakfast conversation was the usual "what are
you going to do, blah, blah, blah, stuff. When I was done
at about 8, I got ready to leave.
"Blaze," I said to my pet while I was about to step
out the door, "You're going to have to get inside your
pokeball for a while. Kay?"
Blaze nodded as I pulled out his pokeball. It was
like a normal pokeball except it was decaled to look like a
fireball.
"Blaze, return," I said as a red beam sucked Blaze
into his ball, "I've got a date with destiny."

* * *
Squritle, Bulbasaur, Charmander, which one will I
choose?
"Hello Terrik," a feminine voice said from behind me.
I turned around to find Chelsea standing there.
Chelsea was stunning. She had short blond hair and
big blue eyes. Her smile was big and her lips full. Her
figure has worthy of a china doll.
"Chelsea, how are you doing?" I asked politely.
"Better than you," she retorted. Chelsea is my
rival. We are two of the four trainers from Pallet.
"I get to pick first," she declared.
"Ladies first, as always," I replied, masking my
annoyance. She bumped me aside and looked at the three
pokeballs on the table.
"Well, Terrik, Chelsea, which one are you going to
take?" Professor Oak asked.
"I'll take Bulbasaur," Chelsea said grabbing the
pokeball.
"Your turn," Chelsea said, "Which one are you going
to pick?"
"Charmander! I choose you!" I said.
"Good choice you two, I'll keep in touch with you
guys," Professor Oak said.
"Good bye Professor," Chelsea said politely.
"Later Prof," I said.
"Wait! You two. Here are your pokeballs and
pokedex. I want you to complete the pokedex by documenting
all the pokemon you catch in this mini, computer." He
handed me and Chelsea and me our objects.
"Thanks," we said in unison.
I walked out of the building at started making my way
toward Route 1. I passed my house and waved goodbye to my
mom. Just as I was about to step off into the path,
Chelsea appeared.
"I challenge you to a duel. One pokemon only," she
said.
"I accept your challenge. Let's go."
"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" she said launching the
pokeball into the no-man's land between us. The Bulbasaur
appeared and said, "Bulbasaur!"
"Go Charmander!" I yelled and repeated the action of
Chelsea. He appeared onto the battlefield and stated,
"Char!"
Chelsea wasted no time, "Bulbasaur, Tackle!" she
said. My Charmander took the hit.
"Charmander, Ember!" that attack creamed Chelsea's
grass pokemon, it was barley holding on to consciousness
after my Charmander had finished striking the Bulbasaur
with is flamed tail.
"Err! Bulbasaur, return!" Chelsea said, withdrawing
her Bulbasaur, "You've won this time, but next time you
won't be so lucky!"
"It was a good battle, Chelsea, but it was biased in
my favor due to my fire pokemon. Better luck next time," I
replied as she stomped off.
I've won my first battle. What other trainers await
me in Viridian city?

