Pokémon, Pikachu and other Pokémon character names are trademarks of
GameFreak Inc, Creatures Inc, Nintendo.  No copyright infringement is
intended.

Heather's Pokémon Journey
by Sailor Chronos

     I want to be the very best, like no one ever was;
     To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause.
     I will travel across the land, searching far and wide,
     Each Pokémon to understand the power that's inside.
     Pokémon, it's you and me; I know it's my destiny.
     Oh, you're my best friend in a world we must defend.
     Pokémon, a heart so true; our courage will pull us through,
     You teach me and I'll teach you, Pokémon.
     Gotta catch 'em all, Pokémon!

Chapter One: A Heart Oppressed

     "Heather, please go out and pick some raspberries," her mother
asked.  "Don't wander too far into the forest."
     "I know, Mom."  Her mother's oft-repeated warning grated on her
nerves.  Everyone in Twilight Village kept their children close at hand.
The stories of terrible monsters that lived in the surrounding forests
had people afraid, yet in all the times she had been fruit-picking in
those very forests, she had yet to see anything larger than a stray dog.
Nevertheless, she had a bow and arrows in a sling across her back, just
in case.
     She picked up a basket and headed out.  The familiar secret path
that she had made was comforting.  She had been using it since she was
old enough to go out on her own, and it led to the best places for
berries and fruit that hadn't already been picked bare by the other
village kids.  Her mother complained that she took a long time gathering
the fruit, but had to admit it was better than what the neighbours' brat
brought home.
     Screeches sounded nearby, and Heather froze in her tracks.  Was it
a monster?  After listening for a moment, she thought that it sounded
more like an animal in trouble than something dangerous.  She left the
path and followed the noise, and soon came upon one of the village cats
that was terrorizing a bird.
     It was a fact of life that cats caught birds and ate them, she
knew, but she preferred not to hear about it.  Bounding forward, she
yelled, "Get away, you mangy cat!  Leave that bird alone!"  The scruffy
tabby hissed at her, then disappeared into the brush, leaving the bird
lying on the ground.  It fluttered weakly as she drew near.
     "You poor thing."  She knelt next to it, trying to see if it was
all right, or if it would be better to put it out of its misery.  "I'm
not going to hurt you."  The bird's brown eyes peered up at her, as if
it understood what she had said.
     Heather took a closer look.  This was unlike any bird she had seen.
It was jay-sized and mostly a creamy-white colour, except for its back
and shoulders which were a rich brown.  It had a rusty orange crest and
tail feathers.  Carefully she picked it up and smoothed its feathers
back into place.  It flinched as she touched its left wing. "Your wing
is hurt.  I'd better bandage it."  Taking out her handkerchief, she
wrapped it around the bird's wing.  Then she stood up and placed the
bird in a hollow in a nearby tree.  "You should be safe there, in case
that cat comes back.  I have to get on with my picking, but I'll be back
later."
     On her way back to the house she returned to the tree. To her
relief, the bird was still there, and she gave it a few berries that she
had saved.  "You can eat these, you need to keep your strength up."
Hesitantly she stroked its head, and strangely, it didn't try to get
away like a wild bird would.  "I'll come every day to make sure you get
better."

     "You WHAT?"  Her father was outraged when she mentioned what had
happened.  "Young lady, you are not to handle that creature again.  It's
dangerous!  You should have let the cat finish the job."
     "Papa, it's only a little bird!  What could it do?"
     "Give the child a break, dear," her mother intervened.  "She got
home safely, and that's what matters."
     "Nevertheless, I forbid you to go berrying in that area, at least
until it has been deemed safe by the constabulary.  They'll handle it."
     "Papa!"
     "No more arguments.  Your brother will do the gathering tomorrow."
     She snorted, tossing her short brown hair.  "That brat?  Jack
doesn't know the difference between a gooseberry and poison sumac!"
     "Then I'll go with him," her mother said severely.  "While I'm out,
you can wash the kitchen floor and prepare a stew."
     Heather grumbled, but she knew there was no way out of this mess.

     The next day was bright and sunny, which made her feel even worse.
At least with her mother and brother out gathering, and her father at
work, she had the house to herself.  She made the stew and cleaned the
kitchen until it was spotless, and was trying to decide whether to do
the dusting when there was a sound at the kitchen window.
     "Pidgey, pidgey!"
     She was paralyzed with shock.  Despite all the stories, none of the
monsters in the forest had ever shown up inside the village, but she
wasn't taking any chances.  She grabbed her bow and arrow and ran to the
kitchen.  There was something perched on the windowsill.
     It was her bird, holding her handkerchief in one of its claws.
     Sighing with relief, she tossed the weapon on the floor and opened
the screen.  "You scared me!  Oh, you brought my hanky back, your wing
must be all better."  She slowly reached for it, and the bird actually
handed it to her.  "Wow!  No bird I know would do this!  Are you a
trained bird?"
     It shook its head in the "no" gesture that a human would use.
     Heather stared at it in awe, backed up a few steps and tripped over
the bucket of water that she had forgotten to toss out.  She fell
heavily on her bottom and dirty water sluiced across the floor.  The
bird flapped its wings in obvious amusement.  "Pidgey! Pidgey!" it said.
     Oblivious to her now wet shorts, she clambered to her feet and
walked up to the bird, who watched her.  This was not a normal forest
creature, she was certain.  It definitely was intelligent. "You're not
just an ordinary bird, are you?"
     "Pidgey!"
     "Is that your name?"  It shook its head "no" again.  "Is that the
kind of bird you are?"  This time it nodded "yes".  "Well, do you mind
if I call you Pidgey?"  It answered "no".  "All right, Pidgey.  My
name's Heather."  She stroked its head.  "It was really nice of you to
bring back my hanky.  But you'd better go before my mom and brother get
back.  They're afraid of you, and I don't know why."
     "Pidgey."  It hopped onto her shoulder and nuzzled her.  "Pidgey!"
Then it flew out the window.
     She smiled to herself.  "I think I made a new friend."  Then she
set to mopping up the spilled water.

     Her world came crashing down a few days later.  Jack, her nosy
brother, had followed her that morning while she was out berrying, since
he wanted to find out how she got better fruit than he did.  He had
found her in the middle of a wild strawberry patch, talking to Pidgey.
     During dinner that evening, Jack looked like he had ants in his
pants, he was fidgeting so much.
     "What's the matter with you?" their father demanded.
     The boy pointed at his sister.  "I saw Heather this morning with
a... with a Pokémon!"
     Everyone gasped.
     She was furious, not only because he had found one of her secret
places, but that he knew about Pidgey and tattled on her.  "Jack, you
dope!  You sneaking little brat..!"
     That was as far as she got; her father interrupted.  "I thought I
told you to keep away from that creature!"
     "Pidgey is just a bird!"  Heather shouted.  "It can't hurt anyone!
Why is everybody in this village so afraid of what's out there?  No
wonder the people who visit other towns don't want to come back, it's
because they've realized how much they've been lied to!"
     The dishes rattled from her father's fist hammering on the table.
"That's enough from you, young lady.  A twelve year old doesn't know
what's best.  I've heard enough to know that there are worse monsters in
that forest than this...'Pidgey'."
     "Heard, fine.  But has anyone ever SEEN one?" she asked.  "Has there
ever been any proof to these stories that we've been told all our lives?
Or are people just too scared of their own shadows to find out?"
     "Uhh, sis, I think you should stop now," Jack said quietly.
     She just glared at him, then faced her shocked parents.  "Well, I'm
not scared.  First thing in the morning I'm going to find Pidgey and
we're leaving."
     "Heather, you can't be serious!" her mother stammered.  "The nearest
settlement is on Indigo Plateau, beyond the hills.  It would take days
on foot!  And there are the monsters!"
     "I don't care!"
     Her father pointed at her angrily.  "To your room.  Now.  And no
more back talk.  I'm going to call the constabulary and they'll take
care of this 'Pidgey' bird.  That's the end of it!"  He marched her to
her room and shut the door.
     She stood there for a few minutes with tears running down her
cheeks.  Why couldn't they understand?  She dried her face, grabbed her
school backpack and dumped its contents on the floor, then began to pack
it.  Changes of clothes.  Her diary.  A locket with her brother's
picture in it.
     For a moment she paused.  That had been her birthday present from
him.  As bratty as he was, she still cared about him.  She clipped it
around her neck and slid it under her shirt.
     A few packets of dried fruit.  A bottle of salve that she used to
treat scratches.  Matches.  Her pocket knife.  Flashlight.  With a groan
she realized that her bow and arrows were next to the back door.  She
opened her door a crack.  Her parents were still in the kitchen,
arguing.  There was no way she could get past them, so she would have to
leave her weapon behind.
     There was no more time to waste.  Papa would head for the phone at
any time, if he hadn't already, and she had to get out and warn Pidgey.
     "Psst!  Sis!"  Jack peeked out of his room and tiptoed over to her.
He had a book in his hand.  "Since you're serious about this whole
thing, you'll need all the help you can get.  I got this from the
village library."  The title was "Poketta Monsutaa Encyclopedia".
     "Thanks, Jack."  She hugged him.  "Take care of Mom and Papa."
     He nodded and went back to his room.
     After one last look around her room she closed up her backpack
securely, climbed out the window and fled into the forest.

     She hadn't gone far when Pidgey found her and perched on her
shoulder.  "I'm glad you're safe, Pidgey," she said breathlessly.
"Papa's convinced that you're dangerous and he's going to send people
after you.  We have to go."  She recalled what her mother had hinted at
earlier.  "I don't suppose you know the way to Indigo Plateau, do you?"
     "Pidgey."  Its tone sounded sad.
     Sighing, she clenched her fists; she should have thought to bring a
map.  However, she remembered enough from looking at the maps at school
to know that Twilight Village was on the northern edge of a range of
hills, and there were several major cities on the other side of them.
She had to stay off the road for now, since that would be the first
place people would look for her.
     Putting the setting sun on her right hand, she started walking.
"It's just you and me now, Pidgey.  I hope we get there in one piece."
     "Pidgey."
     And so she started on her journey.


Chapter Two: Country and City

     The first night wasn't bad.  Pidgey had found a large climbable
tree with a space between three branches that she could wedge herself
into.  A light sweater was enough to ward off chill, since summer had
just begun.
     Still buoyed by her anger at her father, she was determined to put
as much distance between herself and the village as she could.  In the
morning, after eating one of her fruit packs, she hiked southwards.  She
rested every hour, or so she figured by observing the sun's position.
When she came across a stream she filled the water bottle that she kept
attached to her pack.
     At around noon she found a road.  It had to be the road that led
from Twilight Village, but she hoped that by this time she was far
enough away that she wouldn't encounter any searchers.  That was if
anyone was actually going to search for her.  It was possible that her
parents thought that was still sulking in her room and hadn't realized
she was missing.
     The road helped a great deal.  By nightfall she had calculated that
she had covered more than thirty miles.  Pidgey had been a welcome
companion, flying ahead to scout out possible dangers, and finding fresh
fruits and mushrooms to supplement the dried fruit that she had.
However she knew she wouldn't last long on this diet; she hoped that
they would cross a river at some point so she could catch some fish.
     "Tomorrow is going to be more difficult," she wrote in her diary by
the light of a small fire.  "Although the road helps, the hills are
getting steeper.  I doubt we'll make as good time as we did today.  It's
funny, so far I haven't seen any creatures other than the usual woodland
ones.  This just makes the people in Twilight Village all the more
contemptible."

     The forest had barely started to lighten, when Heather was awakened
by a tremendous din.  She had unknowingly been sharing her tree with a
small flock of red and orange birds, and they were furious at her
intrusion.  "Ow!  Stop!  I didn't mean to disturb you!" she shouted as
the birds pecked at her.  Pidgey shrieked and flapped its wings at them,
creating a huge gust of wind that blew most of the birds back.
     She was immensely surprised at Pidgey's strange ability, but wasted
no time in clambering down the tree and gathering up her backpack.  The
flock dispersed, except for one who watched her from the tree as she ran
off.
     "Wow, I didn't know you could do that, Pidgey!" she said after
stopping for breath.  "Maybe this book Jack gave me will tell me
something."  She opened it and looked for an index.  "Here it is.
Pidgey, page sixteen."  There was a small picture that looked exactly
like the creature that was now perched on her shoulder.  "Also known as
Poppo, this bird is able to create gusts of wind with its wings.  Common
in many areas."
     "Pidgey!"  He sounded smug.
     "Well then," she replaced the book in her pack, "I think that
ability might be useful in our trip.  I'm glad you're with me, Pidgey."
She petted the bird, then had to put salve on her many peck marks before
continuing to walk along the road.

