A New Beginning

[Alexi8945]

Chapter 1

Fourteen-year-old Shiri Okosawa could not wait. Impatience had made her restless, and now she couldn’t sleep. She had been waiting four years for this day, the day she would at last become a pokemon trainer. She knew what pokemon she wanted - charmander. She loved fire pokemon ever since hearing about her mother’s growlithe when she was younger.

But her mother wouldn’t let her go when she was ten, for she was “too young.� Shiri begged and begged, but to no avail. It may have had something to do with her friend’s son going missing when he became a trainer. Whatever the reason, Shiri’s mother never amended her response, until now. Even getting her mother to let her go at the ripe old age of fourteen had been a challenge.

“I’m fourteen!� Shiri had exclaimed when her mother had at first rejected Shiri’s inquiry about becoming a trainer. She simply crossed her arms and shook her head.

“You still have school to get through,� her mother had replied, the same excuse she always used.

“I know enough now!� Shiri had argued. “I’m above my class’s reading level! Besides, what do I need to know if I‘m going to make a living battling pokemon?�

“But you’re doing poorly in mathematics,� her mother had said, holding up one of Shiri’s failed math tests and ignoring Shiri’s second comment.

“I try, at least!� Shiri had said, frustration building up.

“Alright, here’s a deal,� her mother had started. “You can go off and become the greatest pokemon trainer if you want, but you must study up on your mathematics.� Shiri had agreed to the offer, even though studying math on her journey would be a drag. It was the only way her mother would ever let her go. Maybe she’d be able to get away with not studying if her mom saw her defeat all the trainers in the Indigo Plateau.

Shiri looked in her mirror. She picked up a brush and brushed out her long, sea weed green hair that she must have gotten from her father, as her mother’s hair was blue. Her eyes were a pretty dark blue that seemed to reflect the sea. Her mother had always said she named her Shiri because it meant “ocean� in her native language. Shiri had rarely heard her mother speak her native tongue – only when her mother was angry.

Shiri stood just over five feet tall, and while she may not have been the tallest in her class, she didn’t care. She always thought of people who complain about their height were annoying, and while she could see the disadvantages of being short, she had a lot of advantages, too, like being able to fit into small places.

The radio on her nightstand spelled out a nearby pokemon battle. She listened, imagining she was one of those trainers. If she closed her eyes, she could almost see herself directing her pokemon as it gracefully beat the other in a flurry of fire attacks. She could see her own charizard fly weightlessly through the air and blast it opponents away.

She knew she was going to get a charmander - she had called Professor Oak previously and told him her wishes. Since she was the only one to leave that day, he said she could very well have the charmander. Shiri had jumped for joy when the professor told her that. She hugged her plushie charmander she always kept on her bed. Hugging things was a habit she had adopted herself - she always hugged something when she was particularly happy. Some called it annoying, her mother said it was cute, but she didn’t care what anyone thought.

Curling up on her bed, still holding the plushie charmander in her arms, Shiri drifted off into dreamland, images of pokemon and grand battles in her mind.

[Pokemaster]

Very nice story Alexi. I can't wait to read more when you post it. I'll be looking forward to it, and keep up the good work.

[Shiny Espeon]

Excellent beginning you've introduced here.

The story is very pleasing to the eye. Your text is neatly formatted and easy to read, which is always a positive thing. Your puncuation seems impeccable, as well your grammar. The only thing I can suggest is captilizing the names of Pokemon, such as Charmander and Charizard. It's just a minor thing, though.

Now, as for the story iteself. I love the way you put real life situations while you still kept your character within the comfinds of the Pokemon world.


But her mother wouldn’t let her go when she was ten, for she was “too young.�

I can fully agree! I never understood why mothers let their 10 year olds travel into the big, scary world with a scrawny Piplup at their side.

She picked up a brush and brushed out her long, sea weed green hair that she must have gotten from her father, as her mother’s hair was blue.

I can imagine that, too. People in the Pokemon world always have FREAKY hair.

You seem like you write well, and I would love to see what happens to Shiri next. :)

[Alexi8945]

Thanks for the reviews! :)

The only thing I can suggest is captilizing the names of Pokemon, such as Charmander and Charizard. It's just a minor thing, though.

I know many people say that capitalizing pokemon's names is how it's supposed to be, but it's just like animals: you don't capitalize animals, do you? You wouldn't capitalize cat, dog or mouse, either, unless you were to name your cat Cat or your dog Dog. In Pokemon, people will call their pokemon the name of their species. So, if Shiri hadn't nicknamed her charmander, she would have called her Charmander. As you can see, the name for the individual charmander is Charmander. I'm highly OCD about that, sorry, but that's just how I am...I also ope that makes some coherent sense. XD;;; I didn't get too much sleep and my brain is only half-awake.

with a scrawny Piplup at their side.

...I don't see piplup as scrawny. More like pudgey. XP

Thanks to both of you, Pokemaster and Shiny Espeon, for reviewing. ^_^ I'll have the next chapter up tomorrow for your reading pleasure.

[Pokemaster]

I can't wait for it!!!!!

[Shiny Espeon]

I see what you mean about the capitilization thing. Hehe, you proved your point. I just got used to the capitilization thing because on another forum I go on, if you write a fanfic, you have to capitilize the names of Pokemon and such. I think they made that rule so that there would be no more arguments about this topic.


...I don't see piplup as scrawny. More like pudgey. XP


I must have been imagining a small Thanksgiving turkey or something. xD Poor Bob Crachit.

It's no prob to review your story. It's really good so far.

[Alexi8945]

Hm, I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this, but I can tell Pokemaster is really excited over it. Well, here it is!

Chapter 2

Shiri woke up when the sunlight hit her. She opened her eyes, and they shot to her clock. Good. She didn’t over sleep. She sprang up and ran into the bathroom. A little while later, she ran out again, ready, dressed lightly in shorts and white T-shirt. She slipped a jacket on, as the morning would still be chilly.

She grabbed her pack, making sure she had everything, such as the products she had bought the previous week: potions, antidotes, anything that would ensure her pokemon wouldn’t get seriously hurt. She only needed pokeballs, but the shop near her house had never sold them.

She crept downstairs, hoping her mother wouldn’t hear her. She didn’t want to have to say all the goodbyes that go with leaving the house. She had done that the night before. She could still feel the sting of the tears that had been shed that night.

As she closed the front door, she took a deep breath. The air was good. It smelled pure, untouched by the toxins found in the bigger cities. This was the perfect time to go, she felt. The sky was clear, the air was brisk, and the road just seemed to call her name.

This was her home town: Pallet. Around twenty years previous, two famous trainers had started their journey and became world famous. One was Ash Ketchum, the son of Delia Ketchum, who had been her mother’s friend since before Shiri was born. Shiri had never met Ash, as he had gone missing from the world when she was only three years old. Some claimed that he had simply become a recluse, living in some mountainous region and training his pokemon to become ultra powerful. Others said he had been kidnapped by Team Rocket, whoever that was, and they were holding him prisoner all these years.

The other trainer who left his home the same day as Ash was the late Professor Oak’s grandson, Gary Oak. He traveled for years with his pokemon, first collecting the gym badges. When he lost at the Indigo Plateau, he had disappeared for a while. He soon returned to Pallet Town and took over at Professor Oak’s lab, first as an apprentice, then, when his grandfather died about ten years ago, he carried on Professor Oak’s work. Now, many people simply refer to him as Professor Oak, although Delia never did. She called him Professor Gary Oak, making the distinction very clear.

Shiri had no idea who Team Rocket was. Her mother never told her, and when asked, would abruptly change the subject. Delia never spoke a word of Team Rocket.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a scuffling sound to her right. She saw, between the houses, the shape of something big, bigger than a human, run down the alley. Shiri thought it might have been someone’s pokemon…but who would let something that big run freely?