"Blaze, go!" I cried out making my Vulpix come of its
pokeball.
"Vulpix," it declared as it faced it's opponent. The
opponent was a male Nidoran.
"Blaze, knock it out with a quick attack!" I ordered. The
less experienced Nidoran took the hit hard.
"Pokeball, go!" I yelled as I threw a pokeball at the
Nidoran. It spun toward the Nidoran and popped open on
impact. The ball sucked the Nidoran in and it started
shaking. It shook once . . .
twice . . .
three times . . . and ding!
"I caught Nidoran!" I declared.
"Vul pix vulpix!" Blaze mimicked.
"Well that was cool, eh Blaze," I said.
"Vul!" Blaze answered annoyingly.
"Fine then, hot. That was hot," I said with a chuckle.
I continued walking to Viridian City. As I reached a tall
tree a woman jumped down from a branch.
"Terrik," she said, he voice hinted a French accent. She
was a tall, thin woman at an age of about 20. Her short
black hair complemented her blue eyes and thin lips. Her
eyes glowed with intelligence determination.
"How do you know my name?" I asked.
"Grrrr," Blaze growled.
"I was sent by your father to be your training guide, a
teacher, if you will. We're partners."
"Partners?! Now way! I can do this by myself, I don't need
another amateur to slow me down!" I ranted.
"Amateur, eh? Here's a deal. You fight me in a pokemon
duel. One pokemon only," she compromised.
I took a moment to think about her proposition. Yeah, I
thought, I can beat that amateur.
"Let's rumble!" I declared.
"Pokeball go!" she yelled launching a pokeball onto the
grass. The pokemon came out, "Blastoise!" it bellowed.
I looked up at the pokemon's massive shell and duel cannons
jutting out from its shell. Guess she's not the amateur I
thought she was.
"Blaze go! Blaze?! Blaze!" I looked around and he was
nowhere to be found.
"Blastoise, ram that tree!"
"Yow!!" I yipped as I jumped out of the way of the charging
Blastoise. It rammed the tree, knocking it down, along with
Blaze. He was unconscious. He must have hit his head when
he fell.
"How embarrassing," I mumbled, "Blaze, return!" The
pokeball sucked in Blaze.
"You lost. I win. You now must pair up with me," the woman
said.
"Fine," I said reluctantly," I'll join on one condition."
"What might that be?" she asked.
"You tell me where you got your Blastoise," I answered.
She stared at the massive pokemon then said, "I captured
him as a Squritle whom I found by the water near Mount
Moon."
"Thank you. What is your name," I asked as she recalled her
Blastoise.
"Dube, Elise Dube," she said.
"Well, Elise, we better get moving if I want to be ahead of
all the other trainers."
"I've come prepared. He is a motorcycle for you. Let's go."
Luckily the laws here were different. You could drive a
motorcycle when you were 14, but you can't drive a car till
your 16.
"Won't the noise of the motorcycles scare off all the
pokemon?" I asked.
"Don't worry, we'll stop on every route to look for the
pokemon that are most commonly there, then we will move
on."
"Great. Viridian City, here we come," I declared.

* * *

Viridian City was no metropolis but it was bigger than
Pallet town. The area had a Pokemon Center, which was our
first stop; a Pokemart, where Elise told me to pick up some
supplies; and event a Gym. However, much to my dismay, the
Gym was closed
"Why is an Official Pokemon League Gym closed!" I fumed,
hopping of my motorcycle.
"I have no idea. This is Gio- -"
"Our gym leader is out right now. He'll be back some day .
. .," a man
said from behind us. We spun around to face him.
"Thank you, sir. We'll be on our way. Ready Terrik?" Elise
asked.
"Yeah . . ." I said my attention on the big red "R" on his
black shirt.
We hopped on our motorcycles and went on our way. Well,
here we go again. Off to Viridian Forest, I thought. "Go! Throw your pokeball!" Elise yelled.
"Pokeball go!" I said, hurdling my pokeball at the pokemon
in front of me. Nidoran dashed out of the way of the
pokeball and let to suck up is opponent. The pokeball
bobbed for a few seconds then it chimed.
"I did it I caught Beedrill!" I exclaimed.
"Good work Terrik," was all Elise said.
"Thank you. Nice work Nidoran!" I congratulated my pokemon.
He gave me a pleased look, and then I put him back in his
pokeball. I turned to face Elise.
"There is someone I want you to meet Terrik," Elise said.
She steeped aside and a man dressed up as a samurai warrior
appeared.
"I challenge you!" he said.
"And who might you be?" I asked.
"I am Samurai, and I want a battle."
"Fine. Where did you pick up this loser Elise?" I asked.
"He lives here. I knew this and thought you should have a
battle," she answered.
"Enough with the small talk! Metapod go!" samurai declared.
"Nidoran! I choose you!" I said. Both of the pokeballs
clattered to the ground an emitted a blue beam that
materialized our pokemon.
"Terrik you idiot!" Elise yelled, "you're supposed to let
your pokemon rest between battles!"
"Oops," was all I said.
"Nidoran, Horn attack!" Nidoran thrust it's horn into the
Metapod cocoon, causing a small tear.
"Metapod harden!" the samurai said. The Metapod did as it
was told, and it's defense rose slightly.
"That won't help you! Nidoran, finish it with a Poison
Sting!" I commanded. He did as he was told, putting the
Metapod out of commission.
"Metapod, return" the Samurai said, "Pinsir, prepare for
battle!" The pokemon, Pinsir, came onto the battlefield. It
was a beetle-like pokemon with a brown shell and huge white
pincers.
"Pinsir, Vice grip!" he commanded. Before Pinsir could grip
my Nidoran, I recalled it and sent out Charmander.
"Char, char!" he said.
"Charmander, Scratch!" I said. The Charmander complied.
"Pinsir, Vice grip!" Samurai said. The Pinsir gripped my
pokemon and he let out a wail.
"Charrrrrrrrr!" he yelled.
"Charmander wave your flame in the Pinsir's face, finish it
with an Ember attack!"
"Char," Charmander said as it did its attack. The bug
pokemon was fried, Charmander had won. The Pinsir fainted
and let go of my Charmander.
"Pinsir, return!" the Samurai concluded our battle, "Here,
for winning, take this." He handed me a piece of candy,
"It's rare candy," he explained, "it will make your pokemon
stronger, and he might evolve."
"Thank you. Charmander, return. Nidoran, go!" Nidoran came
of his pokeball and I unwrapped the candy. I held the piece
of candy in front of Nidoran and he sniffed it than ate it.
After swallowing it he started glowing.
"He's evolving!" Elise exclaimed.
"Nidorino," my evolved pokemon said.
"He evolved into Nidorino. Good choice on which pokemon to
feed the rare candy to, Terrik," Elise congratulated.
I caught two new pokemon, Nidoran evolved, I beat Samurai,
and I have a comrade. What should I expect in Pewter City?