     It took almost three more days to get across the hills, another
sixty miles by Heather's estimate.  Pidgey's help had been invaluable:
he had been a terrific lookout, and also turned out to be a good fisher.
     At the first river they had come to, Heather had fashioned herself
a crude fishing rod but fish apparently didn't like fruit as bait.
Pidgey was reluctant to go near the water at first, but when she
dribbled a bit of water on his claws to show that it didn't hurt, he
tried to catch a fish by hovering over the water and grabbing at a fish
as it came to the surface.  He succeeded after a few tries, and she
rewarded him by sharing it when she had cooked it over a fire.  They
spent some time at the river, catching fish and cooking them for later,
then storing them in empty fruit packs.
     On the second day, they met a bear on the road.  Pidgey had
forewarned her, so she left the rest of the fish on the side of the road
to distract it, and hiked for some time through the forest before going
back to the road.  The experience had scared her enough to make her
realize that it wasn't just the monsters she had to be careful of, but
ordinary creatures too.
     That evening she read some of the Encyclopedia.  Not surprisingly,
it was rather incomplete.  She learned that the so-called monsters that
everyone in Twilight Village were afraid of were known as "Poketta
Monsutaa" or "Pokémon" for short.  There were more than 150 types, but
unfortunately the book only had pictures of the most common ones, and
was unclear on what many of them were capable of doing.
     "So you're a Pidgey Pokémon.  No wonder Papa was so angry."
     "Pidgey."
     "And..." she flipped through pages.  "Here, page twenty-one:
Spearow.  Those were the birds we saw the other day.  Also called
Onisuzume... weird name.  Common.  Has a powerful peck and has been
known to growl at intruders in its territory."  She frowned.  "Growl? No
bird I know of can growl.  Oh well, this is a Pokémon.  Who knows what
they can do."
     At sunset on the third day, the road rounded a curve and presented
them with a beautiful view of a sparsely forested plain and a small city
in the distance.
     "At last!  Civilization!"  Heather cried out in relief.  "I doubt
we'll get there tonight.  Let's rest here, and in the morning we'll find
a stream so I can wash.  I want to look like a person, not a tramp."
     "Pidgey!"

     They reached the city by noon, and Heather was so happy to be
around people again that she decided to use some of her money to buy
lunch.  At the restaurant, the waitress was quite friendly.  She told
her that this place was called Pewter City, and gave her directions to a
building called the Pokémon Centre where a nurse named Joy worked.
     Joy was a tall red-haired girl a little older than her.  She
happily checked Pidgey over and pronounced it to be in good health, then
suggested that she visit the nearby PokéMart.
     "What a strange city," Heather commented, "with Poké-this and
Poké-that."
     "Sounds like you're a beginner in Pokémon training," Joy said.
     "Training?"  This was completely new to her.  "What do you mean?
Pidgey is with me because I helped him after he was injured.  I don't
know anything about training a Pokémon."
     "Well then, the first stop for you is the PokéMart.  There you can
buy health potions and PokéBalls to keep your Pokémon in.  It's much
easier to keep them in the PokéBalls than having them all follow you
around."
     Heather glanced at Pidgey.  She wasn't sure if she would want to
put him inside a cage, which was what a PokéBall sounded like.  "I don't
know about that."
     "Since the Pidgey is obviously your friend, it's up to you.  When
you've finished your business at the 'Mart, go to the Gym.  There you'll
learn more about keeping and training Pokémon.  Brock, the Leader, is
away for the summer, but the Junior Trainer would be happy to help you."
     At the PokéMart she counted her money: close to $1500.  She had
been saving this since she could remember, putting aside gifts from
relatives as well as her allowance from her parents.
     First there were a few essentials, such as a tent.  PokéBalls,
orange-sized spheres coloured half red and half white, weren't expensive
so she bought six of them at the shopkeeper's suggestion.  Potions cost
more but she bought two, as well as a map of the region.  The pretty
stones, which could evolve Pokémon, were far too costly.  "Not to
worry," the shopkeeper assured her, "you'll probably find some on your
travels."
     Then she headed to the Gym and met the Junior Trainer.
     "So you're new to Pokémon, eh?" the boy said.  "If you've been to
the 'Mart then you should have PokéBalls.  Good.  The first thing you
need to know is what kind of Pokémon you're dealing with and what its
abilities are."
     "I have a book, but it's not very clear on a lot of things," she
admitted.
     "Let me see."  When she handed the Encyclopedia over, the boy
laughed.  "This is a pretty old edition.  I have a much newer one, and
I'll give it to you if your Pidgey battles my Diglett.  This way."  He
led her into the gym proper, which looked like any regular school
gymnasium except the floor was packed dirt.  "At first, most Pokémon are
well behaved.  As they grow they gain more abilities, and they can
become unruly if you don't keep control over them."  He snapped his
fingers, and a large worm-like creature with beady eyes and a pink nose
popped out of the floor.  "The best way to make them grow is to battle
with other Pokémon.  Don't worry," he added at her shocked expression.
"I can see that your Pidgey is inexperienced, so I won't hurt it.  I'll
just show you how to battle."  He stood just behind the Diglett, at the
edge of a chalk circle drawn on the floor.
     Heather stood at the other side of the circle.
     "Start!" the boy said.  "Diglett, forward!"  The creature dove back
into its hole, tunnelled to the centre of the circle, and and popped up
again.
     Following his example, she called, "Pidgey, Gust!"  Pidgey flew off
her shoulder and flapped his wings at the Diglett, but it ducked into
the hole before the wind could reach it.
     "Diglett, Scratch!"  The Diglett flung itself toward Pidgey, but
the bird easily dodged it.
     "Pidgey, Gust again!"  Heather said.  This time the Diglett wasn't
able to reach its hole, and was blown back by the attack.
     "That's enough," the boy said.  "Diglett, stop."  His Pokémon
disappeared into the floor.
     "Pidgey, come back."  When he resumed his perch, she immediately
noticed that his feathers had become a little brighter. "He's changed."
      The trainer nodded.  "He gained a level.  Before you know it, he'll
have a new attack."  He went over to a desk, then presented her with a
book.  "It's not as good as an electronic Pokédex but it's better than
what you had."
     She clasped the book to her chest. "Thanks.  What should I do now?"
     "Now that you know how to battle, you should go out and find more
Pokémon to train.  The more variety of Pokémon you have, the better, but
a trainer is only allowed to carry six at a time.  League rules.
There's a section about that in the book.
     "The best place to start is the Viridian Forest, which isn't far
from here.  When you see a Pokémon you want to catch, have your Pidgey
disable it, then use a PokéBall."  He took one of his from his belt and
showed her how to hold it a certain way.  "Try it."
     She put the book in her backpack, then pulled out a ball and held
it the way he had shown her.  When she touched Pidgey with it, the bird
glowed with a red light and disappeared. "Oh!  What happened?"
     "It's inside the PokéBall now.  When you want it to come out, toss
the ball up and call it.  When battling, it's customary to say 'I choose
you' so there will be no mistake."
     "Okay."  She tossed the ball.  "Pidgey, I choose you!"  There was a
flash, the ball opened and Pidgey was there.  He glided around her head
before settling on her shoulder again.  "Wow..."  She turned to the
trainer.  "Thank you for all your help.  Now I'm beginning to understand
why people in my village were so afraid of Pokémon.  It's so
complicated."
     "Afraid?"  The boy laughed.  "As long as you keep your Pokémon
under control, there's nothing to fear from them.  Good luck, and when
you have a little more experience, come back and we'll battle again."
     "You have a deal."  She shook hands with him, and left the gym.
"Well, Pidgey, I think we'll stay at the Centre tonight.  Then we'll
head for the Viridian Forest and more Pokémon!"
     "Pidgey!" her Pokémon said happily.


Chapter Three: The Hunter Becomes Hunted

     The next morning after a quick shower and breakfast, she and Pidgey
set out for the Viridian Forest.  They hadn't gone far when Heather
couldn't help but feel that they were being watched.  She looked around,
but all she saw was a Spearow in a tree next to the road.  Out of
curiosity, she looked it up in her book.
     The entry in this book was much more concise than the other one.
"Spearow, type Flying.  Common.  Attacks: Peck, Growl; gains Leer at
level nine, Fury Attack at level fifteen.  Evolves into Fearow at level
twenty."  The picture was of a bird about the same size as Pidgey with a
black back and white chest, reddish wings, orange head and tail.  The
feathers on its neck were standing out, making it look like the bird had
a necklace of flames.
     She closed the book and looked up at the Spearow in puzzlement.  "I
swear, that Spearow has been following us since that morning in the
hills... No, that's impossible."
     Her friend hopped up and down on her shoulder.  "Pidgey!"
     "Huh?  It IS the same Spearow?"
     "Pidgey."  Her Pokémon nodded.
     "Then why didn't you say something?  Oh, because I needed to know
more about Pokémon first, right?  Well, if it has been following us, how
about I give it a formal invitation."  She pulled a PokéBall out of her
pack and held it up.  "Spearow," she called to it, "Do you want to come
with us?"
     The bird cocked its head.  "Spearow!" it chirped.
     "Pidgey!" her Pidgey responded.
     "Spearow."  It flew out of the tree and landed in front of them.
     Heather shrugged.  "Okay."  She tossed the ball at the Spearow, and
made her first capture!
     Holding the ball above her head, she crowed, "All right!  If
capturing every Pokémon is this easy then I shouldn't have any trouble!
Then again," she continued, "thinking back, I believe it followed us
because it was impressed by your gust attack.  Do you think?"
     "Pidgey."
     "Oh well.  Let's keep going."
     The morning was rather uneventful.  They reached Viridian Forest
and Heather had Pidgey help to capture a second Spearow, then she got to
thinking.  So far, all her Pokémon were birds.  The trainer in Pewter
City had said it was best to have variety, but surely not all birds had
the same abilities.  She looked up Pidgey and compared it to Spearow.
While their attacks were radically different, they both had the same
advantages and disadvantages against certain other types of Pokémon.
There was a duck-like Pokémon called Farfetch'd that had attacks similar
to both and had the same disadvantages again.
     The next bird entry she found was something called Aerodactyl which
was a large dinosaur-like Pokémon that looked like it was made out of
rock.  Unfortunately, Aerodactyl was extinct.
     Then there was Articuno.  She took one look at the picture and fell
in love with it.  It was a beautiful blue bird with a long tail that had
ice powers.  According to the book, though, it was a legendary Pokémon
that was only found in a place called Seafoam Island.
     "We have a plan, Pidgey!" she said.  "When we're finished here,
we'll find the way to Seafoam Island and capture an Articuno.  I just
have to have one!  I'll become a master of bird Pokémon!"
     "Pidgey!"