A little frightened, Shiri walked on quickly. She looked all around her in case that huge pokemon should attack her. As she was looking over her shoulder, not paying much attention to where she was going, she ran directly into a man.

“I’m sorry!” she said, looking up at the man. He appeared to be in his late thirties, with spiky green hair that may have seemed strange if it were not the fact that the more normal crowds wore their hair in several varying colors and of all styles, regardless of age. But this man didn’t seem to be concerned with Shiri. He ran past her quickly without a word, a pokeball in his hand.

Shiri watched the man until he rounded a corner and was out of sight. She then continues her way to Professor Oak’s place, wondering who the man was and still keeping an eye out for any big, possibly man-eating pokemon that would jump out at her and make her its breakfast.

It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Professor Oak’s lab was curiously-shaped building that reminded Shiri of the diglett that plagued her mother’s flower garden. Surrounding the yellow building on three sides were vast acres of land that held pokemon of all kinds, some Shiri could recognize and more that she could not, although she guessed that might change in the future.

She went up to the front door, ran her fingers through her hair quickly, a nervous habit she had picked up from her mother, and rang the doorbell. She fidgeted in place as she waited, watching pidgeys fly around and caterpies climb up the trees that surrounded the front of the lab.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, the door opened. On the other side of the door stood a man in his mid-thirties. He had long, spiky brown hair and black eyes. He smiled politely at Shiri, a pleasant smile that seemed to put Shiri at ease despite the anxious feeling inside her.

“Good morning,” he greeted. His voice seemed deeper than it did on the phone, but it was still rather high for a guy, in Shiri’s opinion. He let her inside, and Shiri was surprised to find that she had stepped into his house rather than the laboratory.

The house was small and simple with a warm feeling to it. The professor led Shiri through a door near the back of the house, leading into the laboratory. He strode to a small circular table in the middle of the room, with Shiri following. All around her, shelves upon shelves of pokeballs were stored. Names above the pokeballs were listed, such names as “Sean,” “Erik,” “Simon.” Under each name were dozens of pokeballs, great balls, ultra balls and other kinds of balls Shiri had never seen!

He pressed a button on the table, and a pokeball came up from a small hole in the center. Shiri’s attention went straight to the pokeball that sat on a small metal pedestal. The ball looked like any other red and white pokeball, but on the top was a small flame symbol. The professor picked up the pokeball in his large hand.

“Here you go.” He handed her the pokeball, his fingers brushing against her palm as he did so.

She looked at it, her fingers wrapped tightly around the ball. This was her first pokemon, fire type. She took a deep breath. “Can I let it out?” she asked, her voice trembling a little with excitement. The professor smiled at her anticipation

“Of course you can,” he said.

Shiri pressed the small white button on the pokeball, and it opened suddenly, a red blast of energy beaming from it. The energy took the shape of a lizard, and when the red light faded, the orange charmander let out a happy cry. It had a long tail, the tip holding a bright, healthy orange flame. It had large black eyes that stared back at Shiri, eyes that held happiness and the promise of loyalty.

“It seems to like you,” the good professor said. Shiri smiled brightly at him and hugged him suddenly. The professor, not expecting it, tried to move away, only setting them off balance and the two ended up falling to the floor

Shiri jumped off Professor Oak quickly. “I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed as the professor stood up.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” the professor said, though Shiri could detect a hint of annoyance in his voice. The professor handed her five more of the red and white pokeballs and a small red rectangle gizmo. “This is a pokedex,” Professor Oak said, holding up the red rectangle. “It’ll hold information on your pokemon and tell you about others.

“Thanks, professor,” Shiri said. She looked at the charmander by her side. It seemed amused by Shiri’s embarrassment. She recalled the pokemon, feeling a blush on her cheeks.

When she got outside, she let out her pokemon again. It called to her, and she smiled. “Hey,” she said, “I don’t wanna just call you Charmander. How about…Pippa? It was the name of a growlithe my mom had when she was my age.” The Charmander cried in approval. “Okay, then. Pippa it is.” She held her arms open for Pippa, and she jumped up into Shiri’s embrace. “This’ll be a great!”

She let Pippa jump to the ground, turned north and headed on her adventure.

[Shiny Espeon]

Hehe. I was hoping for her to wake up late. XD

This was a good continuation from the beginning. You have a nice, smooth story going here, while at the same time, you included mystery with the entire Ash story.

I only found...one mistake, but I'm just being picky since your grammar and punctuation is already good.


in shorts and a white T-shirt.


He appeared to be in his late thirties, with spiky green hair that may have seemed strange if it were not the fact that the more normal crowds wore their hair in several varying colors and of all styles, regardless of age.

True, very true. That made me smile.

In the words of PokeMaster, more story please! :)

[Alexi8945]

Thanks, Espeon! ^_^

I was hoping for her to wake up late

I was contemplating it, but it occured to me that that senario is used SO MUCH in the fandom. I thought, "A trainer who wakes up on time? GASP! What a concept!" Also, there's something a little more to that, but of course, I'm not divulging anything more. ;)

I only found...one mistake

Hey, I'm only human. XP

Thanks again! ^_^ Wonder when the foaming Pokemaster will wander back. XPXP

[Pokemaster]

OMG!!!! AWESOMENESS!!!! I LOVE IT!!!! I can't wait for the future chapters.

[Alexi8945]

XD Thanks, Pokemaster! I'll be sure to be posting the next chapter tomorrow morning, so watch out for it!

[Pokemaster]

YAY YAY YAY!!!!! THIS STORY IS AWESOME

[Alexi8945]

XD Thanks! I'm glad you tink so. ^_^

[Alexi8945]

Chapter 3

Shiri and Pippa had stopped for lunch soon after they set out. They must have been about ten miles outside Viridian City, or so Shiri’s map told her. They settled under a shady tree and ate some delicious fruit Shiri had packed the night before. She pulled out some home-made cookies her mother made from a pocket in her pack and nibbled on one. As Shiri was drinking some water from a bottle, she noticed someone coming up the road.

As the person got closer, she realized it was a boy. He stood over six feet tall, and looked a few years older than Shiri. His hair was almost black, kept short, but three thin locks of hair fell over his forehead. As he got closer, Shiri saw he had dark blue eyes, not eyes unlike her own, and round cheeks sprinkled with freckles. His hands were stuck deep into the pockets of his jacket, and from what Shiri could see, his hands were balled into fists. At his belt were five pokeballs and another kind of ball that was blue and red. Shiri had seen them before, at Professor Oak’s lab – it was a great ball.

Shiri wondered if he would battle her. She had battled many wild pokemon since she set out, and Pippa was pretty strong. She was itching for a real trainer battle. When he passed by, she called to him, climbing to her feet. He looked at her slowly, his eyes quickly cutting to Pippa, then back to her.

“Hey, want to battle?” Shiri said with a challenging tone in her voice.

“Why should I bother with you?” the boy answered coldly, his hands not budging from their pocketed enclosure. Shiri blinked, not expecting such an icy answer. Why was he so cold? Did Shiri insult him?

“Because, you’re a trainer and I’m a trainer,” Shiri said as a futile explanation. “We should battle!”

The boy looked at Pippa again. His left hand slid out of his pocket and he let it drop to his side, close to the great ball on his belt. “Fine,” he said quietly. “But I can tell you right now, I will win.”

“That’s what you think,” Shiri said to him, smirking, though his hushed, low voice made her a little nervous. Beside her, Pippa rose to her feet, the flame on her tail flaring up. Pippa walked in front of Shiri, looking at the other trainer with caution. She let out a small, challenging growl.