Episode 3: Between a Rock and a Rocket

I pulled up in front of a big building made
completely out of stone.
"Pewter City Gym," Elise said, "Leader, Brock, a rock
pokemon trainer."
"Rock, eh," I thought out loud, "I don't have any
pokemon that have an advantage over him, do I?"
"No, you do not," Elise answered as she hopped off
her motorcycle and took of her helmet.
I did the same then asked, "Well, what should I do
first?"
"Go, fight him. You have already eaten, slept, and
revitalized your pokemon. There's nothing else you can do
but fight," she answered.
"Here goes," I mumbled, stepping into the stone
building. A stream of light cast eerie shadows in the
almost unlit gym.
"Who are you and what do you want?" a male voice
asked. I looked up and found a person sitting up cross-
legged on a rock. He had brown spiky hair and a serious
squinting problem. He looked 16, but he was probably older.
"I'm Terrik Jameson and I challenge you to a pokemon
battle!" I declared. Elise closed the door and the sound
echoed through the building. I looked straight ahead and
did not see Brock.
"Do you think after I whip this kid we could go get
some coffee?" I heard Brock say. I turned around to find
him in front of Elise. Hitting on Elise, I thought, big
mistake. I couldn't wait to hear what she would say to him.
"You no-brained, sex obsessed neurotic! Get a life! I
don't date children!" she screamed.
"So, that's a no?" he asked innocently.
"Of course it's a no!" Elise answered, nostrils
flaring.
"Oh, ok," Brock sighed.
"Um, Brock, pokemon match," I said.
"Oh right," he answered as he moved back to his white
square on the battlefield. Panels opened on the walls on my
right and left. Huge platforms came out and created a rocky
battleground. Brock snapped and the lights came on.
"This is a two pokemon battle. If you win, the
boulderbadge is yours," he explained.
"Fine. Blaze, do it!" I exclaimed launching the
pokeball on the platform. Blaze appeared and said,
"Vulpix!"
"Geodude, I choose you!" Brock said. His Geodude
materialized and stated, "Geodude!"
"All right, Blaze, Ember attack!" I commanded. Blaze
complied and shot a flame at the rock. Geodude didn't even
flinch as it was bombarded with fire.
"You call that an attack!? Geodude, Tackle!" Brock
criticized. Blaze was hit in the side by the enemy pokemon
and fell to the ground. Blaze got up and waited for my
command.
"Terrik, try this!" Elise informed me," Make blaze
continuously use his Quick Attack and started chipping
pieces out of Geodude!"
"Good idea. Blaze, do like she said!" Blaze commenced
his attack. He was merely a blur as he attacked the Geodude
from all sides. Again, and again he hit him with claws and
teeth. Pieces of rock were falling to the ground. I waited
a while before commanding Blaze to stop.
"But, but . . ." Brock stuttered.
"But what, Brock?" I asked.
"How did you . . . How could you . . ." he continued
with his babbling.
"I have a more powerful pokemon, and he's trained
better. Sorry, Brock," I boasted.
"Prepare to feel my wrath!" He said and recalled.
"And what might that be? Are you going to squint me
to death?" I retorted.
"All right, that's it! Onix mutilate that pokemon!"
he screamed in rage as he launched his pokeball onto the
field.
"Grrrr!" the 23 foot, ten inch, rock snake growled.
"No tree for you to climb up now, Blaze," Elise said.
"Hey, you're supposed to be encouraging me!" I
yelled.
"Grrrr," Blaze said giving Elise "the look".
"Blaze return! It's time for a new strategy.
Nidorino, go!" Nidorino appeared and said, "Nidorino!"
"You think you can beat me with that?" Brock said.
"Yes, I have an ace up my sleeve," I mumbled.
"Onix, Tackle!"
"Nidoran, dodge it!" Nidoran dodged it, but it didn't