     Nightfall saw them deep in the heart of the forest.  Heather was
tired and a little disappointed that she hadn't captured any other
Pokémon.  Not that there hadn't been any around, but she just wasn't
interested in the Caterpies and Weedles that were frequently seen in the
trees.
     As she was about ready to stop and set up a camp, Pidgey brought
her attention to a glade up ahead.  In the glade was a tent, and a fire
was burning cheerfully in front of it.  "Oh, hi!  Are you looking for
Pokémon too?"  A dark-haired boy of about ten waved at her.
     She stepped into the light.  "Yes, I am, but I haven't come across
any that I really want.  My name's Heather."
     "I'm Doug.  My friends call me Doug the Bug because I have lots of
bug Pokémon."  He held up two PokéBalls.  "Wanna see?"
     "Uh... no thanks."
     "Tell ya what, after we eat, we'll battle.  Then you can stay here
until morning."
     "Gosh, that's really nice of you."  She brought out a packet
containing a fish she had caught earlier.  "I can share this."
     "Great!  I have some fruit and edible roots here.  We'll have a
feast."
     After a good meal, Doug stoked up the fire so it brightly
illuminated the glade, then picked up two of his PokéBalls.  "I'll use
these two.  If you beat me you can have one of my health potions.  If I
beat you, you give me one of your empty PokéBalls."
     "That sounds fair.  Let's do it."
     They got up and stood at opposite ends of the glade.  Doug went
first.  "Caterpie, I choose you!"  He threw a ball into the centre of
the glade, and a large green caterpillar with round eyes appeared.
     Heather had read up on Caterpies earlier in the day and knew that
she would have no problems.  "Pidgey, go!"  Her Pidgey flew off its
perch on a tree branch and hovered in front of the Caterpie.
     "Caterpie, Tackle!"  The caterpillar tried to grab Pidgey, but
missed since the bird was too quick.
     "Pidgey, Gust!"  Pidgey blew a gust at the Caterpie and it spun out
of control to land near Doug's feet.
     "Drat!  Caterpie, String Shot!"  The Caterpie managed to right
itself, then cast a web of sticky silk towards Pidgey.
     "Pidgey, Gust!"  Heather shouted, and the wind blew the silk back
at the Caterpie and entangled it.  The Caterpie glowed and vanished,
having returned to its PokéBall.
     Doug glared at her and tossed his second PokéBall.  "Caterpie, I
choose you!"  A second Caterpie appeared.  "String Shot!"
     "Dodge!"  she called, and Pidgey flew up out of range.  Noticing
the subtle change in her Pokémon that signified the gaining of a level,
she ordered Pidgey's next attack to see if it would work.  "Pidgey, Sand
Attack!"  The bird landed on the ground in front of the Caterpie and
used its wings to blow up a large funnel of dust that obscured both the
opposing Pokémon and its trainer.
     Doug coughed and waved a hand.  "All right!  I give up!  Caterpie,
return!"  The Caterpie vanished.
     Heather called Pidgey back and it obediently returned to her
shoulder.  When the dust settled, Doug walked up to her with a potion in
his hand.  "That was a terrific battle," he said a little humbly.  "I
should have realized that my bugs would be no match for your bird.
Here's the potion."  Then he perked up.  "You know, it would be a great
way for your birds to gain levels if you battle them against lower-level
wild Pokémon.  But I think there are a few other bug trainers in the
forest, and they're better than I am, so don't get too confident."  He
grinned.  "There are also other trainers who aren't as friendly.  I've
heard stories about a team called Rocket who try to steal Pokémon rather
than go to the trouble of training their own.  For some reason they
especially want Pikachus, so if you happen to get one, don't let it out
of your sight."
     "Wow.  Thanks for all the advice, Doug."  She yawned, and laughed
happily as she picked up her backpack and began to set up her tent.

     Accustomed to rising with the sun, she struck camp and headed out
long before Doug woke, but she left a note for him promising to return
on this road on her way home.  The map that she had bought designated it
"Route 2", and it ran from Pewter City to Viridian City.  From there she
could cut cross-country to "Cycling Road" which led to Fuschia City,
then take a boat to Seafoam Island.  It seemed simple enough.
     Along the way she met two other trainers, both with bug Pokémon as
Doug had warned her, but Pidgey and Spearow defeated them easily,
gaining levels in the process.  Neither had any spare potions, so they
gave her the cost of a potion in cash.
     In the late afternoon she stopped to rest and eat, hoping to walk a
few more miles before sunset.  This was the seventh day after she had
left home.  Her family would surely be worried, although both her mother
and brother had known what she was getting into and would understand why
she left.  Papa..?  For all she knew he had disowned her.  She would
love to see the look on his face, though, when she returned with
powerful trained Pokémon.  Then he would have to admit that he had been
wrong.
     Pidgey had been dozing on a branch while she ate, but became alert
when he heard rustling from a copse just off the road.  Heather had
heard it too, and crawled on her hands and knees as quietly as she could
to peek through a space between bushes.
     Inches from her nose was a yellow-furred face with beady eyes.
     "Pika?"
     "YAAAHHH!"  She cried out in surprise and tried to stand up, lost
her balance, windmilled her arms for a moment, and fell into a bush.
Pidgey hovered above her, scolding.  She caught a glimpse of a small
yellow creature as it hopped out of the copse, bounced on her head, and
ran off.
     She fought to disentangle herself.  "After it, Pidgey!"  As the
bird flew away, she half crawled, half rolled out of the bush and picked
twigs out of her hair.  "Just great," she grumbled, "I've been made a
fool of by a Pokémon."  Grabbing a PokéBall she ran in the direction
that Pidgey had gone.
     There was a crashing in the forest ahead, and voices raised in an
argument.  She soon came upon two strange characters: a shapely girl
with blonde shoulder-length hair and a tall boy with his short hair dyed
red.  Both wore jeans and white shirts with a large red R on them, and
were carrying nets.  They had captured Pidgey and the yellow Pokémon!
     "Just what are you doing with those Pokémon?" she challenged them.
     They stared at her for a moment, then the girl smirked.  "Let's
just say we're cashing in on some good fortune.  If you're a Pokémon
trainer, then prepare for trouble!"
     "And make it double!" the boy said.
     They launched into some sort of spiel, taking turns speaking.
     "To protect the world from devastation. / To unite all peoples
within our nation. / To denounce the evils of truth and love. / To
extend our reach to the stars above. / Christy! / Craig! / Team Rocket
blasts off at the speed of light! / Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
     Heather wasn't impressed.  This was the Team Rocket she had been
told about?
     Craig leered at her.  "Hand over your Pokémon and you won't get
hurt."
     She smiled.  "Sure."  Tossing up two balls, she shouted, "Spearow,
I choose you!  Peck Attack!"
     The two Spearows immediately set upon Team Rocket, and they dropped
their nets while frantically waving their arms in an attempt to drive
the birds away.  Heather released the two captive Pokémon, and Pidgey
joined the Spearows in the aerial assault.
     "Help!  Stop!  Call off your Pokémon!" Craig pleaded.
     Christy yelled, "Don't be a wuss!  Call out your Beedrill to deal
with them!  EEEK!"  She yelped as the yellow Pokémon hopped in front of
her.  Heather got a good look at it this time: it was shaped very like a
fat rabbit, its fur was yellow with brown stripes on the back and had a
long jagged tail.
     Smiling, it pointed its tail at the two.  "Pi-ka-CHUUU!!"  It let
loose a tremendous jolt of electricity, knocking them into a tree.  They
fell to the ground, stunned.
     Heather wasn't going to stick around until they recovered.  Calling
back her birds, she made her way back to the road and ran for a
considerable distance before stopping.  When she was satisfied that Team
Rocket hadn't followed her, she sat on a fallen log and leafed through
her book.
     "Pikachu, type Electric.  Common.  Attacks: Thundershock, Growl;
gains Thunderwave at level nine... whew, it has quite a few moves.
Evolves into Raichu with the use of a Thunder Stone.  Also known as the
electric mouse, Pikachus are curious, very intelligent and independent.
Most will refuse to go into a PokéBall."
     A cute little face peered at her from behind the book.  "Pika!"
     "Speak of the devil," she remarked, and put the book down.
     "Pi-ka-chu?"
     "Looks like I've made myself an enemy in Team Rocket, huh, Pikachu?
Now, I don't suppose you're going to let me catch you?"  She held out a
PokéBall.
     "Pi!"  It waggled its ears, sniffed the ball, then took it in its
paws and threw it at her.  "Chu!"
     Laughing, she put the ball away.  "I didn't think so.  Will you be
my friend, then?  I hope you'll get along with Pidgey."
     "Pikachu!"  The Pokémon hopped into her lap, and she petted it.


Chapter Four: Viridian City Blues

     The eighth morning of her journey saw her in Viridian City.  On the
road into town she had seen more Pidgeys and a Ratatta.  She battled her
Pokémon against them but didn't make any captures since her quest was
for an Articuno and other Pokémon didn't interest her.
     She found a PokéMart and bought food for herself and her friends,
and a special belt for holding her PokéBalls, since it was a bit awkward
to haul them out of her backpack.  To her surprise and delight, the
balls magically shrank to half their normal size when she attached them
to the belt, making them much less unwieldy.  She put the three occupied
ones on her left side and the empty ones on her right, to make them
easier to find.
     "Now that you have what you need, young lady, I suggest you hurry
on your way," the clerk told her.  "There's an illness running through
the city.  Nurse Joy says that almost a quarter of the people here are
infected already."
     "Oh my goodness!"  She did a double take.  "Wait.  'Nurse Joy'?
I thought she was the nurse at the Pokémon Centre in Pewter City."
     "That's her sister.  Her family is quite large; she has a lot of
sisters and cousins, many of whom are called Joy.  And believe it or
not, they look similar and they're all nurses too."
     Heather groaned, "Oh, this is confusing!"
     The man smiled.  "Don't think too hard about it, just accept things
the way they are.  Now you'd better run along before you get sick."
     "But I want to see the Gym first!" she protested.  "And maybe I can
find out what's causing the illness."
     "Suit yourself," said the man.  "I did warn you."

     When she got to the Gym the doors were locked, which mystified her
further.  "I thought Pokémon gyms were open to all trainers," she told
Pikachu, who had been hopping along at her heels.
     "They usually are," said a boy's voice from behind her.  She turned
and saw a brown-haired boy about ten years old who looked somewhat
arrogant.  "But this gym has special rules.  You have to have badges to
get in there."
     "Badges?  Does that have something to do with the League?  I
haven't had a chance to research it," she admitted in embarrassment.
     "You're new around here, aren't ya?" he asked, and smirked.  "Okay,
how about a deal.  If you've got Pokémon, battle with me, and I'll tell
you all about it.  By the way, name's Gary.  I'm gonna be the world's
greatest Pokémon master."
     She didn't like this guy's attitude.  "I'm Heather, and we haven't
exactly got time for a battle.  Didn't you know there's a sickness going
around?"
     "Yeah, but I'm not worried about that 'cause I'll be leaving soon.
Now are you going to battle, or are you chicken?"
     Now she was getting angry.  She hadn't left home and walked for
days through the wilderness just to back down from a brat like this.
"I'll do it."
     The boy grinned, backed up a bit, and threw down a PokéBall.
"Charmander, I choose you!"  A red lizard-like Pokémon appeared on the
ground in front of him.  "Char!"
     She wasn't familiar with this type, but could guess from the name
that it was able to spit fire.  That could injure her birds badly, so
she decided to use Pikachu.  "Pikachu, go!"
     Gary chuckled.  "Piece of cake!  Charmander, Ember Attack!"  The
Pokémon flung its arms wide and opened its mouth to let out a blast of
flame.
     "Pikachu, Thundershock!"
     "CHUU!"  Spears of lightning radiated from the Pikachu.  The two
attacks collided... the lightning was pushed aside by the flames, which
continued on and hit!
     "No!  Pikachu!"  Heather cried as her Pokémon was thrown back
toward her.  Quickly she caught it.  "Are you all right?"
     "Chu..." it said weakly.  It had been badly burned.
     Gary laughed wickedly.  "You call that a Pokémon?  Oh, please!"
     "This isn't over yet, buster!" she yelled, and yanked a PokéBall
from her belt.  "Pidgey, I choose you!"  She was about to order him to
attack, then abruptly wondered if there was some rule about battling
that explained how the combatants took their turns.
     Her opponent took advantage of her hesitation to make his next
move.  "That little bird isn't a match for me!  Charmander, Growl!"  The
little lizard assumed an aggressive stance and roared at the Pidgey, but
the bird wasn't fazed.
     "Don't patronize me!  Pidgey, Sand Attack!"  Her Pidgey whirled up
a cloud of dust, obscuring the Charmander from sight.  "Finish it!
Gust Attack!"  The blast of wind hurled the Charmander back at Gary.  It
smacked into his chest and knocked him down.
     "All right, all right, I give up!" he shouted.  "Charmander,
return!"  The Charmander vanished.
     "Pidgey."  The bird assumed his customary place on her shoulder. "I
have to take him to the Pokémon Centre to get medical help," she said
angrily as she picked up Pikachu.  "You're coming with me to tell me
about the League, as per our deal.  Got it?"
     He tagged along morosely.
     At the Centre, Nurse Joy informed Heather that despite the
Pokémons' ability to heal quickly, it would take several hours before
Pikachu would be able to travel.  She also gave her an anti-burn salve
to treat him with later.
     The two sat in the Centre's waiting room and Gary began to talk
about the Pokémon League.  "If a Pokémon trainer gets good enough to
join the League, there are a lot of job opportunities and benefits, like
becoming a Gym leader or travelling around to see rare Pokémon.  That's
why I'm trying to become a Pokémon master, so I can get into the League.
In order to do that, though, you have to battle the Leaders of the
sanctioned Gyms and gain League Badges.  Each badge gives you more
powers over certain Pokémon."
     Heather had a sinking feeling about this, but she had to know.
"Let's say I wanted to catch an Articuno," she said.
     He stared at her.  "Whoa, you're thinking big, girl!  Articuno is a
Legendary Bird, and it's pretty powerful.  You'd need at least a Rainbow
Badge and an Ultra Ball to be able to catch that."
     She sighed.  "Well, looks like that's what I'll have to do.  I've
decided to become a master of birds."
     "Good luck."  His endorsement was genuine.