“I’m supposing that’s your only pokemon,” the boy said. He took pulled the great ball off his belt and enlarged it. Shiri watched the boy’s hand as he threw the ball up and, in a flash of curious purple light, a dog-like pokemon appeared.

The pokemon was small, about two feet high, with a red face. Its body was black and it had two small, white horns coming from its head. It growled deeply at Pippa, exposing small fangs, and Pippa shrank back a little, intimidated. The dog looked like a devilish puppy, ready to tear out Pippa’s throat. Shiri suddenly had bad feelings about this battle, but she could not go back on her challenge.

Shiri, who had never seen or heard of a pokemon like the one in front of her, took out her pokedex. Upon scanning the black puppy, the ‘dex identified it as houndour, the dark puppy pokemon.

“You’ve never seen this before?” the boy asked, a chuckle in his voice. He stuck his left hand, still holding the now-empty great ball, back into his jacket pocket. Shiri could see the bulge of the ball in his pocket.

Shiri did not reply. She studied the canine carefully, trying to make out any possible weak spots. Its fur was black, and judging by its evil look, she guessed it was a dark-type pokemon. What were dark-types weak to? She should know this; a boy in her class had dark-type pokemon.

“How are you supposed to be a great trainer if you’ve never seen such a pokemon? They’re so popular.” She shot a glare at the boy, feeling very defensive.

Shiri refocused her thoughts. If the pokemon was held in a great ball, it must be strong. She wondered if Pippa could handle it. She had to have faith in her pokemon, right? She had to believe her pokemon could defeat anything, that’s what made great trainers, right?

“Let’s do this,” Shiri said. “Pippa, use scratch!”

The fiery salamander jumped into action, slashing at the puppy with its sharp claws. However, the houndour dodged the attack easily, its movements fluid and precise. Pippa tried another Scratch attack, but with the same results.

“Bite,” the boy uttered quietly. The obedient dog surged forward, opened its jaws and bit Pippa hard on the tail, some blood spewing out of its mouth. Pippa screamed in pain, making Shiri gasp. The boy seemed amused.

“Pippa! Hold on!” Shiri encouraged. She couldn’t let this battle go on any further. Pippa was no match for this pokemon.

“What a weak pokemon!” the boy exclaimed. “Houndour, use Take Down.”

The black dog let go of Pippa’s bleeding tail, backed up a few steps and slammed its full weight into Pippa. Pippa let out a weak cry of pain that made Shiri’s heart sink and her stomach churn. Pippa then fell unconscious. The boy just laughed.

“That was way too easy,” he said, taking his hand from his pocket and returning the houndour to its ball. Shiri ran to Pippa and held the weakened charmander in her arms, her whole body trembling. The boy regarded the two with a look of sympathy.

Shiri was almost crying when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up, meeting the boy’s blue eyes.

“Look,” he said. He sounded regretful, and his eyes were full of guilt. “I can tell that was your first battle. And that was your only pokemon. How about I escort you to a pokemon center?”

“Oh, please,” Shiri said, rubbing at her eyes. She returned Pippa to her pokeball and looked up at the boy. “Thank you so much!” She stood up despite her legs feeling less than sturdy.

The boy just grunted. “Hurry up,” he said, his sympathetic tone melting. “It’s still a while until we get to Viridian City.” As she gathered up her things, Shiri kept wondering who this boy was. He had come out of the blue, ruthlessly defeated her pokemon, then turned around and offered to help her get to a pokemon center. She had heard of mean trainers who will fight weak trainers and gloat, and she had thought that was who he was – until he offered to escort her.

“What’s your name?” Shiri asked casually. The boy hesitated at first.

“Simon,” the boy responded. Shiri smiled weakly, thinking that name was vaguely familiar.

“I’m Shiri. Thanks for your kindness,” she said. The boy just grunted again and turned towards north. He dug his hand back into his pocket.

“Just hurry up.”

[Pokemaster]

OOoooo It was great!!! I almost cried when Pippa's tail was bleeding. And honestly, who would have expected the boy to help her after insulting her Pokémon? I love this chapter. MORE PLEASE!!! As soon as you can post chapter 4!

[Alexi8945]

Thanks, Pokemaster! ^_^ I will post chapter four tomorrow, so watch out for it!

Soon, you'll realize why Simon helped Shiri after acting so cold towards her. Oh, and be sure to pay attention to his pokemon, as well as some other smller details. You'll see why eventually. ^_^;;;

[Pokemaster]

Goodie. I can't wait. This is turning out to be a wonderful fanfic. I am going to try and post my own, but I have to retype it first. Oh, well. Keep up the good work!!!

[Shiny Espeon]

That boy was so very rude to her at first. It kinda makes me wonder if I would be in Shiri's position if I was a trainer. lol

I love the way you described Houndour. Good description. ^^

Haha. Simon is cool.

[Alexi8945]

I am going to try and post my own

Yes! You do that, and I'll be more than happy to read and review it, Pokemaster! ^_^

It kinda makes me wonder if I would be in Shiri's position if I was a trainer

Hm, maybe I should have made her more reluctant, but if I was her, with a totally hurt pokemon and ten miles from a pokemon centre, I wouldn't want to be wandering alone. Besides, I'd be waiting for an apology. XP

Thanks again for reviewing! ^_^ Oh, and I'm revealing both characters' teams in my signature. *shifts eyes* These aren't set in stone yet, and they will change a lot throughout the fic anyway, but it's just to give you a feel of what to expect, pokemon-wise.

[Alexi8945]

Good morning. How are you all today?

Be warned: There is swearing in this chapter, though it may be starred out...We'll see. XP

Ch. 4

When they reached Viridian City, Shiri and Simon walked straight to the pokemon centre, Shiri almost running there, bumping into someone and yelling an apology over her shoulder. Clutching Pippa’s pokeball, she burst in the glass doors of the centre and ran up to the front desk. The interior looked deserted; no pokemon trainers sat in the waiting room, no diners ate in the dining area. The nurse at the computer behind the desk looked up when Shiri rushed in, surprise in her sharp blue eyes. Shiri placed the pokeball on the desk, explaining what had happened.

“Why on Earth would you challenge such a strong trainer?” the nurse asked, puzzlement in her voice.

“I thought I could beat him,” Shiri said quietly. “I wasn’t thinking.” She stared down, feeling guilty for letting Pippa get hurt so bad. The nurse took Pippa’s pokeball without another word and disappeared behind a door marked “Staff Only.”

Shiri sank into an uncomfortable plastic chair, staring at her feet. A moment later, she looked up to speak to Simon, but he was no where to be found. Shiri looked out the large windows near the door, only to see Simon’s back as he walked off into the sunset – literally. It was nearly sundown, and Shiri wondered why he wouldn’t be staying in the pokemon centre for the night. It then struck her that maybe he lived in this town and was just going home.

Shiri rubbed at her eyes, feeling the fatigue that the day’s events had brought on her. She thought about calling Professor Oak, but what would he think if he told her about Pippa? She decided she’d call her mother and tell her she had made it to Viridian City.

She walked over to the phone booths and picked up the green receiver from the first phone. Dropping the coins into the coin slot, she dialed her phone number, hearing the ringing sound in her right ear and staring at the phone’s screen that read, “Calling.”

There was no answer on the other line, but Shiri left a message on the answering machine and hung up. She hoped her voice didn’t sound as depressed as she felt.

The nurse appeared at the staff door, pushing a loose strand of her salmon-coloured hair behind her ear. Shiri restrained from sprinting to her and merely approached.

“Your charmander is doing fine,” the nurse said with a smile, handing Shiri the pokeball, which felt empty. “It will have to stay under observation tonight, but there is no reason you can’t leave in the morning.”