succeed in completely dodging it. I was hit in the side by
Onix's tail. It let out a yelp of pain.
"Let the fun begin, Nidorino, Fury Attack!" I
commanded, "Keep hitting it in the head. Don't stop!"
Nidorino complied and started. He hit the rock pokemon
repeatedly. I didn't expect it to do much damage, but it
would help in the big picture.
"Onix, bind it!" Brock said. Onix squirmed and
adjusted his position causing my Nidorino to flutter. Onix
attempted to bind my pokemon, but failed.
"Nice try, Brock. I guess smaller might be better," I
sneered. He responded with a scowl. I smiled with pride.
"If you're going to attack, do it now! Just like I
told you!" Elise told me.
"Right! Nidoran, so him our trick!" I said. Nidoran
suddenly froze and started glowing.
"What is that thing of yours doing?" Brock asked.
"You'll see," I answered. Nidoran continued to glow
until it let out a growl of power. Then, after focusing its
energy, I finish its attack. It struck Onix with such power
that Onix was sent flying to the ground. An attack like
that couldn't leave its user without damage; the recoil
sent my Nidorino into near unconsciousness. He did an
attack that I had taught him, a double combination of Focus
Energy and Take Down. He had accomplished his task; he had
beaten Brock.
"Onix! No! It can't be!" Brock cried in agony.
"Sorry, Brock. I think you owe me something."
"Errrr," he said returning his pokemon to its proper
home," Here!" he threw the boulderbadge at me with amazing
force. I caught it as if it were nothing.
"So long. I suppose it's true. A rock trainer has a
brain to match his pokemon," and with that last comment, I
left the gym, Elise and Nidorino trailing behind me.
I walked out just in time to see a man and a woman
check out our bikes.
The woman was average in weight and height,
proportioned correctly. Her face was soft and her nose and
mouth were just right. She wore sunglasses over her eyes.
Her hair was brown, went to her shoulders, and framed her
face. She was wearing black pants and a white shirt. She
also donned a black leather jacket with a red "R" on the
right breast pocket.
The man was dressed equally cryptic. He wore white
pants and a black shirt. He also wore a black leather
jacket with the "R" on the right pocket. He had short brown
hair and sunglasses concealed his eyes. His nose was short
and his lips were thin. He was also average in weight and
height. They both looked about 18.
"Excuse me. What are you doing?" I asked firmly.
"Terrik, hello. Allow us to introduce ourselves," the
woman said," To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within our nation," the man
continued.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Melanie," the woman introduced.
"Drake," the man said.
"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light," the
woman, Melanie, resumed.
"Surrender now or prepare to fight," the man
concluded.
Elise stepped out of the gym just in time to see the
two Team Rocket members finish their speech.
"Melanie, Drake," Elise said, her voice full of
venom.
"Elise," Melanie replied cheerfully," It's been a long
time."
"Terrik, let's go," Elise said firmly.
"Wait, Terrik," Drake said, "We saw you battle, and to tell
you the truth, you were great."
"You were more then great, you were astounding," Melanie
added.
"W have a proposition for you," Drake continued.
"You can join us, and we'll pay you a five figure sum
for joining," Melanie concluded.
"No," Elise said," It's a bad idea."
"You'll be joining division three of Team Rocket,
terrorism, the best division," Melanie explained.
"You'll be with the best of the best. And you will be
come one of the best," Drake finished his recruiting speech
with, "So, what do you say?"