     After lunch Heather decided to leave Pikachu at the Centre and walk
around the city for a while.  The streets were deserted, presumably
because people were either sick or too afraid to go out.
     As she turned around a corner, she saw a strange cloud approaching.
It didn't look like fog, and it was the wrong time of the day for mist.
     "Something funny's going on here," she said to herself.  "Pidgey,
use your Gust attack to blow the cloud away."
     "Pidgey!"  It was quickly done, and down the street she could see a
creature that looked like a bulb with several broad leaves growing out
of its top.  A quick consultation of her book revealed this to be an
Oddish, a plant Pokémon capable of poisoning its opponents.
     "I think that's what is making people sick!" she exclaimed.  "We
should catch it."
     "I don't think so, twerp!" called a muffled girl's voice.  "We're
going to get you back for making fools of us the other day!"
     "Prepare for trouble! / And make it double!"  Christy and Craig
leaped into the street behind the Oddish and launched into their spiel.
Both were wearing gas masks.
     "You again!  Are you responsible for this?"  Heather demanded.
     Christy laughed.  "We had been planning this for some time.  We set
the Oddish loose in the city, and stayed in the forest until we were
sure that enough people would be sick."
     "And then we'd get their Pokémon while they were in bed,"  Craig
gloated.  He held up a bag filled with PokéBalls.
     "Poisoning people is just plain sick!"  Heather yelled.  "Do you
realize how many people could die?"
     Christy scoffed, "The Oddish's poison powder only lasts a short time.
On many Pokémon it would be fatal, but on humans it's just a nuisance."
     "By the time they recover, we'll be long gone," said Craig.
     Heather crossed her arms in front of her, secretly picking up the
balls that contained her Spearows as she did so.  "I can't let you do
that," she said softly, then threw them.  "Spearow, Peck Attack!"
     "Oh no, you don't!  I'm ready for them this time!"  He tossed his
own PokéBall.  "Beedrill, Fury Attack!"  A wasp-like insect with large
pointed forelegs appeared and charged at the birds, but they were
smaller and more agile, and were able avoid it.
     "Spearow, Growl!"  The two birds hovered in front of the Beedrill,
puffed up their feathers and growled.  Team Rocket began to laugh
uproariously at the sight.
     While they were occupied, she turned to Pidgey.  "Sand Attack the
Oddish, and I'll catch it."
     "Pidgey!"
     By the time Team Rocket had recovered themselves, Heather had the
Oddish safely in a PokéBall and her two Spearows had actually made the
Beedrill back down.  Craig was incensed.  "Beedrill, don't you have a
backbone?!"
     "Actually," Heather commented, "Insects don't."
     He looked needles at her.  "Beedrill, Fury Attack!"
     When the Beedrill exhibited confusion at which Spearow to attack,
Christy whacked Craig on the shoulder.  "Don't you know how to manage
your Pokémon?  Ooohh, if you want something done right, you have to do
it yourself!"  She launched a PokéBall of her own.  "Ekans, I choose
you!  Poison Sting!"  A large purple snake appeared and spit acid at the
Spearows.
     "Spearow, return!"  The Spearows vanished, and the acid splashed on
the Beedrill.  It keeled over.
     "Oh, how could you do that do my Beedrill?" Craig lamented.
     "If it's too stupid to get out of the way, it's your problem!"
Christy said, then hollered at Heather, "Hey, YOU!  Give me back my
Oddish!"
     She waved the ball over her head.  "If you want it, return all
those Pokémon to their owners!"
     "No way!"  Craig shouted, but Christy punched him again and he
deflated.  "All right..."  He tossed the bag containing the PokéBalls
toward her.
     "Thank you very much!"  Seeing then that Pidgey had gained another
level, she grinned maliciously before throwing the ball that contained
the Oddish.  "Pidgey, Quick Attack!"
     Christy caught the ball, and looked up to see the Pidgey racing
toward her like a missile.  She screamed and ran away, followed by Craig
who was carrying his Beedrill and her Ekans in his arms.
     "And don't come back!"  she shouted after them.  Pidgey returned to
her as she picked up the bag of PokéBalls and headed for the police
station.
     The officer on duty was a tall blue-haired girl named Jenny who
gratefully accepted the bag and gave her an empty PokéBall as a reward.

     When she returned to the Pokémon Centre, Joy met her at the door.
"Your Pikachu is much better.  You had better be careful not to battle
him with Pokémon that are a lot stronger than he is."
     Heather hugged Pikachu warmly.  "I'm glad you're all right now."
     "Pi-ka-chu."
     "So what are your plans now?"  Joy asked.
     "I'm going back to Pewter City to challenge the Gym Leader for a
badge.  That's my first step to becoming a bird Pokémon master."
     "Good luck.  I have to go, I have a lot of human patients to treat
as well as Pokémon, because of the mysterious illness."
     "About that... The people should be all right in a day or so; the
Oddish that was spreading the poison is gone."
     "Really?  Oh, terrific!"  She waved as Heather arranged her
backpack and started to walk down the street, with Pikachu walking along
beside her.  "I hope you achieve your dream!"


Chapter Five: Battle For the Badges

     Two days later, Heather was back in Pewter City, ready to challenge
the Junior Trainer again.  She had battled her Pokémon against wild
Pidgeys, Ratattas, Caterpies and Weedles on the way, and had even found
a potion.  No trainers were to be seen, but considering that she had
soundly defeated them the first time through, she hadn't been surprised
that they had avoided her.
     This time, the fight was official.  She had read the League rules
before coming here, and believed that her Pidgey was able to defeat
Junior's Diglett easily.  Before they began their combat, the floor was
changed to a tumbled mass of rocks; no doubt to make things more
difficult.
     The first round was no problem, however for the second round he
called out a Sandshrew, a large yellow and white Pokémon that looked
similar to a mole.  He was kind enough to give her a moment to look it
up in her book, and after reading the entry she decided to stick with
Pidgey instead of switching to Pikachu.
     "Sandshrew, Scratch!" Junior ordered.  The Sandshrew leaped into
the air with claws extended and batted Pidgey to one side.  The bird was
slightly stunned but quickly recovered.
     Heather decided to make a strong attack.  "Pidgey, Quick Attack!"
The bird dove at the Sandshrew and pummelled it into the ground before
taking off again.
     "Sandshrew, Sand Attack!"  The Pokémon got up, wavering a little.
Then it used its claws to stir up a cloud of sand.
     Two could play at that game.  "Pidgey, Sand Attack!"  The two
attacks cancelled each other out.  Taking the advantage, she ordered,
"Pidgey, Gust!" and the Pidgey blew the Sandshrew out of the ring.
     "Enough!  I pronounce you the winner!" Junior called, and his
Sandshrew returned to its PokéBall.  "You've trained your Pidgey well,"
he complemented.  "You beat me fair and square.  Since the Gym Leader
isn't here I can't give you the special prize, but he authorized me to
award the Boulder Badge to anyone whom I felt would qualify."  He handed
her a small octagonal badge that looked like a piece of obsidian.  "With
this, the power of all your Pokémon will increase a little."
     "Thank you very much!  What's the next badge?"
     "That's the Cascade Badge, you'll have to go to the Cerulean City
Gym.  I suggest you visit Mount Moon first, there are a lot of trainers
up there at this time of year that will help your Pokémon gain
experience."

     Junior was right.  Not only did the trip give her Pokémon
experience, but Heather herself gained a lot also.  The trainers she met
had a wide variety of Pokémon and she was able to familiarize herself
with them.  Overall, the people were friendly but the battles were
difficult.  She won some and lost some, but by the time she reached
Mount Moon she felt much more grown up.
     Pidgey also grew up.  After winning a particularly difficult fight,
he glowed and slowly became larger.  Now he was crow-sized with a long
red crest and a longer red-orange tail.  He had evolved into Pidgeotto!
Heather was very happy, but ruefully commented that now he was too big
to sit on her shoulder any more.  Pidgeotto just looked her over for a
moment, then chirped happily.
     At the foot of Mount Moon was a large cave.  She fished her
flashlight out of her pack and headed in.  The cave was a fair size and
had many offshoots, but rather than become lost, she stuck with the main
passage.  It slowly curved around to the left, then forked.
     "Which way?" she asked Pikachu.
     He looked, then put one paw over his eyes and pointed with the
other.  "Pi, ka, chu, pi, ka, chu..."  He opened his eyes to find that
he was pointing at the left fork, then hopped down it.  Heather shrugged
and followed him.
     They came to a small chamber.  The only other exit was a stairway
heading up.
     "Pika!"  He brought her attention to a dirty old box that was lying
in one corner of the room.
     "What did you find?"  She carefully opened it.  Inside was a potion
and what looked like a candy.  "Wierd things to be leaving in a box.  I
wonder if they belong to anyone, I'd feel a little guilty about just
taking them."
     "You're going to feel more than guilt when I'm finished with you!"
shouted a familiar voice.  Christy stepped out of the stairwell.  "Your
trip ends here!  Ekans, go!"  The purple snake struck out.
     "CHUU!"  Pikachu shocked it, preventing it from biting Heather and
stunning it a little.
     "Pidgeotto, I choose you!"  The battle between Pidgeotto and Ekans
was short and brutal.  The two were evenly matched, but Pidgeotto soon
gained the upper hand and defeated it.  Christy fled up the stairway
into the darkness above.
     Heather used the potion to heal Pidgeotto before returning him to
his PokéBall, then opened her book to see if she could find some
information about the candy.
     "Here we are, Rare Candy.  Raises a Pokémon one level.  Wow, this
is terrific!  Let's see, I think Pidgeotto is my strongest Pokémon, but
the rest of them really need more levels.  Well, since you've been
having a little trouble lately, Pikachu, I'll give it to you."  She
handed him the candy.
     "Ka!"  He swallowed it, then raised his little fists in the air
triumphantly.  "Chu!"
     Before exiting the room, they found a health-up item under the
stairs, which she also gave to Pikachu.  Heather knew he would be a
great help against Pokémon that her birds would have trouble with, so
was taking every opportunity to make him stronger.
     A trainer with a pair of plant Pokémon was in a room at the top of
the stairs, but Pikachu breezed (or rather, zapped) through both of them
and continued up.  Then they ran into Craig.
     "Prepare for trouble!" he said.  "My Beedrill still isn't up to
fighting strength because of you!  Zubat, go!"  A blue bat-like Pokémon
flew out from behind him, accompanied by a fair number of wild ones.
Their shrieks echoed throughout the cavern and Craig laughed evilly.
     Pikachu filled the passage with lightning with no prompting from
her.  The Zubats quickly realized that they were outgunned and
retreated.  "Who's in trouble now?" she gloated.
     Craig threw something at her out of frustration, and ran.
     The object looked like a small metal cube, possibly a part from a
machine.  The book identified it as a Technique Machine, or TM, which
could give a Pokémon a special power.   This had a number one engraved
on it, identifying it as a "Mega Punch".  Her birds couldn't make use of
such a move, so it went to Pikachu.
     More stairs, and another trainer, this one with a rock-based
Pokémon called Geodude.  Here again, Pikachu was able to defeat it with
some difficulty.  Heather hoped that this passage would end soon, since
both she and her Pokémon were getting tired.
     Their best discovery was a piece of stone that glowed faintly, as
if it were filled with moonlight.  She recognized it as part of a Moon
Stone.  It was useless to her Pokémon but it was still a good find; if
they found the other half they could sell it for a very nice price.
     The batteries in her flashlight were beginning to give out when
they finally found an exit.  They emerged on a ledge that led to an easy
path that wound back down the mountain toward Cerulean City below.  Too
weary to continue, she set up a camp and remained there until the next
morning.