“Thank you so much,” Shiri said, relieved. She resisted hugging the nurse.

“It’s no problem,” the nurse responded cheerfully. “Do you need a room for the night?”

“Oh yes, please,” Shiri said, slipping the minimized pokeball into her pocket. She took the key the nurse gave her and headed to the designated room on the second floor.

The room was simple, with a single bed in a corner, a pine nightstand beside it and a dresser on the side opposite the bed. Shiri sat on the bed, looking out the window into the city. She found herself wondering if Simon did live in this city, and if he did, where.

He had been so strong. She had been so stupid. Where was her head? Well, that was past. She had a new goal, now: get stronger, then find and defeat Simon. Yes, she thought. That’s what she would do. Defeat that boy.

Shiri laid back on the bed, hungry, but even more tired. She closed her eyes, meaning just to rest for a bit before getting dinner. However, she was soon fast asleep.

-

He couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t ****ing believe it. The brat was here, in his town! He knew it was her – he knew her eyes, her hair, everything. He had seen, watched her, in Pallet Town, but here, in Viridian-****ing-City?!

He paced his spacious room, his frustration building up. His own daughter, here. He knew there could be only one reason she had been allowed to travel all that way unaccompanied – she had finally somehow convinced her mother to let her become a ****ing pokemon trainer.

It’s fine, he told himself. Maybe she’ll give up after a few weeks on the hard, cold ground and eating cold beans out of a can. But something inside him did not agree with this assessment, and he continued to pace, running his hands through his thick, sea weed green hair.

She looked just like her mother, save for her hair, which he knew she got from him. Such a distinct colour would certainly connect her to him, and maybe ruin all his plans. As long as she remained an anonymous rookie trainer, he was safe. Even if she managed to get some badges, he’d still be in the clear. But if she managed to get to the Indigo Plateau, or even his own ****ing gym…He didn’t want to think about that.

He had to get rid of her. But how? He could kill her…But he couldn’t do that to his own flesh and blood. He may have been a scum bag, but he wasn’t heartless. No, he’d just have to sabotage her efforts.

Then it came to him: he would simply steal her pokemon. Yes. After all, that’s what his organization was known for, wasn’t it? He laughed aloud at the genius of his plan. It was perfect. No rookie trainer missing their only pokemon would even attempt to challenge his organization, and the police had no bearings on the team whatsoever. Those bumbling idiots couldn’t even solve the murder of a maggot, let alone the theft of a pokemon. Yes, it was perfect.

Oh so perfect.

[Pokemaster]

This is an amazing chapter as well. I am taking it that Giovanni is her father?? If not don't tell me. I want it to be a surprise. I did fix one little thing in it though. You had originally posted it as Ch. 3. I fixed it to Ch. 4.

[Alexi8945]

Awesome. Thanks for reviewing and fixing that typo. ^_^ And I'm not saying a word..

[Pokemaster]

All right. Well, I did tell you that if you wanted to let it be a surprise, then it could.

[Shiny Espeon]

:O Poor Shiri! I hope she gets Pippa safe before...

Well, first off, this was a very smooth chapter. You described everything well, even the phone booth that Shiri used. I also enjoyed the switch of character from Shiri to Giovanni. I could see a totally different character there, and that was an intriguing (sp) thing. The suspense Giovanni left us at the end of the chapter is kinda scary, too. Good chapter!

[Alexi8945]

Thanks! I always do love ending chapters with a chill. ^_^ Keep a watch on that mysterious cursing man. XP You may be surprised a bit. But only a bit.

[Alexi8945]

Ch.5

Shiri awoke the next morning to the sound of her stomach growling. She sat up, stretching her arms and realizing she hadn’t eaten since lunch. And even that had been cut short thanks to that trainer, Simon.

Outside the window, Shiri could hear the coos of pidgeys and the shrieks of spearows. Energized by the sounds of wild pokemon to be caught, she quickly changed her clothes, stuffing her dirty shirt and shorts into her pack. She then slipped her socked feet into her shoes and ran downstairs into the waiting room of the pokemon centre.

In a small area set apart just for pokemon, Shiri saw Pippa eating some pokemon food happily. Upon seeing her master, Pippa cried out happily and stood up, abandoning her food and ran straight into Shiri’s open arms.

“I’m so sorry I led you into that battle, Pippa,” Shiri said, hugging her precious pokemon. Pippa responded by licking Shiri’s nose, which made her giggle. As Pippa jumped out of Shiri’s arms, Shiri noticed the free continental breakfast laid out in the dining area: four different types of cereal, various pastries and several kinds of juices were laid out in a logical, if not eye-catching order, along with the condiments that fit those breakfast items.

Her stomach still growling, Shiri gravitated towards the delicious-looking muffins. She picked out a banana-nut muffin from the assorted bunch, the sweet smell rising to her nose from the wicker basket. Knowing she would certainly need much more than a single muffin for breakfast, she took two.

The muffins were heavenly, and Shiri could guess they were hand-made, not mass-purchased bundles of far-too-sweet pastries that most hotels would set out. The two bowls of cereal Shiri ate wasn’t too bad either, and the milk tasted very fresh, though she hadn’t seen, nor expected a miltank farm in Viridian City. Perhaps whoever made the muffins had their own miltank, too.

After gulping down a glass of amazingly fresh tamato berry juice, Shiri signed Pippa out on a form the nurse had given her and, with the charmander at her side, walked out into the morning light.

Because the pokemon centre faced east, Shiri had to shield her eyes from the bright sunlight that hit her as she exited. She turned north, no longer having to shield her eyes, and walked, taking in the sights of an awakening town.

Shops of all kinds opened, some that sold herbal remedies for pokemon and some for humans, while some sold shoes and clothing. Viridian City was by no means small, but it still had a small town feel to it, it seemed to Shiri as she passed a family-owned diner.

Shiri stopped at a fruit stand that had just opened and bought some sweet fruits for lunch, as well as some fresh-baked bread from a bakery not too far away from the fruit stall. For her second day as a pokemon trainer, she seemed to be doing well financially. She had saved up all the money she could just for her journey, and while she knew that was no way of supporting her and her soon-to-be pokemon team, she also knew that by battling – and defeating! – trainers, she could make enough money for food, clothes and other essentials.

The air smelled as fresh and crisp as it had the previous day, despite the industrial side of Viridian City obviously putting out visible fumes. From where Shiri stood, surrounded by trees of all kinds, she couldn’t even smell the scent of chemicals invading the green space, although Pippa could.

Within the hour, the city was behind her and Shiri was headed for the trees that loomed up out of the horizon. The Viridian Forest. She had heard that it could be treacherous, which is why she picked up a map while she was in the pokemon centre. It was still about half a mile away, but already Shiri could see the forest and even heard the buzzing of the bug pokemon inside.

Above her head, pidgeys and pidgeottos were soaring towards the forest for breakfast. To her left, a rustling arose from the brush, catching Shiri’s attention. She stopped in her tracks, reminded of the silhouette of the huge pokemon she had seen the previous day. Beside her, Pippa, who had also heard the rustling, ran in front of Shiri, readying for a battle.

A small blue pokemon poked out of the brush, sniffing the air. It looked like a little dinosaur, with huge ears and a small horn on its head. Shiri had seen this pokemon before, as a girl in her class had a couple of them. They were called nidoran, and this was the female version of the species. Shiri had only seen the female, however, but she had heard that the male had huge horns and bad tempers. Shiri was almost glad to have found the more docile of the two.

The nidoran, feeling threatened, let out a small yet low growl aimed at Pippa. Pippa responded with a growl of her own, her tail flaring up as it had in the presence of the houndour from the previous day. The nidoran walked completely out of the brush, kicking up dirt with her left paw. Shiri did not want to miss a chance at catching such an awesome-looking pokemon.