Episode 4: Dead or Alive
Part 1: Dead

Authors Note: This is a different approach to the series. I
would really like your feedback. Also, this is part 1 of 2
so it may be a bit boring but that's what happens when you
do a 2-part episode. This is really different so I rate
this episode PG (it may contain scenes that my be scary to
some people). My e-mail is nidoking@email.com. On with the
Episode.

Friday October 30th
Pokemon Tower, Lavender Town
11:50pm

"We will carry out our threats if our demands aren't met,"
a voice said, and the telephone went dead.
Officer Jenny looked up and closed her cell phone. They had
ten minutes. It was the worse situation of her career. Team
rocket took Mr. Fuji, the head of the Volunteer Pokemon
Center, and a Marowak hostage, and their threatening to
terminate one of them at midnight unless a Moltres, Zapdos,
or an Articuno is delivered to them.
"It's impossible. It can't be done!" Jenny had said earlier
when the terrorists had first called her.
"Do it, or there will be consequences," the terrorist had
answered.

* * *

Pewter City Museum, Pewter City
11:52pm

I stood in the atrium of the Pewter City Museum. It was big
and had pillars to support the second floor at
architecturally strategically places. It had portraits off
all the verified pokemon strewn on the walls.
My mission was simple, go to the research building that is
adjacent to the museum, hack into the computer, and
download the maps of MT. Moon and the heavy deposits of
fossils indicated.
I was wearing tight black pants, a black shirt with the big
red "R" on it. I also had a belt with my pokeballs, a
flashlight, and a cell phone to keep in contact with Elise,
who was directing me.
"I can't believe you joined!" Elise said when I accepted
Melanie and Drakes offer.
"Well it pays," I answered.
"What about your journey?!"
"I'll keep going as I work," I retorted.
"Fine! I'm being paid to help you no matter what . . . but
I won't do anything illegal, I'll just help," she ended the
conversation.
That was two days ago. I am a member of Team Rocket.
I moved toward my destination by hopping over the front
desk and opened the door to the research building that had
the computer I was looking for.
As I steeped in, I heard whistling. It was a guard. He came
through a second door that I wasn't aware of.
"Hey, you!" he yelled.
"Good night!" I said as I dashed toward him and jumped in
the air. I twisted my body and thrust my foot out and hit
him in the back of the neck. He fell to the floor and his
pokeballs rolled away form him. I quickly tied him up with
some rope and placed him in the closet.
I headed to the office's computer and turned it on. It
booted up and came to the password screen. I plucked the
cell phone off my belt and dialed Elise.
"Elise," I said into the phone," What is the password?"
"I can believe your - -"
"Just give me the password, Elise," I interrupted.
"2A5C7UJ," she said.
"All right, I'm in."