     Well-rested, Heather and Pikachu arrived in Cerulean City and
headed for the Gym only to be told that the Leader wasn't there.
However, there was a Junior Trainer named Fay present whom she could
battle for a Cascade Badge.
     After shaking hands, they took their places.  There was no ring in
this Gym: instead a large swimming pool dominated the floor, with
several wooden "islands" in it.  This was an obvious advantage for the
two water Pokémon that Fay had, a Staryu and a Shellder.  Pikachu was
eager to go, so Heather let him battle first.
     "Staryu, Tackle!"  The Staryu flung itself into the air.
     "Pikachu, Mega Punch!"  He hit the Staryu with enough force to send
it whirling into a wall.
     Fay was shocked.  "Shellder, I choose you!  Supersonic!"  The
shelled Pokémon released a sonic blast that disoriented Pikachu so that
he couldn't throw another punch.  Shellder knocked him down and started
to wrap tentacles around him.
     "Don't let it stop you, Pikachu!"  Heather called out.  Pikachu
struggled a bit, then sank his teeth into a tentacle.  The Shellder
yelped and quickly unwound.  "Now, Quick Attack!"
     "Pika!"  The Shellder had no chance of escaping and went down
hard.
     "Hang in there, Shellder!  You can do it!"  Fay shouted.  The
Shellder got up, but was very unsteady.  Suddenly Fay changed her
tactics.  "Shellder, Withdraw!"  Her Pokémon pulled its tentacles in and
sealed itself in its shell.
     Pikachu walked over to the motionless shell and knocked on it.
"Pi?  Pi?"  He shrugged when nothing happened.
     "What is this?!"  Heather demanded.  "Pikachu, Growl!"
     The electric Pokémon puffed himself up and growled, but the only
response the Shellder gave was to poke an eyeball out of its shell and
blink.  Fay began to giggle.  "Looks like your Pikachu can't handle this
one!"
     "Then I'll get something that can.  Pidgeotto, I choose you!  Gust
Attack!"
     The shell tumbled over and over in the wind, and when it finally
came to rest it opened slowly.  Shellder tried to right itself but was
unsuccessful.
     "Shellder, return!" Fay cried, and bowed her head.  "I concede."
She walked over to Heather and with a smile, presented her a Cascade
Badge, a bright blue badge shaped like a water drop.  "You've earned
this.  It enables you to control Pokémon up to level thirty.
Congratulations, and best wishes in the future!"
     "Thank you.  Please tell me, does one have to obtain the League
badges in a certain order?"
     "Oh no!  Usually it's a good idea to get them in order, but if you
feel that your Pokémon are able to defeat a certain Leader, then there's
nothing to stop you from trying."
     "Great, then where do I get a Rainbow Badge?"
     "You'll have to defeat Erika, the Gym Leader in Celadon City.
There's no road from here, but if you're willing to go cross-country
then it'll take you a day and half or so."
     "Okay!  Thanks for all the help!"  She waved to Fay and set off
toward Celadon with Pikachu beside her and Pidgeotto circling lazily
above.


Chapter Six: Run-In With the Rocket

     Late in the afternoon Heather and her Pokémon were travelling
across low rolling hills and fields.  They stopped at a stream to rest
and get some water, when someone approached.
     "Hey!  Are you interested in battling with me?  I have some Pokémon
that I need to train."
     She looked the boy over.  He was a bit scruffy but his stance told
her that he was better than he looked.  "I wouldn't mind, but how about
introducing me to your friends first?"  Four other boys had come up
behind him.
     He looked embarrassed for a moment, then laughed.  Another of the
boys said,  "Actually, we all want to battle.  Tell you what: if you
battle all of us in a row, we'll give you a little prize for your time.
Doesn't matter if you win or lose.  Are you game?"
     "You're on!  Who's first?"
     One boy stepped forward as the others paced out a circle.  He
tossed a PokéBall which opened and revealed a Ratatta.  She had beaten
wild ones many times, but a trained one was another matter.  Fortunately
a Spearow won without too much trouble.
     A second trainer came in.  His selection was a Geodude.  Heather
knew from her trek on Mount Moon that these had a good advantage against
flyers, so used Pikachu instead.  Another easy win.
     The third was impressed with her victories and hesitated a bit
before releasing a Paras, a crab-like Pokémon.  No problem for the
Spearow.
     Fourth was the boy whom she had initially met.  "Bellsprout, I
choose you!"  He threw a PokéBall, but what emerged was a white-bellied
brown bird with a large bill and webbed feet, carrying a leek as if it
were a swagger stick.  "Oh no, not you again!" he said in irritation.
"You're always messing things up!"
     Heather gaped.  "A Farfetch'd!" she exclaimed in awe.  "You're so
lucky; do you know how rare they are?  I've been hoping to find one to
add to my bird Pokémon!"
     "If you want it, you can have it!" the boy said gruffly.  "Now
where's my Bellsprout?"  He hunted among the PokéBalls in his backpack.
     She couldn't believe her ears.  "Hang on a minute.  Instead of
battling, how about we make a deal?  I really want your Farfetch'd.  Is
there another Pokémon that you're interested in?  I have a second
Spearow."
     The boy perked up.  "What's its level?"
     She mentally calculated.  "Eleventh, I think."
     "Great!  Farfetch'd is about the same.  Let's trade!  Farfetch'd,
return!"  The duck went back into its PokéBall, and they exchanged.
"One Farfetch'd for one Spearow."  They shook hands.
     "Be good to your new master, Spearow," Heather said a little
sorrowfully as the boy put the ball into his pack.  "Who's next?" she
called.
     The last boy walked into the makeshift ring.  This one looked
rather nerdy, since his hair was combed straight and he wore glasses.
"Voltorb, I choose you!"  A Voltorb turned out to be an electric Pokémon
that looked exactly like a PokéBall.  In fact it could be easily
mistaken for one unless one really knew the difference.
     She knew her birds would be no match for that.  "Pikachu, go!"  The
resulting battle was explosive, to say the least, but her Pikachu
quickly triumphed.
     "This is awesome!" the first boy exclaimed.  "Five in a row!"
     "I'm glad you approve," Heather said.  "Now, you said you had a
prize for me?"
     "The prize is," someone said, "a lifetime membership in Team
Rocket!"  Christy and Craig appeared from a behind a tree, waving flags
with Rs on them.
     "Prepare for trouble! / And make it double!"  They said their
piece while she watched without interest.  Pidgeotto covered his eyes
with his wings and Pikachu put his paws over his ears.
     "You're just the people who would pull a scheme like this!"
     "You know the old saying 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em',"  Craig
said with some charm.  "Since we can't beat you, we're asking you to
join us!  You'll be able to get all the Pokémon you ever wanted."
     Christy continued, "And the pay is good.  You've obviously shown
yourself to be an excellent Pokémon trainer.  Our boss would pay
handsomely for someone like you!"
     "Me, join you?" Heather snorted.  "Not in a million years!  I work
hard to train my Pokémon and I'm not going to start stealing any from my
fellow trainers!  You guys are losers and I don't want to have anything
to do with you."
     Craig affected an expression of sheer disappointment.  "Did you
hear that?  She doesn't want to join us."
     "We'll just have to show her that we won't take no for an answer,"
Christy said, and launched a PokéBall.  "Gloom, wipe her out with your
Poison Powder!"
     Gloom was the evolved form of Oddish.  It seemed that they were
capable of caring for their Pokémon at least.  "That thing again?  Give
me a break!  Pidgeotto, Sand Attack!"  The Gloom flew backwards with
half its leaves sheared off.
     Craig hollered,  "Beedrill, go!  Fury Attack!"
     Pidgeotto dodged the Beedrill, and Heather called for a new move.
"Pidgeotto, Whirlwind!"  The resulting gale blew the Beedrill and the
two Team Rocket members into a tree.  Something shiny dropped and she
went to pick it up; it looked like a large gold nugget.  "I don't know
what this is for, but it's probably worth something.  'Bye now!"  She
waved to Team Rocket and continued on her way.  Pikachu made a cheeky
face.  The five boys had long since disappeared.

     Celadon City was large, and it took some time for her to find the
Pokémon Centre.  She wanted to make sure her Pokémon were healthy and
ready to face Erika.  Battles on the way here had given her Spearow and
Farfetch'd more experience, but Pidgeotto and Pikachu were the
strongest.
     After visiting the Centre she went to the PokéMart.  It was the
biggest she had seen so far and had a great number of items for sale,
including PokéBalls, evolution stones and TMs.  Next door was a casino,
but she didn't want to waste her money on gambling.  A friendly
shopkeeper appraised the gold nugget, naming a figure that surprised
her.  That amount of money would enable her to buy a lot of things, but
she planned to make her purchases carefully.
     First she bought a TM called Reflect for Pidgeotto, which would
help him a great deal against electric and special attacks.  Her next
purchase was an Ultra Ball, a PokéBall whose coloured half was green
instead of red.  Supposedly it was able to capture very powerful
Pokémon.  After a bit of haggling over the price, she became the owner
of several bottles of a substance known as Remedy, which replenished a
Pokémon's health during battle.
     A pushy dealer tried to sell her a Thunder Stone to evolve Pikachu
with, but she firmly declined; she had read in her Encyclopedia that
when Pokémon were forcibly evolved, their personalities and abilities
weren't quite the same as they had been, and she liked Pikachu just the
way he was.
     Now she was ready to head to the Gym and battle Erika!

     The Celadon City Gym was, like the rest of the city, big.  The
facade looked very like a Gloom in full flower, and Heather was
impressed by the large ring surrounded by fancy columns and stonework.
Erika, however, was a slender, demure girl with shoulder-length dark
hair.  Her Pokémon were plant based: a Tangela and a Weepinbell.
     Heather had fought against Weepinbells before, but was unsure about
what a Tangela could do.  It looked like no more than a mass of vines
with feet.  Appearances were deceptive when dealing with Pokémon though,
so she was on her guard.  Both were likely to be much more powerful than
her own Pokémon.  She sent Pigeotto into the ring.
     "You may have the honour of going first," Erika said.  "Start!"
     "Pidgeotto, Sand Attack!"  The bird landed on the floor and whirled
up a massive sandstorm.
     "Tangela, Absorb!" Erika called.  The Tangela sucked the attack
into itself, and was unhurt.
      This move told Heather that the Tangela was at least level thirty,
and called on Pidgeotto's strongest attack.  "Whirlwind!"  The minature
tornado formed, but Tangela used its vines to keep itself anchored to
the floor.  She growled to herself.  Now she understood why she had been
allowed to go first!  It enabled Erika to use her Pokémon's defensive
abilities.
     "Tangela, Constrict!"  The Tangela extended two vines and tried to
wrap them around Pidgeotto, but he was wise to this trick and quickly
flew out of the way.
     Thinking furiously, she remembered that most plant Pokémon attacks
were with vines or spores.  If Pidgeotto got close enough it would
render them all but useless, since the plant wouldn't want to affect
itself (assuming it wasn't immune to its own attacks).  "Quick Attack!"
Pidgeotto raced in close and hit the Tangela before it could react.
     "I've got you now," Erika said quietly.  "Tangela, Bind!"
     Heather had been anticipating something like this.  "Pidgeotto,
Reflect!"  As the Tangela made its attack, Pidgeotto glowed.  The attack
bounced off him and affected the Tangela instead, rendering it immobile.
     Erika's expression turned grim and she brought in her Weepinbell, a
yellow pitcher-like creature with red tentacles and big eyes.  In a
strange decision, Heather selected her Farfetch'd as its opponent.  She
knew it wasn't very strong but wanted to see what it could do.
     "Weepinbell, Sleep Powder."  A green mist filled the ring.
     Heather groaned.  This was very bad for her Farfetch'd, but she
couldn't back out now.  "Farfetch'd... uh..."  Her mind went blank, she
was unable to think of anything that would help!
     The duck twirled its leek like a baton, generating a breeze that
blew the mist away.  Both trainers were amazed.  "There's no record of
a Farfetch'd having an ability like that!"  Erika protested.  "Is this
legal?"
     "Don't ask me, you're the Gym Leader."
     "I'm not going to let this get to me!  Weepinbell, Wrap!"  Vines
whipped out.
     This she could deal with.  "Farfetch'd -"
     The Pokémon didn't let her finish.  He held up his leek, and when
the vines wrapped around it, he yanked the Weepinbell off balance.
"Far, far, farfetch'd!" he said, and began to whirl the plant around and
around through the air.
     "This is outrageous!"  Erika yelled.  "Weepinbell, Stun Spore -
oops!"  In order to launch another attack, the Weepinbell had to
disengage its vines first.  When it let go, it went sailing into the
wall and was stunned.
     The Farfetch'd laughed.  "Far-far-far-far!"  He waddled over to the
Weepinbell and smacked it repeatedly with the leek.
     Erika was about to toss another PokéBall, hesitated, then threw up
her hands in resignation.  "Okay, you win!  Call that thing off!"
     "Farfetch'd, return!"  The duck turned around and glared at her.
"Farfetch'd," she said severely, and beckoned at him to come back.  He
waddled up to her, looking a little dejected, then returned to his
PokéBall.
     "I hereby present you with a Rainbow Badge," Erika said.  It was
like a flower whose petals were all the colours of the rainbow.  "It
allows you to use an ability called Strength if you have the Machine for
it, and to control Pokémon up to level fifty."  She handed out a TM.
"As Gym Leader I can award you this.  It's called Mega Drain, it enables
a Pokémon to drain health from an opponent.  Perfect for plant Pokémon
but if you don't have any, you can give it to other types as well."
     Heather was pleased, and a little touched that she had won such a
powerful prize.  "I'm honoured."  After shaking hands with Erika she
departed.