“Pippa, use Scratch!” Shiri commanded, and the little orange lizard obeyed, her claws extending to their full length. She charged at the nidoran and landed a direct hit on the opposing pokemon’s back.

The nidoran let out a small cry of pain, but turned and slammed her small body into Pippa. She kicked up dirt into Pippa’s eyes, and the charmander tried to rub at her eyes, but her arms were too short to reach.

“Pippa!” Shiri exclaimed, thinking quickly. “Turn around quickly!” Pippa obeyed, and as the nidoran charged for another Tackle attack, the blue pokemon ran straight into Pippa’s flaming tail.

A painful-looking burn mark appeared on the nidoran’s small forehead, but despite the pain, charged forward for another Tackle, this time aiming for Pippa’s side. The dirt particles washed out by tears, Pippa could see clearly again and saw the oncoming assault, and as Shiri yelled, “Dodge, Pippa!” the little charmander jumped out the nidoran’s path.

Shiri saw the nidoran cringe in pain, and figured it was from the burn on her forehead. Now she had to catch her!

“Pippa, use one more Scratch attack!” Shiri commanded, and Pippa’s claws extended once again. She ran forward, landing the blow on the nidoran’s already-marred back. The nidoran flinched back this time, growling in pain. Her focus gone, the nidoran could only concentrate on the sting in her back and forehead.

Shiri extruded a pokeball from her pocket, enlarged it and threw it at the nidoran, watching as the red and white sphere hit the pokemon on her already-damaged back. The nidoran dissolved into red energy and disappeared into the pokeball, which fell gently into the grass and trembled, the button in the centre glowing red as the nidoran inside tried to struggle out.

When the button in the centre turned white with a curious ping sound, Shiri jumped for joy at having caught her first pokemon. She cheered and hugged Pippa, clearly proud of her pokemon and, feeling the effects of an adrenaline rush that had been building during the moments pf tension that Shiri felt, ran around, laughing. She swiped up the pokeball, chanting, “I caught it! I caught it! I caught a pokemon!” over and over excitedly. Some would expect that kind of behaviour from a teenager rather immature; Shiri, however, was too happy to have cared what anyone thought of her level of maturity at that moment.

When the adrenaline passed and Shiri calmed down, she let out the nidoran. She still had the scratch marks on her back and the burn mark on her forehead, just above her small horn. Growling, the nidoran regarded Shiri with an untrusting look. Shiri sat down in front of the nidoran, took off her pack and opened the front pockets, extruding two bottles, one purple, a Potion, and one green, a Burn Heal.

She sprayed the contents of both bottles onto the hurt nidoran, applying the potion to the scratches and the Burn Heal to, of course, the burn. She watched with subdued amazement as the scratched healed in seconds, the burn fading to nothing, and the pain that registered in the nidoran’s eyes lifting. Happily, the nidoran let out a grateful cry and stretched.

“You’re a real cute pokemon,” Shiri said, smiling and lightly touching the nidoran on the back. The skin was hard, but not scaly as Shiri would have expected from a lizard-like creature. “What should I call you?”

As Shiri thought of a good name, Pippa walked over and, through growls and arm gestures, communicated with the new addition to the team. Shiri smiled at them, thinking it was the cutest thing she had ever seen.

She looked up nidoran in her pokedex and learned, among other things, that nidoran was a poison pokemon, that it knew Tackle and Growl, and that its horn could secrete a very toxic poison.

“Good thing that toxic poison hadn’t gotten in Pippa,” Shiri said aloud as her two pokemon chatted up a storm. She wondered what they were talking about, wished she could understand pokemon speech, but knew that was in no way possible. She knew Pippa could understand her, or else she could never have made sense of Shiri’s battle commands. Perhaps pokemon were far more intelligent than humans.

[Alexi8945]

Pushing that thought from her mind, Shiri focused on a good name for the nidoran, but was coming up empty. She tried to think of what “poison” or “lizard” were in her mother’s native language, but she couldn’t remember. She didn’t even know if her mother had ever uttered those words in her native tongue.

So, as she did when she used to write, she simply tried fitting letters together in the dirt. After a few moments of that, she had a name. That method almost never failed her.

“I’ll call you Briony,” Shiri said to her new pokemon. The nidoran seemed to mull over this name, and, deeming it worthy, uttered a cry of approval. Pippa jumped up and down happily and Briony nuzzled Shiri’s leg gently. Shiri smiled and carefully picked the poison pokemon up. “We’re going to get strong together,” she said to Briony and Pippa. “And together, we’re going to beat Simon!”

Pippa licked Shiri’s cheek, very much in favour of that plan and Briony, despite not knowing who Simon was, let out a happy growl that sounded more like a purr.

Laughing, Shiri put Briony on the ground and stood up. “Let’s get going to the Viridian Forest!” Shiri exclaimed, striking a victorious pose that she had seen trainers on TV do. The day she could strike that pose in front of Simon was a day she was looking forward to.

She returned both of her pokemon to their pokeballs, minimizing those pokeballs and sliding them into the pocket of her shorts. She looked toward the Viridian Forest, anticipation building up. She slung her pack over her shoulder and headed straight for the mighty forest.

As she neared the great forest, she thought she could smell cigarette smoke. Looking around, she saw no one, but the scent stayed with her. It was faint, and it didn’t bother her, but she thought it a strange thing to smell outside of a forest.

As she walked down the dirt path, the sunlight faded from her sight. Looking up, she could see that only very little sunlight could penetrate the thick leaves of the humungous trees that made up the forest. Shiri stopped and slipped the Viridian Forest map from a side pocket on her pack. She opened it and examined it, tracing the path with her finger. As she ventured further into the forest, she noticed that the dirt path faded and eventually completely disappeared beneath her feet, completely invisible under all the foliage.

She stopped once again, listening to the busy buzzing of bug pokemon deep somewhere in the forest. She was itching to catch some bug pokemon. A bunch of kids in her class had cool bug pokemon that they would always show off, and she had always wanted one for herself.

Shiri soon came upon a small sapling upon which a lone pidgey perched. It may not have been a bug pokemon, but a pidgey would be a great addition to her team! She could already see herself directing a glorious pidgeot in a magnificent air battle against some other flying pokemon, perhaps a fearow.

Shiri dug her hand into her pocket and pulled Pippa’s pokeball from it. By weight alone, she could figure which pokemon was which – Pippa weighed just a little more than Briony.

She sent Pippa out, facing the pidgey that was cleaning its feathers in the tree. It looked at Pippa, then Shiri. Scared it would fly away, Shiri commanded Pippa to use a Scratch attack.

Pippa extended her claws and ran, jumping up to an incredible height and landing a blow on the pidgey’s left wing. With a tiny, almost pathetic screech, it fell the short distance to the ground. It scrambled to its feet and twitched its damaged wing, pecking at it as though it could peck away the damage and sting.

Shiri saw that the pidgey, who hadn’t even been focused in the battle in the first place, certainly wasn’t paying much mind to her or Pippa anymore. She pulled out a fresh pokeball from her left pocket – her right pocket being the one that held her pokemon – and enlarged it. She threw the pokeball at the pidgey, watched as it disappeared into the pokeball and held her breath as the pokeball trembled.

When the pokeball ceased to tremble and Shiri inhaled again, she smelled the scent of cigarettes again, this time stronger. She picked up the pokeball with her new pidgey, looking all around her. Pippa had smelled the scent as well, and she, too, was looking around, the flame on her tail dancing like it never had before.

Shiri thought she saw a glimpse of something red in the corner of her eye, but as she turned to get a better look, nothing was there.