* * *

Pokemon Tower, Lavender Town
Midnight

"Please don't! We can't get you those pokemon, they don't
exist!" Jenny said desperately into the telephone.
"That's not our problem," the masked terrorist said. The
terrorists were on the roof of the tower. They were dressed
in black and were masked. There ware two on the roof, and
probably more inside the building. There was also a Machamp
there . . . and he had the Marowak hoisted over its head.
"Last chance," the terrorist with the telephone said.
"We . . . don't . . . please" Jenny pleaded.
"Machamp, do it," the other terrorist commanded.
Machamp hurled the Marowak over the side of the building.
The small crowd that consisted of the local police; a few
residence of Lavender Town; and the members of the Lavender
Volunteer Pokemon Center that had the Marowak's son,
couldn't bear to watch as the pokemon fell to the ground.

* * *

Pewter City Museum
12:02am

The screen of the computer read:
Please choose the file for downloading
The pointer moved over to a file that was named fosloc, it
was double clicked on and another message popped up:
Downloading file to 31/2 floppy A . . .
Please wait.

"Come on, come on! I encouraged. I was almost about to
crack, I had never done this before . . . it's a rush but
it's not all it's cut out to . . .
File Done

The computer interrupted my thoughts. I pulled out the disk
and shut off the computer. I ran to the atrium and out the
door. A night's work complete, I thought, off to the hotel
for some sleep

* * *

Saturday, October 31
Pewter City Hotel
6:00am

I got the message before reading the headlines on the
newspaper.
"We have a problem Agent Terrik," Melanie said.
"What sort of problem . . . should I get Elise?" I asked.
"No, you can tell her after. An operation has gone
completely awry in Lavender Town. There were . . . civilian
casualties and you have to . . . investigate. We lost
contact with the team at the Pokemon Tower at approximately
12:30am. You will be formally briefed when you arrive.
"Vulpix?" Blaze asked as I hung up the telephone.
"Yeah, were needed. Let's go get Elise," I answered. I
slipped my T-shirt over the mussel shirt I was wearing and
put jeans over my boxer shorts. I quickly put my stuff in
my backpack and left the room to go to Elise's door. I
knocked on the door.
"Vul . . . pix?" Blaze inquired as I knocked again.
"She has to be in, she came home with us last night," I
responded.
"Terrik?" a voice said from behind me. I spun around to
find Elise standing there, dressed.
"What are you doing up at third hour?" I demanded.
"Getting ice," she waved the bucked in front of me. A cube
fell out and on to Blaze. It melted on him like as if it
were on a hot sidewalk in July.
"Pix!" Blaze cried.
"Elise!" I yelled and picked up Blaze.
"Sorry. I was an accident."
"Vul, pix, pix vul," Blaze accepted the apology.
"Uhh, Terrik . . . how are you holding him if he's burning
hot?" she asked.
"Never mind that. Pack your stuff; we have a plane to
catch.

* * *

Pokemon Tower, Lavender Town
7:00am

"We've barricaded the door of the seventh floor," the
terrorist known as Two said.
"Good, we'll be ok for a while, right Mr. Fuji?" One said.
"Mmmm," Fuji muttered under his taped mouth. He was tied,
and not going anywhere.
"What ever caused this will be the end of us all," Two
concluded.

11:00pm

"Were in on the first floor," I said into the walkie-
talkie.
"Good," answered Drake," Get to the top floor and find out
what happened!"
"Roger that," I said as I clipped the walkie-talkie back to
my jeans. Elise and I proceeded up the stairs to the second
floor. We were told the whole story at our briefing. It was
horrible. I could not help but retort comments throughout
the whole briefing, killing innocent pokemon is wrong.
"A job is a job," I was told. Bah! I'm really starting to
not like this job . . .
Our job is to go find out what happened, why we lost
contact with the agents on the seventh floor. We snuck in a
hidden door and made it past the police. Why they hadn't
sent in a task force, I don't know, but I know that they
probably will soon.
The second floor had gravestones through out it. The
Pokemon Tower was a place where people buried their dead
pokemon; I guess this is where mine will go when they pass
away. We made it to the other end of the room when we heard
a rumbling noise.
"What's that?" I asked Elise.
"I don't know . . .," she answered. We turned around.
"Is it the police task - -?" I did not get to finish my
sentence. Over every grave the floor gave away and out
crawled the pokemon that recited there.
"What the . . ." I muttered as the hundreds of skeletons of
pokemon lurched towards us.

