Life of a trainer

Chapter 15 – The Furret In one of the enclosed areas of the garden the Furret that Andy had found in the forest was sitting in the sun, enjoying the warm sunlight on her fur. Suddenly her ears perked and she jumped up to hide under a bush when Andy came towards her. Andy frowned, but placed the bowl of food on the grass and walked away again. The Furret waited for Andy to be gone before coming out of hiding and cautiously walk up to the bowl. She sniffed the content before she started to eat from it. From inside the house, Andy watched the Furret eat. “She seems to be alright again, but she’s always hiding when I come close to her.” “You don’t know what happened to her,” Sophia explained, smiling friendly at Andy while she was knitting in her rocking chair. “If it were humans who caused it, it’s normal she shies away from them.” “She doesn’t come close to other Pokémon either,” Andy pointed out. “That’s true.” Sophia agreed, looking down at her knitting. “But it’ll work out. Give it some time.” Andy looked outside again, he was worried about the Pokémon even though she seemed to have recovered well. He didn’t like giving it time, he wanted to help the Furret. He stood by the window for a while, just looking at the Furret, who seemed to act normally when no-one was around. “I’m going out again,” Andy suddenly said, turning away from the window and started going towards the door. “Alright Andy,” Sophia said with her calm voice, her knitting needles didn’t stop ticking for a second. Andy went outside again, straight to the Furret. The soft breeze had grown into a decent wind and light grey clouds were moving through the sky, casting temporary shades on the round beneath them. Forecasts hadn’t been good, but the sun was still shining, Andy hoped it would remain like that for a while. When the Furret heard Andy approach she again took shelter under the bush, but Andy ignored it and walked into the enclosed area. There he just sat down in the grass, his eyes focussed on the bush where the Furret was hiding. “Why are you so afraid, I’m the one that found you in the forest and brought you here. Well, Benny found you, I just did the heavy carry work. Why do you hide away like that? I’m not that ugly, am I?” There came no response from under the bush. “Benny!” Andy called out to his Butterfree and soon after he heard Benny approach. The Butterfree landed next to Andy and tilted his head, as if asking what Andy needed from him. “Could you talk to her? She’s ignoring me and it has seriously damaged my ego.” Benny chuckled. “Don’t laugh! That’s serious business. Don’t you know a bruised ego can be fatal?” Benny didn’t stop chuckling and Andy’s grin gave away he was joking, but that was what he liked to do best. Joke and exaggerate. “Talk to her,” Andy urged again, more serious this time and Benny nodded. He flew up and landed next to the bush, where he started talking to the leaves. A soft reply came from the bush and Benny responded to it. After that he talked again, but no response came. Benny shrugged and flew up again, to land next to Andy. “Not getting through to her?” Benny shook his head. “Women,” Andy sighed and Benny sighed as well, nodding to show he agreed. It didn’t seem like the Furret would come, so Andy got back up and returned to the house. A chill wind was picking up and dark clouds were accumulating. It seemed bad weather was approaching. Who knew, forecasts were correct. A gust of wind moved over the land and through Andy’s hair. He took his hair to keep it out of his face and looked over to Benny, as if he was responsible for it. Benny chuckled, but a second gust took the Butterfree by surprise and he wildly flapped with his wings to stay in the air. Andy took him in his arms and walked with him towards the house, his hair now moving freely by the wind. Sophia was standing in the doorway. “Come in quickly Andy, it seems like it’s going to be bad weather.” Andy nodded, but looked over his shoulder to the Pokémon that were still outside. “Don’t worry,” Sophia reassured Andy, knowing very well what went through his mind, “they have shelter.” Again Andy nodded and he entered the house.

Chapter 16 – The storm The dark clouds that had been accumulating started to unleash their rain. A grey curtain of water came down to the earth, bringing much wanted water to the plants, but making Pokémon and Humans alike take shelter. Under the bush the Furret was lying on the ground. Her ears were flat against her head, her tail was pushed against her body and she was shivering. Lightning lit the sky and a rolling thunder soon followed it. The Furret closed her eyes when the sound rolled over the land. The weather scared her and there were so many Humans and strange Pokémon around. Slowly she came from under the bush and looked around. No-one was outside, everyone had taken shelter from the weather. She cringed from another thunder stroke, but moved further into the garden, rain falling down on her fur. After a moment of doubt she took off, she ran to the fence and jumped over it, disappearing in the rain. In one of the wooden shacks in the garden, Bear appeared in the doorway. The Primeape had seen the Furret leave and now he stepped outside the shack he had taken shelter in. Suddenly he started running, jumped over the fence as well and followed the Furret. “Freeee!” Benny called out to Andy jumping up and down on the window sill. Andy came closer to see what is was that had his Pokémon all worked up and looked outside. He noticed Bear outside the gardens fence and he was running away. “What the… Where is Bear going all of the sudden?” Benny started talking, motioning to where the Furret had been sitting, pointing to the fence, pointing in the direction Bear had run off to, flying in circles and desperately tried to explain what had happened. “Wait, wait, wait, calm down.” Andy said to his Butterfree. “Bear left in that direction.” That was something he knew for sure. Benny nodded. That part was correct, now the guessing game would begin. “Something happened to make him do that, he’s not the one to willingly get wet fur.” Again Benny nodded and he pointed to the place where the Furret had been staying, followed by pointing in the direction Bear had left. “The Furret left and Bear went after her?” Benny nodded, flying up and down enthusiastically. Andy raised his arms in a victory sign. “Oh yeah, I’m great.” He lowered his arms again and glanced outside the window, to the wet and grey land. “I probably should…” Andy started, but Sophia interrupted him. “No, you shouldn’t go after him. Have some confidence in your Pokémon. He will return.” Andy turned around to Sophia and nodded. He didn’t like to just sit there while his Primeape was alone and getting wet, but he would have faith in Bear. He turned back to the window and looked at the abandoned and grey landscape. “Be careful, Bear.” Bear had reached the forest and looked around. The rain continued to fall down on him and the land around him, the grass and leaves seemed to be of a darker shade of green in this weather. He ventured into the forest, looking at the footprints in the mud and using his nose to check the scent, as much as it was possible with the heavy rainfall. The footprints lead to a thick bush and Bear walked over to it, shaking his body to get rid of the water in his fur. A useless action as the rain quickly replaced the water he had shaken off. “Are you there?” Bear asked, stopping just before the bush. Lightning lit up the area briefly, but Bear paid no attention to it. “P-please go away,” a soft voice said from under the bush. “Why do you hide here all alone when you had food and shelter back there?” “I don’t…” she stopped talking and cringed as thunder sounded through the forest. “Please don’t hurt me.” “You’re no match for me, it’s not worth my time,” Bear boasted, puffing out his chest. “Y-you’re strong?” “Of course! Have you seen these muscles?” Bear started to show off and made poses much like