Trainers come through here all the time, she told herself, and they aren’t above smoking. It could just be an older trainer passing through. But then why had she smelled the scent twice already, and why was she feeling so afraid all of a sudden?

[Pokemaster]

THESE CHAPTERS ARE AMAZING!! I love how Shiri catches Briony, but what is she going to name Pidgey. But I love that, though Shiri's father wanting to take her ONLY Pokemon, Shiri now has more than one Pokemon. I can't wait to read more.

[Alexi8945]

Ah, yes, the pidgey. Tee hee, that bird will have a very awesome name, just watch. And her dad...oy. Again, I say: oy.

[Shiny Espeon]

Oh wow. Two Pokemon in one morning? Go Shiri! xD

You seem to never fail to describe your story well. The battle between the Nidoran was normal, but you described it so well that it was fun to read. I especially liked the description of Shiri's breakfast. That was funny in my eyes.

Must. know. what. happens. next.

[Alexi8945]

:D She'll catch many more, don't worry. She won't be like Ash, who barely catches any.

I was hungry when I described her breakfast. XD Can ya tell? XDXD

Wouldn't you like to know? XP

[Shiny Espeon]

XPP

The muffins were heavenly, and Shiri could guess they were hand-made, not mass-purchased bundles of far-too-sweet pastries that most hotels would set out. The two bowls of cereal Shiri ate wasn’t too bad either, and the milk tasted very fresh, though she hadn’t seen, nor expected a miltank farm in Viridian City. Perhaps whoever made the muffins had their own miltank, too.

After gulping down a glass of amazingly fresh tamato berry juice,

Take me to that Pokemon Center for breakfast!

Oh, and yes, we love reading fanfictions. As long as there interesting, I'll read 'em.

[Alexi8945]

Chapter 5

The scent of tobacco quickly dissipated, but Shiri was not put at ease. Still, with Pippa at her side, she trudged on through the thick foliage of the forest floor, looking all around for anything, whether it be a pokemon, a human or something else.

All around her, Shiri could still hear the buzzing of bug pokemon, but no where could she see them. She thought she may have been imagining the buzz, but every once in a while, she would see a glimpse of yellow, and after the initial swell of panic passed, she realized it was not a malicious human, but merely a beedrill going about its business.

After about an hour, Shiri stopped in a small clearing, suddenly remembering her new pidgey. The scare she had gotten from the scent of cigarettes had caused her to forget – the pidgey was still hurt.

She released the tiny bird pokemon, as Dexter had called it, and sat down by it, Pippa joining her. The pidgey, which looked smaller than other pidgeys Shiri had seen around Pallet, was trying to peck at the dried blood on its feathers. She extracted a potion from her pack and sprayed the clear liquid onto the wound, watching as it magically restored the pidgey’s wing to full working order.

The pidgey cooed in appreciation, but seemed to regard Shiri with a look of distrust. She extended her arm to it, letting the pidgey get used to her scent. Pippa approached the bird pokemon and growled, but it wasn’t a threatening growl. It was the same kind of growl Pippa had emitted when she was talking to Briony.

The pidgey cooed and growled back. After a few moments of this exchange, the pidgey finally seemed satisfied. It flew onto Shiri’s shoulder, cleaning its chest feathers. Shiri smiled and laughed a little.

“I guess you’re the Welcome Wagon, Pippa,” Shiri said to her charmander, who responded with a quick, “Char!” which seemed to Shiri to be a full “Yes!”

Shiri carefully ran her finger down the pidgey’s small back. She extracted her pokedex from her pack and quickly scanned the pidgey, not to learn that it was, indeed, a tiny bird pokemon, but to learn its gender.

The pidgey was a male, and knew Tackle, Sand Attack and Gust. Shiri thought about a good name for her newest teammate, and while she thought about it, she released Briony.

Briony stretched her short, stubby legs and ran in a circle, getting out some built-up energy. She then looked at the pidgey perched on Shiri’s shoulder and growled lowly, this growl not the welcoming pitch Pippa had used before. Pippa sat down beside Briony and growled to her, talking. Shiri watched them, amazed at how efficiently they could communicate. They seemed to be better at it than most humans.

At last, Shiri had come up with a nickname, Satva, after a character she had heard of in a story her mother used to tell her when she was younger. Satva was a magnificent creature who could defeat any beast that dared challenge him, yet his adventures had caused him to get hurt a lot, and as a result, he had a lot of scars that made him ugly. He also had wings that made him look angelic – from the back. The pidgey seemed content with his given name, cooing softly.

“Okay,” Shiri said, digging the three pokeballs from her pocket. “It’s time we continued. I really don’t want to spend the night in this forest.” She returned all three of her pokemon, slipping the minimized pokeballs into her right pocket and patted them gently. She then stood, slinging her pack over her shoulder and continued.

It wasn’t long before she smelled another scent once again, but this time it was not the aromatic scent of tobacco and cancer-afflicting chemicals. This smelled rancid, putrid, like spoiled meat and rotting eggs mixed with the perfume of stunky. The scent brought tears to Shiri’s eyes, and she had to breathe through her nose just to get oxygen into her body.

She heard voices ahead, though she couldn’t make out any words. As she approached the origin of the voices, she realized that the smell was getting worse from the quick breaths she took from her nose instead of her mouth.

Before she could see him, Shiri heard Simon’s voice. As she approached, she could see he was engaged in a pokemon battle against two adults, both of them wearing black uniforms. The woman, who looked older than the man beside her, had long, light green hair that seemed to fit perfectly with the forest background. However, in her eye was a glint of malice. In front of her slithered a black snake-like pokemon Shiri hadn’t seen before. It was certainly longer than its trainer was tall, and had huge fangs that hung out of its large mouth.

The man beside her was certainly taller than his female partner, even taller than Simon. His hair, which was black and kept very short, was slick with what had to be sweat unless he had been doused by a water pokemon previously. In front of him was a pokemon that had to have been the cause if the retched stink: a koffing. It was giving off dark green fumes that looked toxic. However, neither Simon nor the older trainers seemed affected by the smell.

Shiri crouched in some thick underbrush and watched as Simon commanded his houndour to use Flamethrower on the koffing. The little puppy pokemon let out a very impressive fire attack, the heat coming off it in waves that hit Shiri with a full force and made beads of sweat collect on her forehead and back. The koffing could never have moved quick enough to dodge that attack, despite its master yelling at it to do so. The koffing was caught in the fiery fury, swallowed by the swirling orange flames and it almost seemed to explode.

As the unconscious form of the koffing floated lightly to the ground, its master cursed loudly and recalled it. He swapped pokeballs quickly, throwing the pokeball onto the field, the ball opening to reveal another snake pokemon, ekans. Both it and the bigger, dark snake pokemon opened their mouths as their masters commanded them to use Poison Sting, and dozens of tiny little needles surged toward the houndour.

“Dodge, Houndour!” Simon exclaimed, but it was to no use. The little puppy pokemon would have been hit regardless, being out-numbered in the battle, and was hit several times in the face and chest by the tiny needles. Even from where Shiri squatted, she could see some purple gooey substance was covering the tips of the needles, and that substance was now in the houndour’s systems.

The puppy let out a high-pitched cry of pain and stumbled to the left, then to the right. The woman cackled and the man smirked, both obviously amused by the houndour’s pain. Simon’s whole body tensed up visibly as he watched his pokemon struggle to stay on its legs.

Shiri could stand it no more.

She sprung up from her hiding place and ran to Simon’s side, digging into her pocket and sending pokemon she felt; that pokemon was Satva. The pidgey landed on the ground easily, facing the two snake pokemon. Beside her, Simon groaned, either worried for his houndour or exasperated with Shiri.