To be concluded . . .

Part 1: Kidnapped!

I was walking toward the Cinnabar Island
Pokemon Center. I dropped off the Lapras I had
borrowed from Fuchsia City which I used to get
through the Seafom Islands. In the Pokemon Center,
I revitalized my Pokemon, and so did my friends, who
were traveling with me. Dan and Alex had been my
best friends since before kindergarten.
After visiting with Nurse Joy, we checked into
our hotel. We were celebrating another victory over
Team Rocket. Since it was our 13th in a row, the
party was a little subdued. It wasn't hard to beat
Jessie and James. Their Koffing and Ekans were
weak little things.
We fell asleep, tired from all the Pokemon
catching. The Seafom Islands had yielded plenty of
Pokemon, all of them water. I had caught a Staryu
and Seaking in there.
In the middle of the night, I woke up, feeling
oddly hungry. So, while Dan and Alex slept, I went
downstairs and out the door to the grocery store and
picked up a quick snack to eat. After eating it I felt
good. I headed back to bed.
In my room there was no sound from Alex's or
Dan's beds. I thought that to be rather odd, since they
usually snored all night. So I went over to check if
they were okay.
To my surprise, Alex wasn't in his bed. Neither
was Dan. In Dan's bed I found something. It was a
piece of paper. I turned on the table lamp and read.
It said, "We have your friends. Don't worry, they're
fine, but this should teach you to mock Team Rocket
by beating us. We'll give them back if you bring us
Mewtwo. That Pokemon is worth a lot of money, and
we want it."
It was signed Team Rocket. I heard a
whimpering under Dan's bed. Whatever it was
sounded hurt. I tried to reach under there, but couldn't
reach. The bed was too low to the ground.
I grabbed a Poke Ball from my belt.
Soundlessly tossing it on the ground, it opened up and
out came my Pikachu I had caught during a trip into
the Viridian Forest.
"Pikachu," I said, "go under the bed and see
what's there."
Pikachu dove under the bed and said,
"Pikachu," rather sadly.
"What's under there?" I asked Pikachu.
Pikachu didn't answer. Instead, it came back
from under the bed dragging along a Charmeleon. A
Charmeleon that was in real bad shape.
I soon realized that this must be Dan's
Charmeleon. Pikachu nudged it gently, but it didn't
respond. Finally it said, in a very weak voice, "Char..."
"We've got to get Charmeleon to a Poke
Center!" I said urgently. I ran out of our room with
Pikachu. A hotel employee saw me and stopped me.
"No running in the halls."
"Please, I have this Charmeleon to a Pokemon
Center right now!" I said.
He studied it with his flashlight. "All right, you
can go. And hurry, you have to get it there fast to
save it!"
I continued running. Luckily, the Pokemon
Center wasn't far from the hotel. Nurse Joy looked
surprised to see me there. "What's a kid doing here
at 3 in the morning?"
"This Charmeleon, its my friend's, and it is
really hurt."
She looked at it. "Oh my, it looks like it got
roughed up quite a bit. I haven't seen a Charmeleon
like this in a long time." She gathered it up and placed
it in an incubator. "This will give it some heat, which
Charmeleon can use to replenish the fire on its tail."
Hours later, at 9 A.M., during which I did not
sleep, Nurse Joy returned. "Charmeleon has made a
great recovery, and it should be fine." Changing the
tone of her voice, she said, "How could your friend
force this Charmeleon to battle even though it was in
such bad condition?"
"I don't know," I said. "He never has before."
Remembering the note from Team Rocket, I suddenly
jumped up. "Nurse Joy, how much time until I can
pick up Charmeleon?"
"Oh, I'd say only an hour more or so.
Charmeleon is looking very good."
"Okay, then I'll be back!" I told her as I ran out.
I went to the police station where Officer Jenny was