a bodybuilder would. A soft giggle came from under the bush and Bear glared at it. “S-sorry,” the Furret whispered. Bears glare remained for a moment, but he took a deep breath, shrugged and looked up at the treetops for a short moment, before looking back at the bush. He knew he was awesome, he didn’t need the Furrets conformation. “Why do you sit here alone, while you had everything you need back there?” “I…don’t like to be among so many Pokémon and Humans…I…never have. I’m much rather alone.” “I don’t believe that,” Bear bluntly said, sitting down on the wet soil. “I was alone. When I was still a Mankey my colony left me because I was too weak. There’s nothing fun about being alone and if I hadn’t met Andy, I still would be alone and weak.” “Who’s…” “The younger Human that brought your food today. He claims to be good looking, and maybe he is for Human standards, but he’s no where near as good looking as me.” He hit with his fist against his chest to emphasize his words. There was nothing but silence that came from under the bush. “Speaking of which, he brought you to that place to recover.” “That Butterfree mentioned that,” the Furret whispered. “Benny? He’s a good guy. He’s been with Andy for the longest time. He told me they met in a forest and he liked him, so he decided to go with him. He was with Andy when they found you.” Again only silence came from the bush, besides the raindrops falling on the leaves. “What happened anyway? Why were you so beat up?” “Some Human came and when he saw me he said he wanted to catch me. I always try to stay away from Humans, but this one caught me by surprise. He called a Heracross to help him and let the Heracross attack me. I got scared and tried to flee, but that Heracross was stronger then me. In the end the Human said I was to weak to be caught, but that it was a good practise for his Heracross.” “Wait till I get that trainer in my fists,” Bear growled, glaring angrily around in the hopes that the trainer was there. “I passed out,” the Furret continued with her soft voice, she remembered clearly how much her body had ached. “Then I woke up there…” “You have to admit it wasn’t bad there.” “No…but I’m just not comfortable around strange Pokémon and Humans, I never was.” The cry of a Hoothoot sounded through the forest and the Furret cringed, making a soft squeaking noise. “You’re easily scared, aren’t you?” Bear asked, looking at the bush. Water was dripping from his white fur to the ground, but he didn’t pay attention to that. “Come back with me, Andy will protect you. Feed you. You won’t have to sleep in the rain anymore. Or do you want to stay alone for the rest of your life?” “N-not really.” “Do you have a family to go back to?” “N-no.” “Then come with me,” Bear said. “You’ll have me and Benny and Andy. He’s really ok for a Human.” There came no reply from under the bush. “Well, I’ve been standing in the rain long enough,” Bear said as he got up. “You know where the place is.” Bear turned around and walked away, when the Furret cautiously came from under the bush. “You suppose he wouldn’t mind to have someone useless as me…” “I’m sure he’ll take you in.” Thunder rumbled through the sky and the Furret jumped up and presses her body against Bear, keeping her tail close to her body and making herself small. Bear sighed and started walking. “Come on, we’re wet enough.” The Furret quickly followed him, walking behind Bear on all for legs, making sure to stay close. Andy was still standing near the window, waiting for his Pokémon to return. The old day-care lady could say as many times as she wanted that Bear would return, but Andy was concerned and he couldn’t shake that feeling. And Benny was concerned as well, Andy could tell by the way Benny was looking outside with a sad face, sitting on the window sill. “Don’t worry Benny, he’ll be back soon,” Andy said, scratching Benny’s head. “Free,” Benny sighed. “Yeah, I know. I’m worried too.” Benny let out another sigh when his compound eyes noticed movement in the rain. “Free?” Then he recognized the shape of a Primeape and he flew up, all excited and happy again. “What is it?” Andy asked and he looked through the window as well. “You see him?” Benny nodded and flew towards the door. Andy quickly followed him and Sophia also got up from her seat, but calmly followed them in her own pace. Andy opened the door and walked out, into the rain. “Bear! You had me worried, where have you been?” Bear glanced aside and pointed to the wet Furret next to him. “You went to collect her?” “Primeape,” Bear said, nodding. “Good job, Bear.” Andy patted him on his wet head. “You’re the best.” He then got down on a knee so he was closer to the ground and looked at the Furret. “Why did you run off like that?” “F-furret,” the Furrest shyly said “Don’t be afraid, I’m not going to hurt you.” The Furret made a step in Andy’s direction and Andy reached out his hand, but it made her back away again. The Furret took in a deep breath and walked forward again, one careful step after another until she could almost touch the hand. She sniffed it first and Andy smiled. He placed his hand on her wet head and gently stroke it. Her first reaction was to cringe, but after the second stroke her muscles relaxed. After the third stroke she rubbed her head in his hand. “I’m not as bad as you first thought, right princess?” Andy asked the Furret as he took his hand back. Bear came next to Andy and started tapping on the pocket where he kept his Pokéballs. “What’s up? You want to go back into your Pokéball?” Bear shook his head and pointed to the Furret. “For her?” Bear nodded and Andy looked at the Furret. “Do you want to come with me?” The Furret looked at Andy, looked at Bear and then back at Andy and gave an uncertain nod. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. If you prefer to stay free…” The Furret shook her head. “Furret, furret fur.” “You don’t have anything to return to, have you?” Again the Furret shook her head. “Well then, you’re free to come with me, princess. I’m sure Bear told you everything about me, how awesome I am as trainer and just in general really.” “Ape primeape prime,” Bear said, placing his fists in his side and sticking his nose in the air. “Oh come on, you’re not half as awesome as me.” The primape puffed out his chest and hit on it with his fist. Andy got up from the ground, pointing to himself. “No way you can compete with this, mister.” “Primeape!” Bear said, as he took a defensive stance. “You’re right, this matter can only be solved by wrestling.” Benny sighed and the Furret let out a soft giggle. Sophia shook her head from the doorway. “Come now boys, it’s raining. You’ll have time to play later on. Come inside and dry up. I’ll make something warm.” “Even better idea!” Andy said and Bear nodded enthusiastically. Arm in arm the two walked towards the house and again Benny let out another sigh. The Furret cautiously followed Andy inside, shaking her fur to get rid of the water in the hallway, as Bear did as well. Sophia came with a few towels and handed them to Andy, who took them from her hands and turned to his Primeape. “Hey Bear. Catch!” As Bear looked up a towel hit his face. “Prime,” he growled, but Andy grinned. “Dry up with that, it’ll help.” He was drying his own hair as he reached out the last towel to the Furret, who stood up on her hind legs and took it, sniffed it and quizzically looked at the soft fabric in her paws. Andy laughed and placed his towel in his neck to take the other towel back. “Right, right, you’ve never seen this before. Let me help you.” With the towel Andy started to rub the Furret’s fur dry. Bear was drying himself up with the towel, dancing a bit as he was drying his back. “You’ll need a name,” Andy told the Furret as he was drying her head. “Let’s see…” He stopped for a moment to think about it. “Kim, that will be your name. How about it?” The Furret gave a happy nod and Andy continued drying her fur. “Kim it is then. Welcome to my team, Kim.”