The woman laughed again. “Well, it seems the boy has a girlfriend after all,” she said in a singsong voice. “Seviper, teach her a lesson in meddling. Use Wrap!” The bigger snake, called seviper, surged forward, obviously meaning to wrap its large body around the tiny pidgey.

“Look out, Satva! Fly up and use Gust!” Satva did as he was told and flew up, flapping its small wings and creating a small gust of wind that disturbed much of the loose leaf little on the ground. Quickly, a small tornado formed in front of Satva and he gave his wings one last, large flap, sending the tornado right into the seviper’s face.

The black snake was sent back a few inches, but was barely scratched by the wind. Beside her, Simon had knelt down beside his houndour and was injecting a pink liquid into the houndour’s body.

“Ekans,” the man said smoothly, not disturbed at all by Satva’s attack. “Your turn, use Constrict!” This time, the smaller snake pokemon surged forward and sprang up, wrapping its smaller body around Satva and squeezing.

“Hang on, Satva!” Shiri called, watching in despair as Satva tried to struggle against the stronger ekans. Shiri dug into her pocket, finding Pippa’s pokeball quickly and sent her out. “Pippa!” Shiri called to her charmander. “Use Scratch! Help Satva!”

Pippa jumped up, slashing her extended claws into the ekans’ small body. Three deep slash marks appeared on the snake’s purple flesh, and it let go of Satva quickly. Able to move and breathe again, Satva flew over to Shiri and landed on her shoulder, too weak to fight any longer.

“Houndour,” Simon said suddenly, causing Shiri to glance at him. “Use Flamethrower, try to hit both pokemon!” The puppy pokemon, now looking much better and completely unscathed, ran up beside Pippa and let out another impressive Flamethrower attack, so impressive, Pippa stepped back a few paces.

The flurry engulfed both pokemon, just as Simon had said. The ekans went still quickly, and while the seviper tried to fight and flee the flames, it, too, soon fell to the powerful fire attack.

[Alexi8945]

The woman cursed, returned her seviper and cursed again. The man said nothing, simply recalling his ekans.

“You brats!” the woman hissed, venom in her voice that made Shiri think she may have adopted it from her seviper. “You won’t get away with this!” She reached for another pokeball on her belt, but the man stopped her.

“Jez, we shouldn’t waste our time with these punks,” he said coolly. The woman, called Jez, just stared at him.

She reached for another pokeball on her belt, but the man stopped her.

“We can’t just let them do this to us!” she exclaimed, stamping her booted foot on the ground to make her point.

“We have to get back,” the man answered, not phased by the woman’s temper. He then turned on his heel and started walking away. The woman, although thoroughly angry, followed.

“Hey!” Shiri exclaimed, about to run after them, but Simon grabbed her forearm.

“Don’t,” he said, his grip so strong, Shiri really didn’t have a choice. She looked at him, her own anger flaring in her eyes.

“You’re just going to let them get away?” she asked, her voice rising. “After what they did to your houndour? They ganged up on you!”

“You shouldn’t have butted in,” Simon said coldly, releasing his grip. He recalled his houndour, slipping the minimized pokeball back into the pocket of his jacket.

“You didn’t seem to be doing well by yourself,” Shiri said plainly. Pippa walked over to Simon’s feet and sniffed him curiously.

“It wasn’t any of your business!” he exclaimed, though his voice didn’t rise much.

“You could at least thank me for giving you time to treat your pokemon!” Shiri retorted, her hands balling into fists.

“Whatever,” Simon muttered and walked away, digging his hands into the pockets of his very baggy jeans. Shiri let him, too angry to bother with him any longer. She looked at Pippa, then Satva.

“Are you two okay?” Shiri asked, mostly to Satva. The pidgey flapped his wings magnificently and cooed, letting out small cries of, “Pidge, pidgey!” as if to tell her he was fine. Shiri smiled and opened her arms to Pippa, who jumped up into her embrace. Feeling much better after that, she recalled her pokemon and ran after Simon.

“Simon!” Shiri called, though he ignored her and kept walking. She caught up to him, and noticed he was still tense and a small vein had popped out on his forehead.

“What do you want?” Simon asked, his voice icy. Still, he didn’t look at her.

“I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay,” Shiri replied, quite honestly. She frowned when he muttered that he was fine and wanted her to leave him alone. “Can’t you even fake being grateful?”

“And can’t you just listen?” he asked, his voice rising now. He finally looked at her, glared more like, and stopped in his tracks. She stopped with him, holding his gaze, glaring back. “I didn’t even need your help. Houndour was the only pokemon I had used in that battle, and he had defeated their other four pokemon. Besides, I do have other pokemon.” Shiri’s glare melted as she realized that she had leaped before she looked.

Of course Simon had other pokemon. Why hadn’t Shiri thought of that? Suddenly, Shiri felt her anger fade away into guilt…which then angered her more. Simon was trying to make her feel guilty!

“Look, I didn’t know that, okay?” she said, glaring at him once again. “From the look on your face at the time, I thought you had been in a tight situation, and I just tried to help! I was paying you back for helping me to Viridian City yesterday!”

This time, it was Simon’s glare that faded. “Oh,” was all he said, then he continued to walk. Shiri, feeling like a jigglypuff whose audience fell asleep, ran after him.

“That’s all you have to say?!” she yelled more than asked. Simon glanced at her and shrugged one shoulder. “You could at least thank me!”

Simon stopped so suddenly, Shiri had walked a few paces in front of him and had to turn to look at him. He suddenly bowed very deeply and said in a great, booming voice, “Thank you, good lady, for saving my hide in that unfair battle! We are now even as far as favours go, and I would greatly appreciate it if you were to leave me alone now!”

Shiri laughed despite her anger, and she felt it all fade away. She couldn’t help it; the fact he had said that so seriously just made her crack up.

She looked at him, at first expecting to be insulted that she had laughed at his oh-so-selfless act of thanking her, but she caught him smiling.

What a concept.

[Pokemaster]

Oh... It's getting so much better!!! I can't wait for the future chapters!!!

[Alexi8945]

Tee hee. I think you'll like Simon; he's the strangest character I've ever created. :D

[Shiny Espeon]

I would really like to see how the relationship between Simon and Shiri will advance.

Anyway, the two chapters were great. I found myself interested in the second one because of the action between the two good guys and the two bad guys. The drama with Shiri and Simon was great, and Simon ended the chapter with a cute little bow. Good chapters.

This smelled rancid, putrid, like spoiled meat and rotting eggs mixed with the perfume of stunky.

That was a descriptive description. Hehe.

[Alexi8945]

Always good to have descriptive description. XP

BTW, I love your stantler banner. 'Tis awesome!

[Shiny Espeon]

Yep, that's definitely true. Make the fanfiction into an HD movie instead of painting it white, you know what I mean? XD

Aww, thankies. ^^

[Alexi8945]

HD DvD or Blu-Ray? XP

[Shiny Espeon]

Um...since I don't know what Blu-Ray is, both of them mixed together! xD

[Alexi8945]

XDXD Blu-Ray is just HD DvD's rival. XP

Anywho, here's the next chapter!

Chapter 6

“You want to what?” Simon asked, hardly able to believe her request.

“I said I want to stick with you until we get out of the forest,” Shiri said for the second time. “I got turned around, thanks to you.” She took out her map and looked at it. “And this doesn’t seem to help.” She heard Simon sigh and glared at him over the top of her useless map.

“I prefer to be alone,” he said coolly, looking at a tree, almost as if Shiri were unworthy of his gaze.