     Outside in the bright day, she considered which of her Pokémon to
give the TM to.  Pidgeotto and Pikachu already had special abilities,
and she was reluctant to give it to Farfetch'd despite his performance
during the battle.  So Spearow was the lucky one this time.
     "Ahem... excuse us."
     She looked.  Team Rocket was standing in the street.  "Are you back
to cause more trouble?  Your Pokémon are no match for mine, so don't
even think of trying to beat me again."
     "Actually, since you don't want to join us, we figured that we
could join you," Christy said, looking rather sheepish.  "We never
really wanted to be part of Team Rocket anyway."
     Craig sighed.  "Yes, we're getting tired of being wiped out and the
boss is getting tired of our foulups.  We'd be glad to offer you our
help if you'll teach us how to become better trainers."
     They looked sincere, but judging by past experience, she didn't
trust them one bit.  "I'll have to think about it.  I'm leaving Celadon
in the morning, and I probably won't be back for a long time.  But when
I do get back, if you're still around, I'll give you my answer."
     "But that could be weeks!" Christy wailed.
     Grinning, she said, "I know."
     As she headed back to the Pokémon Centre, she let Pidgeotto out
and hefted Pikachu into her arms.  "Okay, guys, we're ready to catch
ourselves an Articuno.  Tomorrow we make a fresh start for Fuschia
City!"


Chapter Seven: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

     The next part of her journey was long.  The road was called
"Cycling Road" for a reason: the distance to Fuschia was so far that
most people chose to get there by bicycle instead of walking.  Heather
didn't have that luxury, but she didn't mind.  Being on foot gave her
the opportunity to appreciate the lovely scenery and meet more trainers
whom she could battle with.  Many liked to use poisonous Pokémon, which
forced her to use a few of her precious potions.
     The fourth day saw her crossing a bridge that spanned the mouth of
a large bay; Fuschia City was at the other end.  It was a wondrous feat
of engineering, a ten-mile long suspension bridge that shone like
silver.  About a quarter of the way across she met up with a bike gang
whose leaders boasted a Golem and a Cloyster.  Pikachu bravely challenged
them both, and won!  In a gesture of respect, the gang loaned her a bike
so she could finish the crossing more quickly.
     At the end of the bridge there was a gatehouse, she left her
borrowed bike there and continued on foot.  Since it was still rather
early in the day, she decided to walk along the shore a bit instead of
going directly to the city.  There were many people out fishing, and
trainers with water Pokémon.  After battling a sturdy Wartortle, Spearow
evolved, growing larger than Pidgeotto and developing flame-coloured
feathers, a red crest, and a long nasty-looking pointed beak.  He was
now a Fearow, and fearsome-looking indeed!
     She had a nice conversation with a trainer who told her about Koga,
the Gym Leader, who would award the coveted Soul Badge to anyone who
could defeat his poison Pokémon.  Heather wasn't sure if she was ready
for that.
     "So what brings you to Fuschia City if it isn't to challenge
Koga?" the woman asked.
     "I'm on my way to Seafoam Island, I hoped I could get a boat here.
I want to train bird Pokémon, and an Articuno is next on my list."
     "You're a very good trainer, judging by the condition of your
Pokémon, but I think Articuno might be a little too much for them yet.
Did you know there are two other Legendary Birds?"
     "Yes, but my Pokémon Encyclopedia doesn't say where to find them."
     "Then have a look at this."  She pulled a small hand-sized computer
from one of her pockets, which had to be a Pokédex.  After punching in a
few numbers, she handed it to Heather.
     "Zapdos, the Legendary Electric Bird," it said in a tinny voice,
and proceeded to list the bird's abilities.  "Found in the Power Plant,
which is built on an isolated strip of land north of Cerulean City.
Only accessible by water.
     "Next entry: Moltres, the Legendary Fire Bird."  This bird had
attacks that were just as impressive as the previous one.  "Seen on
Victory Road, the entrance to which is known only to high ranking
members of the Pokémon League."
     Heather sighed.  "That means I'd have to get into the Pokémon Gym
in Viridian City.  What a challenge!"
     The trainer put her Pokédex away and smiled.  "You'll need a
Pokédex too, it identifies you as a bona fide trainer.  There's a
scientist in town that might be able to get you one.  Don't give up, I
think you'll be able to realize your goal eventually.  For now, you
could go to the Safari Zone north of the city and practice. There are a
lot of Pokémon there, and if you're lucky you might spot some of the
more rare ones."

     The Safari Zone was a trainer's paradise.  It had cost a bundle to
get in, but Heather figured that it was more than worth it.  She used
her newly acquired Pokédex, for which she had traded her Encyclopedia
and the half Moon Stone, to get information on many of the Pokémon that
hers battled.
     Evening approached, and she was looking for a suitable place to set
up a camp when she came across a small house that looked like it had
been abandoned.  It was the perfect place to spend the night, instead of
outdoors where a wild Pokémon might attack her.  She let her birds out
so they could stretch their wings if they wished, and curled up with
Pikachu in her sleeping bag.
     In the morning as she was packing up, she found a dirty object on
the floor that, when she cleaned it off, appeared to be a gold tooth.
"It's possible that someone else who stayed here has lost it," she
surmised to Pikachu.  "We'll turn it in to the warden when we leave."
     They spent most of the day in the Zone.  Pikachu's Mega Punch
ability proved time and again to be a battle-winner.  Pidgeotto and
Fearow gained proficiency in their special powers as well.  Even
Farfetch'd was listening to her now, although he still liked to handle
battles in his own way a lot of the time.
     The warden was pleased to see her when she approached the exit. She
handed him the gold tooth and he told her that a high-level trainer had
lost it some time before and had left a Machine called Strength as a
reward to the person who brought it back.  She remembered Erika
mentioning this particular ability, and was happy to receive it.
     As with the Mega Punch, she didn't think the birds would be able to
use it as it had been intended.  However, she hesitated on giving it to
Pikachu.  He, Fearow and Pidgeotto each had a special ability and it
seemed unfair to Farfetch'd to be left out.  The Farfetch'd was very
resourceful with its powers, so who knew what it would be able to do
with an ability like Strength.  "This one is yours, Farfetch'd," she
said finally.  "I'm sure you'll find some way to use it."
     "Farfetch'd!"
     Her happy day came to an abrupt end while she was on her way to the
city's Pokémon Centre.

     She woke slowly, discovering that her body ached all over.
Automatically she touched her belt; all her PokéBalls were gone and
Pikachu was nowhere to be seen.  The last thing she remembered was
walking down a street and smelling something strange before blacking
out.
     It was a great effort to stand up, and she only managed a few steps
before collapsing onto the floor again.  Poison was her first thought.
She wasn't going anywhere until it wore off, however long that took.
The room that she was in was small and had a window that looked out onto
blue sky, which meant she had to be several floors up.  No climbing out
of windows this time.
     The door opened to admit a tall, dark man dressed in a suit. Behind
him were Christy, Craig and several other people dressed in Team Rocket
shirts.  "You're finally awake."  His voice was seductive but with an
undertone of malice.  "I imagine you're feeling terrible.  A Gloom's
poison is quite effective."
     "I guess I'll start with the usual questions," she whispered.  Her
voice was all but inoperative too, her throat was so dry.  "Like where
am I, and why am I here?"
     He squatted down and handed her a glass of water which she drank
greedily.  "You're in Team Rocket Headquarters in Saffron City.  You
were brought here because you're being quite a nuisance to my
operatives."
     So this must be the 'boss' that they had mentioned.  "I'm sorry,
but they've been a nuisance to me.  All I want is to train bird Pokémon.
I have no interest in your operation."
     "We thought you'd say that," said Christy smugly.
     Craig guffawed.  "But you don't have a choice now.  We have your
Pokémon.  If you want to see them again, you should cooperate."
     "Blackmail..." she struggled to get to her feet, without success.
"will get you nowhere with me.  You'd better let me go before I cause
some real trouble."
     "That," said the dark man, smiling, "is highly unlikely. You'll
stay here until you reconsider."  With that, he and the gang members
left her alone.
     Grunting, she painfully hauled herself to her hands and knees and
crawled to the door, which was predictably locked.  There had to be
something she could do; who knew what they were doing with her Pokémon!
     Something clicked in her still-fuzzy brain.  They had taken her
PokéBalls but not her backpack.  She slipped it off and found one of her
anti-poison potions.  It was made for Pokémon; would it work on her, or
just make her worse?  Only one way to find out...  She opened it.

     Elsewhere in the building, Pikachu came to his senses.  He was
locked in a dark cupboard with a number of PokéBalls.  "Huh?  Hey!"  A
quick Mega Punch was enough to break the flimsy door apart, and he
started to toss the balls out one at a time.  "Come on, wake up
everybody!"
     In addition to his friends Pidgeotto, Fearow and Farfetch'd, two
others appeared: a Squirtle, a blue-skinned turtle with a red shell, and
a Ponyta, a cream-coloured horse with a flaming mane and tail.  They
were all disoriented and confused until he explained what must have
happened.
     "We have to rescue Heather!"  Fearow growled.  Pidgeotto and
Farfetch'd agreed.
     "All of us need to work together," Pikachu said, and turned to the
other two.  "Do you have masters?"
     "I don't," neighed the Ponyta.  "I was captured some time ago, but
I refuse to obey someone I don't trust, and I definitely don't trust
these people."
     The Squirtle shook his head.  "The person who captured me didn't
want me, so I must have ended up here."
     Pidgeotto chirped sadly, then asked, "Will you come with us?  It's
better than being cooped up here.  Our friend Heather is very kind, I'm
sure she'll find homes for you both."
     The Ponyta and Squirtle nodded.
     "Okay!"  Pikachu gestured to the closed door of the room.  "Ponyta,
would you please get the door?"

     Heather roamed through the building, searching for any clues that
would help her locate her Pokémon and trying to keep out of sight of the
numerous Rocket members at the same time.  In one room she discovered a
closet stuffed with various items and quickly raided it, taking potions
and replacement PokéBalls and Ultra Balls.
     She rounded a corner and came face to face with a Rocket.  He was
startled, then ran off hollering at the top of his voice that the
prisoner had escaped.  Grumbling to herself, she sprinted for the
stairwell and headed down.  Soon the place would be crawling with
Rockets; bad news didn't take long to spread.
     Emerging on the main floor, she came upon a strange scene.  People
and Pokémon were lying everywhere, most of them unconscious or dazed.
In the centre of it all stood a group of six Pokémon: her own and two
others.  "Pikachu!" she cried joyfully and ran to them.  "Pidgeotto!
Fearow!  Farfetch'd!  You're all here!"  She hugged them each in turn
then looked at the other two.  "Who are your friends?  Did you help them
escape too?"
     Pikachu nodded.  "Pika pika!"
     "Well, they're welcome to come with us..."  The sound of footsteps
was coming from the hallways; reinforcements were arriving.  "Let's get
out of here!"  After tromping through several more Team Rocket members,
the team crashed through the main doors and escaped.  Heather, Pikachu
and Squirtle rode on Ponyta's back while the birds flew overhead.