And that is the best chapter so far!! Furret's are awesomeeeee XD

Chapter 17 – Back on the road On a beautiful morning Andy woke up. He stretched his arms, scratched his hair and turned over to his side, snuggling deep inside the blanket again. He would have been able to continue his morning slumber if there wouldn’t have been that annoying tapping noise on the window. He looked up to see his Butterfree flying in front of the window and tapping on it. Grumbling he pulled the blanket higher, but to no avail. “Benny,” he grumbled, taking his pillow and throwing it at him, but the window was in the way and Benny was completely unaffected by the pillow. With a sigh he got up, there was no way his Pokémon would leave after seeing he was awake. “Fine, fine, I’m coming.” He pushed his blanket away and got out of the comfortable bed. He walked across the small room to open the window, where he was greeted with a cheerful ‘Free!’ “Good morning to you too,” Andy said, scratching Benny’s head. “I guess you’re hungry, huh?” Benny shook his head. “No? You already had breakfast?” Benny nodded. “Lucky you, I’m starving.” Andy’s eyes shifted from his Pokémon to the world outside. That one glance was all he needed to decide he would continue his journey today. He had spent a total of two weeks at the day care and even though it had been fun and a great learning experience, it was time to move on. “I’ll be right down, ok?” Again Benny nodded and he flew away. With a smile on his face, Andy closed the window again and went straight into the bathroom for a morning shower and to put on some of the clothes so neatly ironed by Sophia. He quickly combed his hair and tied it together behind his head, before making his way to the kitchen, where Sophia and George were already sitting at the breakfast table. Sophia was stirring her coffee and George was reading a newspaper. “Good morning,” Andy greeted them as he sat down and they returned the greeting. Sophia placed a cup of coffee in front of him and Andy took a slice of toast from the plate in the middle of the table. “I’m continuing my journey today,” he announced, buttering the toast as he looked at them. “That’s a shame,” Sophia said. “It was nice having you around.” The newspaper George held rustled as he turned a page. “Come now, Sophie,” George said, without looking up from the newspaper. “The lad is a trainer, they have to travel. It’ll take years before they settle down somewhere.” Now he lowered the newspaper and he winked at Andy. “Trust me, Andy. I know.” He folded the newspaper and placed it next to him on the table. “Do you know where you’re going?” “I’ll just follow my nose,” Andy replied in between bites from the toast. George nodded to that and he picked up his cup. “You’re going further south?” he inquired. “Yes, that is the direction I’ve been heading so far.” “If I could give some advice, you should head into Ilex Forest, there is a shrine there, dedicated to the forest’s protector.” “I’ll be sure to check it out,” Andy promised. “The next town is Azalea town, I recommend you go there,” George continued, glad he could share his knowledge with this young trainer, it reminded him of his own days as a trainer, many years ago. “A guy named Kurt lives there, he makes Pokéballs. And there is a Slowpoke Well there. It’s also known as the Rainmaker Well. Locals believe that a Slowpoke's yawn summons the rain and that a Slowpoke's yawn ended a drought about four hundred years ago.” “Really?” Andy asked. “Now that sounds like an interesting town to visit. Azalea town it is then.” “I’ll show you the route you should take on the map,” George promised. “But let’s finish breakfast first.” “And I’ll help with the morning chores before I leave,” Andy said, feeling he owned the day-care couple at least that after the good care he received from them. They finished their breakfast and Andy and George went out to take care of the Pokémon in the day care. After that Andy collected his three Pokémon and told them they would be on their way. He returned each of them to their Pokéballs and went inside the house with George so he could collect his belongings. By the time he had gathered everything he owned, which wasn’t much as he had to carry it around in a backpack, he went downstairs again where George and Sophia were waiting for him. “It has been great heaving you here,” Clair said, handing him a package. “Here is something to eat for along the way. And I baked some cookies yesterday, take them with you as well.” She handed Andy a box with the cookies in them. “You’re spoiling me,” Andy said with a grin. “But it’s impossible to say no to those cookies. Sorry George, I’m leaving you deprived of any.” “Oh, don’t worry about George,” Sophia said. “I’ll bake some more this afternoon.” Andy again thanked Sophia from the bottom of his heart, which, he added, is located real close to the stomach and she had taken very good care of that. He then turned to George and shook the old man’s hand. “Take care of yourself, Andy,” George said. “If you’re ever in the neighbourhood again, do drop by.” “I will,” Andy promised. “I have to take the magnet train back to Kanto anyway.” He said his final goodbye’s and left the house, whistling a happy tune as he followed the road ahead.