typing into her computer.
"Officer Jenny," I said, "I have to report a
kidnapping."
"Oh, my," she said. "A kidnapping? Who was
kidnapped?"
"My friends. Dan and Alex. The kidnappers
left this note." I showed her the note left on Dan's
bed.
"Oh dear, Team Rocket. They are a slippery
bunch to catch. We have never found their leader or
any of their hideouts. They are the smartest criminals
the police has ever seen in all of history. They have
left no clues for us to follow, just thefts of Pokemon
and ridiculous demands such as this one, for a
Mewtwo."
"Team Rocket sounds much more dangerous
than what I first thought," I said quietly. "We always
soundly beat a group of their members every time."
"Oh, yes," she said. "And they will stop at
nothing to redeem themselves and steal Pokemon for
money." Turning to her computer, she resumed
typing. "Well, we'll keep a lookout for Team Rocket to
see if we can't find them. But it might just be easier
finding a Mewtwo!"
When I left the station I pulled out my Pokedex
and typed in Mewtwo. Dexter said, "No information
available."
"Well, if it is a Pokemon, Professor Oak doesn't
even know about it. So how does Team Rocket?" I
thought aloud. I returned to the Poke Center and
went to an open phone. I dialed up Professor Oak.
He answered on the first ring. When he saw it
was me his face brightened. "Ash!" he said. "I got
your Seaking and Staryu the other day. That brings
your Pokemon total up to 43! You're doing great!" He
paused. "You don't look very happy."
"Well, Dan and Alex got kidnapped by Team
Rocket." I said bluntly.
"What!?"
"Yes, and I need your help. Have you ever
heard of 'Mewtwo'?"
"Mewtwo, eh? Well, I do have information that
it is a Pokemon being genetically created in a lab
somewhere on Cinnabar Island." He stopped. "Hey,
that's where you are calling from! What do you need
to know that for?"
"Team Rocket wanted Mewtwo as ransom."
Again, I was frank.
"Well, they always do ask for a lot of ransom!"
I thanked Professor Oak and hung up. When I
did, Nurse Joy came with a Poke Ball. "Here you go.
It's Charmeleon. It's as good as new!"
"Thanks," I said. But what was supposed to do
with Charmeleon? It wasn't my Pokemon, but its
trainer was who knows where!
I decided I might as well have it. But would it
obey me, since I wasn't its trainer? I tossed
Charmeleon's Poke Ball on the ground. Charmeleon
materialized. "Char..." it said gruffly.
"Charmeleon, will you obey me? Your trainer
has been kidnapped by Team Rocket, and I'm trying
to get them back. And I want your help. Can you do
that?" Charmeleon nodded understanding.
"Was it Team Rocket that hurt you that bad?" I
asked it. It looked away and nodded again. "Don't
worry then, because we'll get revenge!"
Since I already had six Pokemon, I would have
to decide which Pokemon not to take along anymore.
The candidates were: Pikachu, Butterfree, Primeape,
Wartortle, Growlithe, or Sandslash. I thought having
two fire Pokemon would be redundant, so Growlithe
was sent to Professor Oak for now, and Charmeleon
joined my team!
A loud crash interrupted my work of changing
Pokemon. I looked behind me to see a couple Team Rocket
members going into a bank armed. People ran from the
bank screaming. The doors locked, and Team Rocket had
some hostages in the bank.
"They just don't stop," I said.
"Charmeleon!" said Charmeleon.

"Let go of me!" said Dan, but the unidentified
Rocket held tight. Alex was struggling also, but to no
avail.
The elevator stopped. It opened to the top
floor of the Rocket headquarters. Dan and Alex were lead
down a long hallway, and finally into a small room.
In there was a man behind a chair at the desk
positioned in the center of the room.
"I've been expecting you," he said, placing fear
into Dan and Alex. "I am the leader of Team Rocket,
Giovanni!"

To be continued...