     Ordinarily it would have taken over four days to reach Fuschia City
on foot, but with Ponyta they did it in two.  They stayed away from the
roads for the most part, rarely stopping unless to rest.  Heather had
exhausted her supply of food, but with Pidgeotto catching fish and
Pikachu and Farfetch'd finding fruit she didn't worry about going
hungry.  She didn't bother to ask her friends to go back into PokéBalls
for now; they had earned the right to be free.
     Along the way she did a lot of thinking.  The escape from the Team
Rocket HQ had seemed too easy.  Could it be that Christy and Craig had
pulled strings to make it easier for them to get away?  As ludicrous as
it sounded, it was a possibility.
     At last they came upon the familiar enclosure of the Safari Zone.
She suggested to Ponyta that this would be a nice place for her to stay
until she found a master, and the Pokémon agreed.  Bidding Ponyta a fond
farewell, she entered Fuschia City and made arrangements to take a boat
across the strait to Seafoam Island.


Chapter Eight: An Island Endangered

     Sunset was nearing when Heather set foot on the island.  Instead of
proceeding to the nearby resort, she walked out onto the beach.  The
skipper of the boat had insisted that she put her friends into their
PokéBalls for the trip; they had been reluctant but she had persuaded
them, even Pikachu, by promising that she would let them out as soon as
she had arrived.
     The glittering sea and warm sand looked so peaceful that she set up
a camp and let out her Pokémon.  Tomorrow would be a good enough day to
start looking for an Articuno.
     Not worried for once about where to go or if she was being followed
by Team Rocket, she spent some time with her friends.  They were all in
need of a good grooming, which they heartily appreciated.  After a
while, Squirtle and Farfetch'd went paddling about in the warm water, so
she undressed and joined them for a swim.
     Pidgeotto and Fearow cavorted on the shore, occasionally ducking
themselves in the shallows and fluffing up their feathers.  Her careful
training and battles with water Pokémon had banished their early
nervousness about being near water.  Pidgeotto generally used his
Reflect ability to bounce water attacks, and Fearow had learned to angle
his feathers a certain way to allow the brunt of the attack to slide
off if it couldn't be avoided.
     Only Pikachu was reluctant to go near the water, and she understood
why.  She knew for a fact that Pikachus could swim if they wanted to.
However, hers had become quite powerful in the last few days; even a
small jolt of his electricity would be enough to seriously hurt her.
She wanted to give him a show of trust, but wasn't certain how he would
react.  He had followed her from Viridian Forest because she had rescued
him from Team Rocket, but did he really trust her?  He had gotten her
out of numerous scrapes without being asked, and felt comfortable enough
in her presence that he curled up to sleep with her most nights.
     She waded out of the water and held a hand out to him.  "Hop on my
shoulders, Pikachu, and we'll go for a swim.  I promise I won't get you
too wet."
     He stepped back and shook his head.  "Pi-ka-chu."
     "Come on.  You can keep your electricity under control, can't you?
I trust you.  Can't you trust me?"
     Pikachu thought about it for a moment, then jumped up and settled
on her shoulders, holding on to locks of hair.  "Pi-ka," he said flatly,
and she needed no translation.  If he fell in, there would be trouble.
     Slowly she walked back into the ocean and swam around using a
gentle breast stroke, keeping her head and shoulders out of the water.
At first Pikachu clung to her head much too tightly, then as he began to
realize that he wasn't in any danger, he loosened his grip.  Squirtle
and Farfetch'd swam alongside, making noises of encouragement.
     "Squirtle, squirt, squirtle!"
     "Far-far-farfetch'd!"
     Abruptly Heather felt Pikachu's weight leave her shoulders.  She
looked around to see him balancing on Squirtle's back as the turtle trod
water.  "Whoa," she breathed.  Squirtle must have given him a very
convincing argument.  Then he leapt back over to her.  "That was really
brave of you, Pikachu!  Congratulations!"
     "Pika!"  He grinned and pulled on her hair playfully.
     Then she heard Pidgeotto and Fearow making a commotion from the
shore, and swam back to them.  "What's the matter?" she asked as she ran
up the beach and grabbed for her clothes.  They pointed.
     Two large bulldozers and several other construction machines were
grinding along the strand, leaving their tracks and torn-up shoreline in
their wake.  A number of water Pokémon such as Shellders and Krabbys
were hurriedly scuttling out of the way.
     A fury that Heather had never experienced coursed through her.
What right did these people have to bring their machines here and
destroy such a beautiful place?  She would find out where they had come
from, first of all, then do what she could to stop them.  If they were
here legitimately, she wouldn't give their company any of her business.
     When the machines got closer she saw that the drivers were hefty
men wearing jerseys with Rs on them.  Team Rocket lackeys!  One of the
bulldozers was churning toward a Poliwag that was sitting on the beach,
and the Pokémon was so scared that it couldn't move.
     Poliwags, Heather knew, were only found in a very few places.  She
had to save it!  "Pidgeotto!  Grab that Poliwag!"  The bird complied and
swept the rare Pokémon off to safety.
     She leaped in front of the lead 'dozer, waving her arms, and it
slowed down.  "Get out of the way!" hollered the driver.  "We have
orders to clear this area for construction!"
     "You'd better clear out!"  Heather yelled back.  "Don't you know
that this island is home to a lot of rare Pokémon?  It's protected by
the League!  You can't build here!"  She had read up on this during the
boat trip; certain areas like Seafoam Island and the Safari Zone had
been designated as special habitats and new construction within their
boundaries wasn't allowed.  Even the resort had to adhere to strict
rules of operation.
     The driver laughed.  "By the time the League catches up to us it'll
be too late.  Now get lost, girl, before I stop being nice and run you
over!"  He shifted gears and the machine rumbled toward her.
     As it came closer, she realized that he wasn't going to stop.
"Pikachu, Thunderwave!  Knock out its engine!"
     "Pi-ka-CHUU!!"  Lightning splashed all over the 'dozer.  The driver
leaped out to avoid being electrocuted, and it slowly came to a halt.
     This didn't stop the other four machines.  The driver of the second
bulldozer was none other than Craig, and Christy was behind the wheel of
a dump truck.
     "Are you creeps old enough to drive those things?!" she asked.
     "Does it really matter?" Craig responded.  "Prepare for trouble!"
     "And make that double-double!"  Christy seemed to be enjoying
herself. "Once we've done our job and paved over this beach, we'll have
fun capturing the displaced Pokémon.  They'll have nowhere else to go
but into our hands!  Then we'll deal with you!"
     "I can't believe that your boss would be so insane as to order
something like this!"
     Craig smirked.  "You know what they say, you can't stop progress!"
     Over the noise of the vehicles, Heather could barely hear something
behind her.  Fearow was standing on the beach about two hundred yards
off, flapping his wings and screaming agitatedly.  Next to him was a
rose-shelled Squirtle (undoubtedly female) and a nest of eggs!
     "PIKA!"  Pikachu laid his ears back, and she gasped when she saw
his fierce expression.  She had never seen him this angry.  "CHUU!!"
His electricity lashed out again, toward the second bulldozer.  Its
shovel lifted and the lightning hit it square on, doing no damage.  He
blinked in confusion.  "Pi?"
     Laughing, Craig called out, "Nice try!  The hydraulics on this one
have been insulated.  Electricity won't stop it!"
     There had to be another way...  in the meantime she had to save the
eggs.  "Squirtle!  Farfetch'd!"  she shouted.  "Go and warn the rest of
the Pokémon on the beach!"  They scampered off, and she ran to the nest
that Fearow and the female Squirtle were trying to protect.  "Will it
damage your eggs if I move them?" she asked.
     "Squirtle!"  She shook her head fearfully.
     "All right..."  The machines were looming closer.  Pulling a shirt
from her backpack, she frantically dug up the eggs and placed them on
it, then bundled it up in both arms and ran out of the way.  She circled
around the construction crew and dug a new hole in the beach a little
way behind them.  The eggs should be safe here for now, since the big
machines took a lot of time and space to turn around.  Hopefully she
could stop them by then.  The Squirtle was very grateful.
     She called Pidgeotto and Fearow to her.  "We'll take out the two
lackeys first.  Fearow, confuse one of them with your Mirror Move.
Pidgeotto, use your Whirlwind to blow the other off his seat.  Go!"  The
Pokémon took the men completely by surprise, and both of them fled.
Without anyone at the controls the backhoes stopped running, and the
female Squirtle shorted them out with blasts of water.
     When Christy and Craig saw the desertion of their fellow members,
they went ballistic.  "We'll take care of you once and for all!" Christy
shouted.  She accelerated and drove the dump truck along the beach,
destroying Heather's tent on the way, and cut off an escape route.
Craig sent his bulldozer moving relentlessly toward her.  "I'll crush
you like the rat you are!"
     Thick brush was on one side, the rising tide on the other, and
Christy's dump truck was behind her.  Too scared to realize that she
could run into the water and swim away, Heather felt that she had no way
out.  For the first time in her memory, she screamed in fear!
     Hovering above her, Pidgeotto shrieked, and evolved!  Now almost as
large as she, with a short orange tail and a red crest that was the
length of his body, he dove down.  He grasped her by the shoulders and
flew her away to safety.
     Intent on what was happening in the air, Team Rocket didn't notice
their own predicament until it was too late.  The 'dozer crashed into
the dump truck, knocking it onto its side, and its engine roared as
Craig vainly tried to stop it.  Eventually its treads snapped and it
fell forward onto the truck.  Christy and Craig pulled themselves from
the wreckage and collapsed on the sand.
     "I knew this wouldn't work," Craig moaned.
     Christy said, "Maybe we should just give it up."
     "Great idea!  And if you come after me again," Heather shouted down
at them,  "I'll return to that headquarters and trash it completely!
Tell THAT to your boss!"
     When she was lowered gently to the ground, she was too shaky to
remain standing and fell to her knees.  Despite her state, she could
not, WOULD not let herself fall... she clung to the huge Pokémon that
was now standing beside her.  "Pidgeot..." she whispered, "Thank you."
She rested that way for a few moments.  Fearow and Farfetch'd reappeared
and settled next to her.
     Something was missing.  She looked around.  "Where's Pikachu?"  The
birds regarded each other silently.  A horrible feeling crept over her
and she pulled herself up, stumbling over to the spot where she had last
seen him.  "Pikachu!"  Had Team Rocket captured him?  Had he been hurt
by the bulldozer?  There were any number of explanations, most of them
bad.  "PIKACHU!!"
     No answer.
     "Everyone, go look for him!  Go over every inch of the island if
you have to!"  The three birds flew off.  Further down the beach, beyond
the wreckage of Team Rocket's construction crew, was her Squirtle.  He
was helping the female re-dig a proper place for her eggs.  Heather
smiled slightly; he would be happy here.
     Now she fell forward onto the sand, unable to move any further.
The sun had set and it was getting dark.  "Pikachu..."  Consciousness
left her.


Chapter Nine: Friends Forever

     Sunlight stabbed into her eyes, and she opened them.  Small waves
were lapping on the beach, a soothing sound.  A breeze blew through the
palm fronds above her head.
     "Huh?"  Heather rolled onto her back and looked.  A rough shelter
made from branches and leaves had been built over her, and her backpack
lay close by.  Who had done this?  The last thing she remembered was
passing out while trying to look for...
     "Pikachu!"  Grabbing her pack, she put it on and crawled out of the
shelter.  Immediately her birds swooped down from tree branches and made
a fuss over her.  Pidgeot and Fearow held the stems of juicy looking
fruit in their beaks, and Farfetch'd was carrying a bunch of edible
roots.  Their point was clear: breakfast first.
     There was no use arguing.  While she ate, she asked them, "Did you
build this?"  Fearow nodded, and Pidgeot gestured with a wing toward a
small group of water Pokémon who were standing a little way away.  They
included the two Squirtles and the Poliwag that she had rescued.
     She was quite touched, and a little surprised.  For Pokémon to have
shown such intelligence and initiative...  Perhaps a good trainer did
more for Pokémon than just training them how to fight.  He or she taught
them to think for themselves when the need arose.  Pokémon weren't just
the 'monsters' that ignorant humans thought they were.  They were people
in their own right and deserved to be treated as such.
     Waving to the Squirtles, she finished her meal and stood up.  "All
right.  Did you find Pikachu?"
     "Pidgeot."  He nodded, but didn't seem too happy.
     "What happened?  Is he okay?"
     "Fearow."  The tone indicated an affirmative.
     "Then why isn't he with you?  Does he not want to come back?"
     "Farfetch'd-far-far."  The duck did a charade with his leek that
looked like he was hauling on a rope.
     "I don't get it..."  She thought a moment.  "Pulling up?  No,
letting down!  He feels that he let me down somehow?"
     "Farfetch'd!"
     "I need to talk to him!  Please show me!"