Chapter 18 – Inside the dark forest Andy had followed the advice George had given him and walked south, into Ilex Forest and on his way to Azalea Town. The trees in the forest were growing close to one another, allowing only little sunshine on the ground under the trees. Never before had Andy seen a dark forest like this, but that was alright, as long as he didn’t run into a gingerbread house he figured he would be alright. It felt good to be on the road again after spending that time in the day-care, even though he had to admit that it had been a fantastic experience and the couple running it had been really friendly. The forest was full of sounds, the moving of branches and leaves in the wind and the cries of wild Pokémon filled the forest. Other then that he didn’t see a living soul anywhere. Andy knew that when he got bored of walking alone he could always call his Pokémon to walk with him, but for now he enjoyed the tranquil stroll in the forest. He raised his backpack a bit higher on the shoulders and stopped when he noticed a Paras who ran from one side of the road to the other. He didn’t attempt to catch it, there was little special about the Pokémon and he didn’t feel for some kind of wild chase between the trees. He wanted to continue his walk when he heard a voice behind him. “My, my, travelling all by yourself?” Andy turned around to see a woman with long red hair and a man with short purple hear standing on the road. The woman was wearing a short white skirt, long black boots, long black gloves and a short white shirt with a big red R on it. The man was wearing white trousers and a white long-sleeved shirt, also with a big red R on it. Just as the woman he was wearing black boots and gloves. A Meowth was standing next to him on his hind legs. “Indeed I am,” Andy said, offering them a confident grin. “I can see you aren’t.” The woman chuckled. “No, indeed we aren’t. Tell me, boy, are you a Pokémon trainer?” “The most talented one you’ll ever see.” The man took over now. “So I take it you have some strong Pokémon,” he said. “Of course! Each of my Pokémon is awesome. Is this an invitation to a battle?” Both the man and woman grinned and the woman looked at him as if she was looking at a price. “You have no idea who you’re up against, do you?” The red-haired woman asked, with an almost genuine sweet voice. Almost. “Should I?” Andy asked in turn. “Allow us to introduce ourselves then.” She flung her read her over her shoulder and pointed at him, as did the man next to her. A sigh from Andy was followed by a shrug. “And I’m Andy, is this going to take much longer?” “SHUT UP!” both Jessie and James shouted, glaring viciously at him, as if he had comitted a horrible crime. “We’re not finished,” Jessie added, still looking angry at him. “Now, where were we? Oh yeah.” “So,” Andy said, looking from one to the other, completely missing the fact that the Meowth had said ‘that’s right’. “Do you always torture people like this? Forcing them to listen to that long-winded introduction? You could have just said your names and shake hands.” He showed a cocky grin. “But since we're introducing, I want to congratulate you with the best day of your life, seeing you have the fantastic honour of meeting the most awesome trainer around. Me.” Jessie and James stared at him in surprise that he didn’t seem to be intimidated by them at all and that he seemed even more full of himself then they were. “Hey you!” Jessie shouted to him, glaring angrily at him. “You are dealing with Team Rocket here, you little brat. So hand over your Pokémon.” “And make it fast, pretty boy,” Meowth added. Andy blinked and looked at the Meowth. “Did you just talk?” “Yeah, so what?” “That’s amazing.” Andy grabbed him from the ground and held him in front of his face. “Say something again.” The Meowth started wriggling, flailing his arms and legs. “I don’t have to say a thing, you brat, just hand over your Pokémon.” “Can you say ‘Andy is awesome’?” he asked, completely ignoring Meowths previous remark. Meowth stared at him, but James grabbed the Meowth in his neck and pulled him from Andy’s hands. “If he’s going to say anything he might as well say James is awesome.” “No, no, Jessie is awesome!” Jessie said to James. “Ahh! I’m not going to say anything like that!” Meowth shouted, again flailing his arms and legs. “Just get his Pokémon already!” “Right!” Jessie and James turned their attention back to Andy. “Hand over your Pokémon.” Andy crossed his arms in front of his chest, examining the individuals in front of him “Sooo, you’re a kind of Pokémon thieves?” he asked them. “That’s right,” James said. “We are members of Team Rocket.” Andy looked at them and shrugged. He had never heard about any Team Rocket back on Rhando island, but they said it in a matter that clearly showed the expected him to know about them. “So, Team Rocket…I guess I stand no chance then?” “Very true,” Jessie said and she extended her hand. “So just hand over your Pokémon and save yourself the embarrassment of we taking them from you.” “Alright then,” Andy sighed, taking one Pokéball from his pocket and enlarging it. “Here is the first.” He pushed on the button and a light came out of it. When the light faded away it revealed his Primeape. “This awesome Primeape here is Bear. Just one hint, don’t look him straight in the eyes. Primeape don’t like that.” Every time someone says don’t do this or that, there are always people who will do just that. Think about a button that says ‘do not push’. How many will still push it out of curiosity? If you say to someone ‘you may not, absolutely not, think about a pink Phanpy’, what is the first image to appear in your head? Exactly that happened. Jessie and James stared at the Primeape in front of them and looked him straight in the eyes. A heavier and nasal breathing sounded from Bear as his anger rose. Some bloodvessels on his forehead thickened and widened, showing the increase of blood pressure due to his anger. “Primeee,” he growled ominously and both Jessie and James backed away a bit. Normally Andy would say something in the lines of ‘don’t worry about it, Bear. They just stare at you because you’re awesome, you’ll better get used to it’ and usually saying that helps to calm his Primeape down. But Andy wasn’t going to say that now. “They want to steal you guys away from me,” he told his Primeape calmly. “You and Benny and Kim.” “Primeape!” Bear shouted, glaring viciously at Team Rocket, taking a step in their direction, breathing heavy through his nose. Both Jessie and James did one step back. “Oh, no, no, we wouldn’t dream of it, would we, James?” “Oh no, of course not Jessie.” “But he looks strong.” They looked at each other, took their Pokéballs and threw them in the air. The Pokéballs opened and released the Pokémon inside. One moment later an Arbok and a Weezing were standing in front of Jessie and James. “Leer,” Andy said and Bear aimed his vicious glare at both poison Pokémon, who backed away a bit under the glare. “Poison sting, Arbok!” Jessie ordered and Arbok opened it’s mouth to release it’s white needles at the Primeape. “We’ll first defeat him and then take the other Pokémon as well.” The needles hit Bear, who’s eyes started to shine red. Whether it was the attack or the words Jessie spoke, but Bear went into rage. “Oh boy,” Andy said when he noticed that. “This is going to take some time to cool him down again.” While he had expected his Primeape to get angry and teach these members of Team Rocket a lesson, he had wanted to avoid an actual rage. With a thoughtful expression he put his hand in his pocket to search for the right Pokéball as he watched Bear using his fury swipes on both the opposing Pokémon. “Use tackle!” James ordered his Weezing “Arbok, use bite!” Both Pokémon executed their moves, but it only increased Bears rage, who low kicked both of them, followed by a new set of fury swipes. With a calm expression on his face, Andy called his Butterfree to the field and told Benny he would need him later on. Benny nodded and remained flying next to Andy. “Use wrap!” Jessie said and Arbok jumped forward, but Bear took it by it’s tale and started swinging it around as he used his seismic toss and released the Arbok in the direction of Jessie, James and Weezing. The body of the large snake hit them and they all fell on the ground. But the raging Primeape didn’t stop there, he jumped up and used more fury swipes. He paused only to let out a loud and ominous growl, but the pause was long enough for Jessie and James to get up and flee, with their Pokémon right behind them. Bear started to chase them and Andy started running as well. “I feared that would happen. Benny! Use your sleeping powder on Bear.” Benny nodded and flew ahead of Andy, catching up with Bear. “Oh, that reminds me,” Andy said to himself while running. “I could have called Benny and just use his sleeping powder to let Team Rocket fall asleep and sneak away. That would have been a better idea then using Bear.” He shrugged as he continued running, it was something to remember for the next time. Andy could see Benny had caught up with Bear and he unleashed his sleeping power. Bear slowed down until he fell down on the ground, fast asleep. Andy stopped next to Bear and looked around, but there was no sight of Team Rocket. He took Bears Pokéball and returned him to it. “Well, that was interesting. But enough time wasted, let’s go-“ Before Andy could finish his sentence something long and purple wrapped around him. “Ah crap,” Andy muttered, looking at the face of the Arbok above him, who was hissing at him. “Benny use…no, never mind, bad idea.” Sleeping powder would make him fall asleep as well. From the bushes Jessie and James re-entered the scene. “Well now,” Jessie said with a sickingly sweet voice. “You didn’t think you would get rid of us that easily, did you?” “Well, of course I hoped for that,” Andy admitted, “but I’m not going to give up just yet if you don’t mind. I’m way to awesome to lose from you. Benny! Tackle this Arbok here.” Benny tackled Arbok against his head, who released his muscle tension enough for Andy to free himself from the wrap and quickly take some distance again. “Weezing, use smog!” James ordered and Weezing released a thick, black smog from his body. Andy started coughing as the smog entered his lungs. “Benny, clear the air with gust.” Benny flapped his wings and the gusts created with that cleared the air from the smog, but the Arbok came and wrapped himself around the Butterfree and squeezed. Benny let out cries of pain. “Use confusion!” Andy quickly instructed. The eyes of Benny started glowing light blue and a similar light was seen around Arbok, who tried to fight of the invisible force. With the confusion Benny managed to free himself from the wrap and he flew up and went to Andy. “I’m getting tired of this. Whirlwind. And make it a strong one, will you?” Benny nodded and flapped his wings as hard as he could. The gust created from it made the trees and bushes around shake violently and lose their leaves. Team Rocket and their Pokémon tried to stand their ground, but soon after were picked up by the wind and blown into the sky, along with all the ripped of leaves. He could here them shout ‘Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!’ as they flew through the air. “Whatever,” Andy sighed, turning around. “Come Benny, let’s head to Azalea Town.” The Butterfree nodded and followed Andy, who continued the walk through the forests with his hands in his pockets, whistling a tune as if nothing had happened.

Chapter 19 – Seriously? With Benny flying close to him, Andy continued his walk through the forest. They had seen the shrine mentioned by the old day-care man and had rested there for a moment. Andy had found the place to be serene, so he had taken his time to sit down and relax for a bit, with his Butterfree in his lap. After that he had continued his walk towards Azalea town, curious to meet this Kurt guy the old day-care man had talked about. Apparently a Pokéball maker. Mighty interesting. And that Slowpoke Well George had talked about, he’d love to see that as well. “We’ll soon be there,” Andy said to Benny, even though he had no clue how far away the city was from where they were, or where they were in the forest exactly. To say he was lost was exaggerated of course, awesome trainers like Andy don’t get lost. They make a slight detours to enjoy the surroundings and observe Pokémon in their natural habitat. That’s all. Andy was talking to Benny, explaining how excellent he was as a trainer and how many victories they both would have. Benny just flew next to him silently, letting him talk and boast and nodded occasionally. Andy was in the middle of explaining how he planned to win a league or two when he heard a deprecatory sounds coming from the trees. He looked up to see a Hoothoot sitting on a branch and looking at him. “What, you disagree?” he asked the Hoothoot. The Hoothoot gave him a look as if to say ‘wasn’t that obvious, oh featherless one?’ The eyebrows of Andy rose a bit, but soon a grin appeared on his face. “Do you think you know it better them me?” “Hoot,” the Pokémon simply replied, calmly readjusting some feathers under his wing. Andy leaned a bit to Benny, who came flying closer to hear what Andy had to say. “This Pokémon over here, he seems to disagree with me.” Benny nodded. “He looks awfully serious.” Again Benny nodded. “And he seems to think he knows things better then me. If I’m not mistaken he even seems a bit... conceited.” For the third time Benny nodded. “I want him in my team.” “Free.” The Hoothoot let out a sigh, turned around and flew away. “Benny, go after him and tackle him!” Benny quickly flew away, caught up with the Hoothoot and tackled him in the air. The Hoothoot flapped irregular with his wings to stay in the air and retaliated with a tackle of his own. “Use your gust!” With his wings, Benny created a gust of wind that hit the Hoothoot. After this the Hoothoot came flying to Benny, pecking his head with his beak. “Hang in there, Benny! Use your confusion!” The eyes of Benny started glowing and a blue aura surrounded the Hoothoot, who got slammed into a tree. The Hoothoot quickly recovered and his eyes started to shiny yellow, but Benny was able to tackle him before the hypnosis took affect. “Tackle him again,” Andy said and Benny went towards the Hoothoot again. Andy took a Pokéball, his eyes focused on the Hoothoot he wanted to catch. He would wait for the right moment. Benny landed a tackle and the Hoothoot was pushed back in the air. "Now!" With all his might Andy threw the Pokéball to the Hoothoot. And missed. The ball flew past the Hoothoot, who didn't even have to try and evade it, and hit a tree instead. With a silent cracking sound the Pokéball broke and fell on the ground. "Drat." Benny started laughing, tumbling down from the sky. The last few feet above the ground he flapped his white wings for a soft landing and on the ground he fell on his back, still laughing. "Don't laugh," Andy told him, but that didn't help. It didn't make the Butterfree stop laughing. "Maybe I wanted to hit that tree, did you consider that?" Andy asked with a grin. The Hoothoot was flapping his wings to stay in the air, shaking his head and he turned around to fly away. “Not so fast you! Benny, after him!” Benny, who was still laughing softly, flapped his wings and went after the Hoothoot. “Use your gust to knock him out of the air.” Benny did as he was being told and the gust took hold of the flying Pokémon and made him slam in the ground. “Alright, second try!” Andy said enthusiastically and he threw another Pokéball at the Hoothoot. This time he managed to hit the Pokémon with it. The red and white ball opened and dragged the Hoothoot in. The Pokéball was lying on the ground, rocking back and forth and the light in the button was going on and off, until the light finally died out and the ball stopped moving. “Yes! Did I tell you how awesome I am?” he asked his Butterfree, who agreed with that with a nod. “But you agree, right?” Benny chuckled and nodded again. “Great! That’s what I wanted to hear.” Andy walked over to the Pokéball and picked it up. He looked at it with a smile on his face. “Welcome to my team.” This Hoothoot seemed like a nice addition, although it looked really serious. The smile turned to a grin. He would have a great time with this Pokémon.

Chapter 20 – Furret’s first fight (and Hoothoot’s too) Andy was still in Ilex Forest, sitting under a tree. He was eating some sandwiches Sophia had prepared for him. He looked at his four Pokémon, who were sharing some home-cooked Pokémon food from the daycare. He had called them all from their Pokéballs for a lunch and so that they could get to know the latest addition to the team. Kim, his Furret, was sitting next to Bear, his Primeape and they both listened to Benny, his Butterfree, who was talking to the Hoothoot, who he had decided to call Merlin. At one point both Benny and Bear laughed, Kim had a shy smile and seemed uncertain if it was okay to laugh and Merlin looked at Andy with a tilted head. “Hey, Benny,” Andy said. “Don’t tell too many embarrassing stories, alright?” “Free!” The Butterfree replied, but whether that was an ‘Okay!’ or ‘I will tell them what I want, because you can’t understand me anyway!’ was impossible to tell, although Andy assumed it to be the first option. Now Bear started talking and he puffed up his chest as he was probably boasting about something. Andy chuckled, either Bear and he were more alike then he had first thought when he had met him, or some of his good qualities, he didn’t have any other qualities but good ones, had rubbed off on his Pokémon. After a while, when everyone was done eating, Andy returned everyone except for Kim to their Pokéballs. He wasn’t in the mood to walk alone and he felt like keeping the Furret with him. The Furret seemed to enjoy the stroll. She sniffed around and run ahead, only to come back and walk next to Andy for a while, until something caught her attention again. Andy enjoyed watching her like that, it was nice to see how she had opened up to him. They walked like that for a while when a boy appeared from between the trees. The boy first looked at Kim, and then at Andy who had stopped walking and examined the boy curiously. Kim backed away until she was behind Andy, where she sat with her tail wrapped around her body and shyly peeking from behind his legs to the boy. “Are you a trainer?” the boy asked. “I sure am. The name is Andy.” The boy nodded and came closer. “I’m Rick. Would you be up for a battle? I’m going to challenge the gym leader in Goldenrod City and I would like to practise some more.” “Sure thing!” Andy was excited, as he always was at the prospect of showing his skills. Rick took a Pokéball from his belt and held it in his hand as he looked at Andy. “Shall we each use two Pokémon?” After a nod from Andy, Rick called his first Pokémon to the field. A Croconow. “Alright Kim, are you up for it?” Andy asked his Furret, but Kim shook her head and made sure to stay behind Andy. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, but directly after showed a smile. “You don’t have to fight if you don’t want to, princess. Let’s see, who shall I pick then.” He took one of his Pokéballs and nodded to himself. “Alright Merlin! Come to the field!” The Hoothoot came from his Pokéball and looked at the Croconow in front of him. “Are you ready for your first battle?” Andy asked. Merlin looked back at Andy and calmly flapped with his wings to fly up and sit on a branch in a nearby tree. “Oh come on!” Andy exclaimed. “Why don’t you want to fight?” “Hoothoot,” Merlin said and he started to rearrange the feathers on his chest. Andy let out a sigh and rubbed his face with a hand. “That counts as one Pokémon,” Rick said. “You called him to battle.” “I know,” Andy sighed. He glanced at his Hoothoot and shrugged. If Merlin didn’t want to battle, he’d pick one that was always eager to fight. He called his Primeape to the field, who let everyone know he had arrived by a loud cry and started some stretching exercises. Andy smiled as he watched his Primeape, who was obviously ready to battle. “Alright Bear, start with your low kick!” The battle started and Andy noticed the Croconow was well trained, but so was his Primeape. From behind his legs Kim watched, letting out a concerned noise when Bear was hit by a water gun, but Andy reassured her that he was used to battling. From the tree branch Merlin was also watching the fight with some interest. Bear managed to defeat the Croconow and made a little victory dance as Rick returned the Croconow to his Pokéball. He then called his second Pokémon to the field, an Ekans. The Ekans hissed at Bear, who growled in response. “I’d say they’re ready,” Andy said cheerfully and ordered his Primeape to use his Seismic toss. From high up in the tree Merlin was still watching the battle. Bear was doing a good job, but this was his second battle and the first one hadn’t been an easy victory. At one point in the battle the Ekans used a Poison sting and the attack was too much for Bear to take and he fell on the ground. Andy returned him to his Pokéball. “You were awesome Bear. Have some rest now.” After putting his Pokéball away Andy looked up to Rick. Rick showed a smirk. “Well, it seems I won. It was…” “Hoothoot!” Merlin interrupted Rick as he came flying down and landed on Andy’s shoulder. Andy looked at him, the surprised look on his face quickly changed to a smile. “Merlin, you’re ready to fight now?” Merlin nodded. “You wanted to see how I do as trainer first?” The Hoothoot nodded for a second time. “And now you’ve decided I’m a skilled enough trainer to battle for.” “Hoot.” “Well, I am honoured that you in your infinite wisdom decided I am good enough to battle for.” Merlin let out a small sigh and flew to the field. Andy chuckled softly and pointed to his Hoothoot. “The first Pokémon I called to the field isn’t defeated yet. It seems you haven’t won just yet.” “So it seems,” Rick said. “But that’s just a matter of time! Ekans, use your Poison sting!” The Ekans unleashed his white needles at the Hoothoot, who was hit by them and flapped his wings as they stung his chest. “Use Peck!” Andy ordered and Merlin flew down, using his beak to peck on the head of Ekans, who retaliated with a bite attack. Then Merlins eyes started to glow light blue and the same colour surrounded Ekans, who tried to break free, but failed. “Hoot. Hoot.” With his mind Merlin lifted the Ekans from the ground and slammed him in the ground. Andy looked at it, confusion was always a fascinating move to see and now he had two Pokémon who could use it. “Tackle!” Merlin nodded and flew to the recovering Ekans. He tackled him and for a second time Ekans tried to Bite him, but Merlin was able to evade it and used his peck instead. Then Ekans was able to wrap his body around Merlin and squeezed. “Don’t give up! Use your Hypnosys.” “H-hoot,” Merlin replied and his eyes started to glow yellow. He looked intensely at the Ekans, who’s eyes started to close and the wrap lost it’s strength as he fell asleep. Merlin flew away from the sleeping snake and landed not to far from him in the grass, tilting his head as he looked at him. “Come on Ekans, wake up!” Rick shouted. Andy stretched his arms and put his hands behind his head as he watched Rick calling to his Pokémon to get him to wake up. Merlin didn’t give Rick any noticed and stretched one of his wings to work on his feathers. Rick let out a sigh and took his Pokéball. “He’s not waking up, I guess you win.” “Well done Merlin! You are fantastic!” Merlin looked at him as if he wanted to say ‘you just now realized that?’ and Andy started laughing. He liked his newest addition to his team even better. During the entire battle Kim had been hiding behind Andy, making herself as small as possible. It wasn’t until Rick and Andy had shaken hands and Rick was on his way again that she relaxed again. Andy scratched her head with a smile, she really was shy, but Andy didn’t mind, he enjoyed having her in his team. When they were just with the five of them, she had shown herself to be a caring Pokémon and she got along just fine with Benny, Bear and Merlin. For some reason she seemed to stick close to Bear a lot. They continued their walk to Azalea town. Just to be certain he had asked Rick if he was going in the right direction. The forest was nice and all, but he did want to get to the city eventually. Just like before Rick had found them, Kim seemed to enjoy the walk and stopped to sniff a berry bush, before eating some of the berries. Andy waited patiently for her to finish her quick snack. She even plucked some berries for him and he accepted them, thanking her for the treat. Andy was just eating the last berry when a voice came from behind. “Hand over your money.” Kim jumped up and ran behind Andy, who turned around to see who was asking for his money. Behind him, Kim looked carefully at the stranger. “Why would I?” Andy asked him. “It’s mine.” The man in front of him had a red scarf around his face to keep it hidden. Some kind of thief, Andy wasn’t impressed. His hand went into his pocket, any of his Pokémon were more then capable of dealing with the man. “Let me rephrase that,” the thief said with an impatient undertone in his voice. “Your money or your life.” “I’d rather hold on to both if you don’t mind.” “I mind.” The man took a small knife from his pocket. “Now, if you don’t want lose your life I suggest you-“ “Furret!” Kim shouted and she came from behind Andy and ran with high speed up to the man, using her quick attack on him. The man fell on the ground and looked angrily at the Furret. He lashed out with his knife, but Kim jumped back and stood on her hind legs when her body glowed white and she made several copies of herself. The man looked confused at all the Furrest around him and lashed out a random one, but went right through it. “Nice work princess!” Andy said. “Use your quick attack again!” Kim got down on all four legs and ran up to the man in high speed, knocking him down again. The thief scrambled back on his feet and ran off. “Furret! Furret, fur!” Kim shouted after him, standing on her hind legs and a grinning Andy walked up to her. He scratched her head as he watched the fleeing man. “I see that with you around I have nothing to worry about. You were amazing, Kim.” Kim looked away shyly. “Don’t be shy, you deserved that praise. Come, let’s go to Azalea Town. I long for a hot bath.” “Furret,” Kim said, nodding and she got down on her four legs again to continue the path next to Andy.