     The birds led her to a clearing deep in the woods.  In its centre
stood an old stone fountain with bird carvings running around its base.
Pikachu was sitting to one side, looking depressed.
     She ran to him and scooped him up, hugging him tightly.  "Pikachu!
What did you run off for?  I can understand that you felt useless when
your electric power didn't affect those machines, but that doesn't
change my opinion of you!  We all have to deal with failure sometimes."
She held him at arms' length but he refused to look at her.  "The first
time we lost a battle on Mount Moon it was rough, wasn't it?  I wasn't
sure if I could become a good trainer, and I was afraid that if I
failed, my Pokémon would lose their trust in me and stop obeying my
orders.  But since then I've come to think of you all as my friends.
Friends stick together no matter what."
     "Pika."
     Smiling sadly at him, she put him down.  "I'm glad you're all
right.  If you don't want to travel with me any more, that's your
decision.  But I'll always care about you."
     Pikachu sighed and turned away.
     "Fearow, fearow!"  Fearow squawked at him angrily, but fell silent
when she put a hand on his beak.
     "Don't yell at him.  He's decided.  We just have to believe in him
and that he knows what he's doing.  Come on, we have an Articuno to
find."  She regretfully headed out of the clearing.  The birds lifted
off and flew away.

     By midafternoon she stood on top of a low hill that was at the
centre of the island.  Seafoam Island was relatively small, but mostly
covered in thick jungle, which she had to clamber through in order to
get to this spot.  Her clothes were dirty and her arms were covered in
scratches.  She desperately wished for a bath.
     From this vantage point she could see the torn-up beach where she
had had her altercation with Team Rocket.  Since they had no way of
getting back to the mainland except by boat from the resort (and it was
unlikely that they would be allowed passage), they were stuck here.
Perhaps a few days of living in the jungle surrounded by Pokémon would
help them see the error of their ways.
     On the other side of the hill was what looked like the ruins of
some sort of shrine.  That was a good place to look as any.
     The stonework in the ruins was unlike any Heather had seen, even in
her history books at school.  But considering how outdated her first
Pokémon Encyclopedia had been, most of the books in Twilight Village
were probably very old too.
     In the central square stood a low pedestal, on the top of which was
a nest.  A nest that was occupied.
     "Articuno,"  Heather whispered.
     The beautiful blue Fearow-sized bird stood up and stared at her,
fluffing up its feathers.  Beside her, her birds got ready to fight, but
she held up a hand to stay them.  "No, I'll talk to it first."  She
stepped forward, holding her arms out in the gesture that signified
being unarmed.  "Articuno, it's my dream to be a master of bird Pokémon.
I've come a long way to find you, and I want to ask if you'll please
accompany us."  She held up one of her Ultra Balls.  "I don't want to
fight, but I will if I have to."
     In response, the Articuno opened its beak and let loose a blast of
ice toward her.  She jumped out of its path, and a tree behind her
froze.
     At once her Pokémon came to her defense.  Pidgeot whipped up his
Whirlwind, but the Articuno was able to avoid it, and spit another ice
beam.  The eagle fell with one of his wings frozen.  Heather got a
Remedy out of her pack and flung it at him, and the potion counteracted
the effect.
     She took charge.  "Fearow, Mirror Move!"  The Fearow suddenly
became several, surrounding the Articuno and distracting it.
"Fearow, Mega Drain!"  She hoped his special ability would weaken it
enough so she could capture it.
     The furious Legendary Bird lashed out with a mighty Blizzard
attack, coating its opponent in snow and blowing him away.  "NOOO!" she
screamed.  She had seriously underestimated this thing's power!  Running
as fast as she could, she launched herself into the air and managed to
catch Fearow before hitting the ground.  The impact jarred her teeth.
     Pidgeot swooped toward her in concern, but she shouted,  "Don't
mind me!  Pidgeot, Wing Attack!"  His size gave him the advantage, and
his powerful attack did the Articuno a lot of damage.  Unfortunately,
the battle wasn't over.  Though tired and injured, the Articuno was
still able to use its ice beam, and fired it again.  "Pidgeot, Reflect!"
The beam struck him and bounced off.
     While Pidgeot kept the Articuno occupied, she sat up and used a
potion to restore Fearow.  She cradled him against her, with tears in
her eyes.  "I'm sorry," she said sadly.  "I shouldn't have brought you
all into this, you're not strong enough."  He returned to his PokéBall.
Farfetch'd stood nearby, reluctant to engage the Articuno after what had
happened, and she didn't blame him.
     A screech from Pidgeot drew her attention back to the battle.  He
had been partly frozen again, and was violently trying to break out of
the ice with little success.  The Articuno was labouriously hovering
over him, winding up for the finishing blast.
     Lightning arced through the air and struck the Articuno; it
faltered and landed on the ground heavily.  Next to the pedestal stood a
small yellow Pokémon.
     "Pikachu!" she cried in surprise.
     The Articuno was now unable to fly but still wasn't out of the
fight.  It shot ice everywhere, but Pikachu was simply too fast to hit.
"That's it, Pikachu!"  she called.  "Keep it busy!"  Hefting an Ultra
Ball, she threw it.  It opened, and Articuno was finally captured!
     She bowed her head, feeling drained.  This victory was a hollow
one, since two of her friends had been badly hurt.  Another potion
thawed the ice off Pidgeot and he disappeared into his PokéBall.
     "Pika?" came a meek voice.
     "Oh, Pikachu, c'mere!"  Heather held her arms out, and Pikachu
gladly leaped into her embrace.  "You saved us all.  I knew you'd come
back, I knew you needed some time to think things through.  Listen, just
because I prefer birds doesn't mean I don't love you.  You've gotten me
out of a lot of situations that the birds couldn't handle.  Like this
one.  Don't start feeling bad about yourself if you get into a fix that
you can't handle on your own.  We'll be there to bail you out.  That's
what friends are for."
     "Pikachu."  He nuzzled her, and one of his furry ears tickled her
chin, making her giggle.
     Putting him down, she stood and surveyed the battle scene.  Her
gaze fell on the pedestal, and her jaw dropped.
     In the centre of the nest was a fist-sized mottled blue egg.
     She stared.  "That's why it fought so hard!  It was protecting its
egg!"  Whipping out her Pokédex, she punched in the appropriate number.
     "Articuno reproduces only once every five years, migrating across
the ocean to find a mate.  It lays one egg which takes thirty days to
hatch."  It showed pictures of an Articuno on a nest with its egg.
     "No wonder Articunos are so rare, especially with Pokémon trainers
like me trying to catch them.  We can't take her away."  Pulling the
Ultra Ball off her belt, she opened it.  "Articuno!"
     The Legendary Bird appeared and fixed an icy gaze on her.
     "I'm sorry, Articuno," she said sincerely.  "I didn't realize that
you were only protecting your nest.  I was hoping you'd be my friend,
but now I understand that you have your egg to care for.  I'm glad to
have seen you; we'll leave you alone now.  Come on, Pikachu,
Farfetch'd."  They turned and began to walk away.
     "Articuno!"  A crystalline voice called them back.  The bird had
managed to get back up to the nest and was covering the egg protectively
with her wings.  Heather and her Pokémon walked forward slowly, and the
bird lifted her wings to show that the egg was rocking back and forth.
     "Whoa, it's hatching!"
     The egg's movements became more violent, and cracks appeared.
Within a few minutes, a small blue chick rolled out, looking a little
surprised.  "Articuno!" it said in its tiny voice.  Its mother made a
fuss over it, arranging its feathers and drying it off before feeding it
with some half-frozen tidbits that had also been in the nest.
     Heather, Pikachu and Farfetch'd exchanged happy glances.  "I'm glad
that everything's okay now.  We should go."
     The mother Articuno clicked her beak.  "Artic, articuno."  She
indicated her chick with one wing.
     Pikachu was shocked.  "Pika pi??"
     "Articuno."
     "What's going on?"  Heather asked, bending down.
     "Pika pika!"  He hopped up and grabbed an Ultra Ball from her belt,
then tapped it on her leg.  "Ka chu!"
     "Huh?  She wants me to take her baby?"  This was unheard of!
     "Pika!"  Pikachu nodded vehemently.
     "Oh, I understand.  She's injured now and can't care for it
properly.  Oh..!"  her eyes widened.  "And I can train it as it grows
up, which will give it that much more of an advantage when the time
comes for it to go off on its own to mate!"
     The Legendary Bird stretched out her wings.  "Articuno!"
     She smiled at it.  "You're very generous, Articuno.  Here," she
gave a potion to the bird.  "This should help your injuries a bit.  I
hope you're feeling better soon."  The Articuno nodded at her.
     She took the Ultra Ball that Pikachu was holding and coaxed the
chick into it.  Now she finally had an Articuno, one that she could
raise and train herself.  "I promise to take good care of it," she
vowed.  "I'll be its mother and its friend.  And when the time comes,
I'll be the best bird Pokémon master!"  She held the ball up
triumphantly.


Epilogue: Homecoming

     Five months later.

     A light snow was falling in the forest outside of Twilight Village.
Heather was walking on the path which led to the backyard of her
family's house.  She had travelled on the road for most of the way, then
went into the woods just before the town limits.
     Her adventures during the summer had been many.  When it came time
for school to begin she hadn't felt ready to return home, so enrolled
for a term in Pokémon Tech, a classy school for Pokémon trainers outside
of Vermilion City.  By then she had enough badges to qualify for
advanced standing, and found the classes a good challenge.
     To raise a little extra money for herself she had worked with Nurse
Joy in the Pokémon Centre and with Lt. Surge in the Gym.  Her spare time
was spent with her Pokémon, taking care of them the way a good trainer
should.
     Now she was back, hoping to spend the winter festival with her
family.  She had no idea what to expect, since she hadn't communicated
with them at all since she had left.  Would they accept her and her
friends?
     She shook the snow off the red and white League cap that she wore,
marched up to the front door and knocked.
     The door opened, and the look of absolute astonishment on her
mother's face was priceless.
     "Heather, darling!"  Her mother embraced her tightly and began to
cry.  "Where have you been all this time?  We were so worried!  The
whole town searched for days and there was no sign of you!"
     "What's all this?" asked a gruff voice, and her father appeared.
     She disentangled herself from her mother's arms.  "Hello, Papa."
     "Miss, you have a lot of explaining to do," he said.
     "Dear!" her mother said angrily.  "She has finally returned to us,
and that's all you have to say?"
     "Hey!" Jack's voice came from inside.  "If we're going to have a
reunion, sis, how about you come in and shut the door?"
     "Hello yourself, brat!" she called, but in fact she was very happy
to see him.  "I'll be glad to answer everyone's questions, inside."  She
followed her parents into the house.
     The family assembled in the house's large main room and she told
her story.  Jack and Mom had hung on her every word, but her father
still remained somewhat unconvinced that she had been able to control
the 'monsters'.  So she decided to show them her friends as proof.
     Under her sweater was a belt holding six PokéBalls.  One by one she
opened them.  "I'd like to introduce... Eagle!  Firey!  Fletch!  Skye!
Blaze!"  The birds lined up on the floor and bowed.  "And last but not
least," she opened the last one and a long-eared yellow creature
appeared.  "Loki!"
     "Chu chu!"  He climbed up onto her shoulders, and she gave him a
treat from her pocket before leveling a finger at him.  "No zapping in
the house."
     "Pika!"

     The following autumn.

     Heather walked up and cut the ribbon that was strung across the
doors to the town's brand new Pokémon Gym.  It had taken a lot of
planning and hard work, but she finally had a place of her own.  The
facade was her design, an intricate interlacing of bird wings.
     The main road had undergone extensive repairs and people from other
cities were coming to enjoy the town's solitude.  No longer would
Twilight Village fear the outside world.
     Her two Junior Trainers, Christy and Craig, followed her inside.
     In the battle ring sat a young boy, playing with a Pidgey.



                                THE END

     Audrey Seddon
     aka Blue Jean, Sailor Chronos
     April 1999


I would like to thank the authors of these Web sites; without their
terrific information, this fanfic would have been a lot more difficult.

Charmander's Pokémon Centre
     http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Bunker/7115/NEW/index.html

Pikachu's Pokémon Centre
     http://come.to/thepokecentre

Pokémon Picture Archive
     http://www.fantasyanime.com/Pokémon.htm

Strata Strike's Pokémon Illustration Marathon
     http://www.fsinet.or.jp/~pokesen/index.html

The Pokédex
     http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Maze/6241/