Chapter 21 – Azalea Town and other noteworthy events Andy’s travel finally brought him to Azalea Town, where the first thing he noticed was how many Slowpoke there were in the streets. He recalled George had said something about Slowpoke being important for the town, but he hadn’t expected to see that many. So he asked one of the older townsmen who was sitting on a bench in the park what that was about, and the man told him about how a Slowpoke’s yawn ended a drought in this very town 400 years ago. The man showed Andy the Slowpoke Well, something he had already heard about, but it was nice to see it for real. After that Andy asked where Kurt the Poké Ball smith lived and the man told Andy where he had to be. Of course it was a house he had passed on his way to the center of the village, so he turned back to the house located near the forest he had been travelling through. Once he had found the house he rang the doorbell and a young girl opened the door. She had her brown hair in two tails on either side of her head and she looked at Andy curiously. “Hello,” Andy greeted her. “I’m looking for Kurt.” The girl nodded and turned her head. “Grandpa! Someone is here for you.” After that she turned back to Andy. “He’ll be here soon,” she said to him with an adorable smile. And sure enough, an old man appeared in the entrance of the house. “Yes?” the man, of which Andy thought it had to be Kurt, asked. “I’m Andy,” Andy introduced himself. “A Pokémon trainer. I spend a while at the daycare of George and Sophia just outside Goldenrod city and he mentioned you.” “I see, how is George?” And with that a conversation started. Kurt invited Andy inside as they talked about George and Andy’s travel so far. Upon request, he showed Andy his tools and how he made a Poké Ball from an apricorn. At one point, Andy showed Kurt his cracked Poké Ball, the one he had used in his first attempt to catch his Hoothoot. The old man just looked at it silently for a moment before he looked up. “What happened with it?” he asked. “I tried to catch a Hoothoot and hit a tree instead,” Andy explained with a shrug. “So the Hoothoot evaded,” concluded Kurt as he took the cracked Poké Ball to inspect it more closely. Andy grinned. “Nope, I just missed and hit a tree instead.” For a moment Kurt was silent, but then he burst out in laughter. “Next time tell people you mistook a tree for a Sudowoodo!” “Good idea!” Andy said, hitting his hand with his fist. “That I didn’t think of that. It will be my story from now on!” Kurt examined Andy for a moment and shook his head with a smile on his face. “No, I think you’re going to stick with the truth. You don’t seem ashamed of it.” “I’m not.” Andy shrugged as he said that. “I missed, it’s not a big deal. But you should have seen my Butterfree, he was laughing so hard he came tumbling down from the sky. I think it was the funniest thing he had seen in ages. He still laughs every time he sees this Poké Ball.” “Do you even want it repaired?” Kurt then asked. “Actually...no. This will be a great memory for later. I can already see children sitting on my knee asking me to tell how I caught Merlin and I will tell them how heroically I entered the battle with Benny and how I threw the Poké Ball and how it slammed against a tree instead of hitting Merlin. It will be a great story to tell.” Kurt laughed and continued working on the apricorn that was lying in front of him. Andy remained with Kurt and his granddaughter Maisy for a couple of days. Kurt shared his knowledge about Poké Balls with him and Andy let his Furret and Butterfree play with Maisy and her Slowpoke. For some reason she was quite fond of the pink Pokémon, Andy couldn’t really see why, it seemed like a dull Pokémon to him, but to each his or her own. If everyone liked the same Pokémon, battles would be boring rather quickly. While he was there, Andy toldMaisy stories, the story about Benny’s evolution quickly became her favorite. It was the first time for the other three Pokémon of Andy to hear it as well and Benny could only confirm what Andy had told Maisy. And when he told Maisy about his attempt to catch Merlin she giggled. While he stayed in Azalea town, Andy decided to challenge the gym leader Bugsy, who had bug-type Pokémon. During the first round Andy had called his Butterfree to battle Bugsy’s Spinarak. Towards the end of the battle the Spinarak had been able to prevent Benny from flying with a well-aimed string-shot, but while he was covered with the sticky substance, Benny was able to finish the battle with a confusion attack. As second Pokémon Bugsy called forth a Metapod. Andy returned Benny and replaced him with his Hoothoot. With the type advantage, it wasn’t a though battle. The tough battle followed when Bugsy called on his Scyther. When Andy asked if Merlin thought he was up for it, the Hoothoot gave him a look that said ‘why are you doubting me, of course I’m up for it’ much to Andy’s amusement. Even with the type advantage, it was a tough battle. In the end Merlin managed to win by using his Echoed Voice for the first time and when the Scyther lay unconscious in the grass, Merlin was surrounded by a white glow and he evolved from a Hoothoot into a Noctowl. After receiving the badge, Andy continued his travel through the Johto region. And, amongst other locations, he visited the Sprout Tower and the Ruins of Alph. While he was in the Ruins of Alph, Andy decided he wanted to visit his older brother, who was attending a university in the Kanto region. His brother had a fascination for history and was striving to be a Pokémon archaeologist. Something Andy wasn’t all that interested in, but as he was standing in the Ruins he recalled his brother had mentioned a field trip to this very location. As he was thinking about his brother and since he didn’t have any real plans, he decided he might as well travel back to Kanto to visit him. A second attempt really, he had tried to visit his brother when he was in the region, but he had arrived at the university when his brother was at this location, so he had continued to Mt. Moon instead. After checking his map, Andy decided he’d travel over Mount Silver back to the Kanto region. The bullet train, even if it was fast, was boring. And he’d be closer to the university if he’d go over the mountain. Of course he could go through the cave system of the mountain, but a cave was a cave and he already had been inside Mount Moon. He really didn’t care that much for caves, unlike his brother. So, the decision was easy, he’d travel to Mount Silver and go over it to Kanto. To reach Mount Silver, Andy had to travel through New Bark Town, where he met with both professor Elm, who owned a lab there, and professor Oak, who was visiting the place. He told both professors where he was from. Professor Oak recalled professor Maple was in charge there for guiding beginning trainers there and asked how she was. Andy spent the remained of the day in New Bark Town and he became more and more interested in the work these Pokémon professors did. But first things first, he wanted to visit his brother, so the next day he continued his travel to Mount Silver, feeling excited about this travel over the mountain.

Calle, why don't you give Andy a girl travelling companion? They could happen frequent squabbles and fights. ^^ (I mean Ash had Misty and Brook, May and Max, Dawn, Iris, Serena etc.) Enjoyed this chapter too! <3

I never considered giving him a travelling companion other then his Pokémon. Maybe when he's back in Kanto :)