“It’s not like I’m gonna hang around you for the rest of your life!” Shiri exclaimed, her impatience coming through her voice. He turned his gaze to her, his blue eyes looking darker and very intense, as if they could drill through her and rip out her soul if he so chose to do so. It was such a chilling look that Shiri looked at her map just to stop herself from shivering visibly.

Simon watched her as she stared at her map, not really looking at it, but just staring at some speck. She seemed to be afraid of him now. He smirked minimally, and then turned his gaze back to the tree he had been staring at previously.

“Fine,” he muttered. Shiri looked at him again, almost relieved that he wasn’t looking at her. What was wrong with her? Did she imagine that look? Or was it him? He looked at her again, but his eyes didn’t hold that look. In fact, they seemed normal. He seemed normal.

“What?” Shiri asked when she noticed he was looking at her with impatience.

“I said I’ll let you come with me,” he said, almost yelling. “Pay attention!”

“Sorry!” Shiri yelled back, her hands clenching into fists once again. “Maybe you could be less rude!” Instead of yelling something back, like Shiri almost expected he would do, he just shook his head and began walking.

“Hurry up,” he muttered over his shoulder, digging his hands into his pockets. Shiri sighed and followed, thinking that this would be about as pleasant as spending the night in a beedrill hive.

Simon was quiet as he walked, his gaze never leaving the road ahead of them. Shiri, however, was looking all around her, wherever there might be a sound, wanting so much to catch a bug pokemon of her own. She kept thinking of all the bug pokemon her classmates had: volbeat, beautifly, paras, surskit, even nincada! She had seen pictures of beautiful bug pokemon, like venomoth and butterfree. She wanted them so bad, and when she saw an innocent and cute little weedle crawling on the trunk of tree, munching on some low-growing leaves, Shiri stopped so suddenly that Simon didn’t notice at first.

When he looked back at her, Shiri already had her charmander out and was looking directly at the weedle like it was the rarest pokemon in the world. Simon sighed some, but realized that he was the same way when he had been a rookie trainer. He kept his mouth shut, his impatience in check and simply watched the girl who seemed to follow him everywhere he went.

“Pippa, use Scratch!” Shiri commanded, and the charmander jumped into action, extending her claws and running towards the weedle.

The little yellow bug pokemon took one look at Pippa as she charged and tried to scurry up the tree as fast as its eight suction cup-like legs could carry it. However, it wasn’t fast enough, and Pippa was able to jump up and land a hard Scratch attack on the tiny little larva pokemon.

The weedle fell from the tree and landed in the soft grass. It looked at Pippa, who was running towards it as Shiri commanded a Tail Whip attack. This time, the weedle did not try to flee. Instead, it spit some long, sticky string out of the small horn on its head. The string stuck to Pippa’s skin, her feet, and the ground, and Pippa fell, her Tail Whip attack not even executed.

Shiri gasped, but the charmander was not spent yet. After futilely trying to break out of the sticky string, Pippa swung her flaming tail around, the fire burning the string to ashes and freeing Pippa. She sprung up and ran after the fleeing weedle as it tried to scurry up another tree. Swinging her tail around, Pippa fulfilled her commandment to use a Tail Whip attack.

The flame on Pippa’s tail singed the weedle’s small back, and it fell back to the ground. Shiri took an empty pokeball from her left pocket, enlarged the sphere and threw it at the weedle. Encased in the ball, the weedle tried to free itself, but it was just too week. Between getting scratched, knocked out a tree twice and getting singed, the weedle was spent, and it stopped trying to break from the ball. The red and white ball stopped shaking, the button in the middle white once again.

Shiri cheered like she had just caught Arceus. She picked up the pokeball, jumping up and down in happiness. Pippa joined her in her celebration, the flame on her tail dancing along with her body. Simon just shook his head. Even he wasn’t ever that excited about catching a weedle when he started out. But Shiri seemed absolutely thrilled at having such a weak pokemon.

Shiri opened her arms to Pippa, and the charmander jumped up into the hug. Shiri laughed at Pippa licked her cheeks, crying happily, “Char! Charmander! Char char!”

Once the celebration had passed, and Shiri calmed down, she released the weedle from its circular holdings. It looked up at Shiri, curling up tightly in an attempt to hide. Shiri sat down by the weakened bug pokemon and took a potion from her pack. She carefully pet the weedle, trying to coax it out of its protective form.

“Come on, buddy,” Shiri said softly, almost cooingly. “I won’t hurt you; I want to help you.” The weedle looked up at its new master, and slowly it uncurled its small body. Shiri smiled and sprayed the potion on the weedle’s wounds. The weedle seemed to cringe at the initial sting, but was soon crying happily when its wounds healed.

Shiri giggled as the weedle crawled around quickly, as though it was experiencing the adrenaline rush Shiri had just a few moments ago. Pippa ran over to her new teammate, and began doing what she had twice before: she spoke to the little larva pokemon, welcoming it and telling it things that Shiri thought Pippa had deemed important, maybe even apologizing for hurting it. Shiri slipped her pokedex from her pack and scanned the weedle. “Let’s see what attacks you know,” Shiri said as the data appeared on the pokedex screen.

“Poison Sting and String Shot,” Simon said before Shiri had a chance to read. She looked up at Simon, and she saw him looking at the new weedle and Pippa. “Everyone knows that Weedle only ever knows and learns Poison Sting and String Shot. Caterpie’s the same way, except it has Tackle instead of Poison Sting.”

“I don’t suppose you can tell its gender from just looking at it, could you?” Shiri asked, more teasingly. Simon just looked at her like she was crazy.

“Not with a weedle,” he said. “That’s impossible to do without a pokedex.” Shiri giggled at him.

“I wasn’t serious,” she said, looking at her pokedex. Sure enough, the weedle knew Poison Sting and String Shot. It was also male. She thought as she watched the weedle crawl around Pippa, playing. “What’s a good name for a weedle?” she asked, looking at Simon. He simply shrugged and looked away, crossing his arms across his chest. “I know!” Shiri said, looking back at the weedle. “I’ll call you Pike.”

“Pike?” Simon asked, looking back at her. “Where did that come from?”

“A good friend I had in school had the last name of Pike,” Shiri answered. “He had all sorts of bug pokemon, pokemon not from here because he had moved from Hoenn. He had such cool pokemon, like surkits and nincadas and even a dustox!” She picked Pike up, the weedle crying happily, in favour of the nickname. He crawled over her head and down her neck, and Shiri could feel his sticky feet through her shirt. She giggled at the tickling feeling.

“So you like bug pokemon, huh?” Simon asked, pulling a pokeball from his belt. He enlarged it and released the pokemon that had been waiting inside. It flew up, crying happily to get out into the fresh air. It saw Shiri, landed and walked to her.

It must have been the same height as Shiri, as she had to look up at it. A huge, thick horn that was a lighter blue than its cobalt body rose up, almost a foot long and extending its height to close to six feet, and to the sides of its large horn were two antennae. Two claws on each hand flexed, as if to get rid of a cramp.

“What is that?” Shiri asked, mesmerized by the giant beetle-like pokemon in front of her. She touched one of its claws, and it seemed to enjoy the touch.

[Alexi8945]

“A heracross,” Simon answered. “I caught it in the Johto Region a few years back.” He extracted a large blue cup of thick amber liquid from his pack and peeled the lid off it. The huge heracross smelled the sweet scent of the tree sap that emerged from the cup. It flew up and made a bee-line for Simon, who surrendered the cup to his hungry pokemon. The heracross’ long tongue rolled out of its small mouth and licked up the sweet sap.

“It’s so cute!” Shiri cooed, hugging her own weedle who had crawled into her lap. Pike seemed indifferent to the attention, focusing more on some tasty-looking leaves that hung from a low-growing branch a few feet away.

Simon saw this, looked at his watch and sat down, taking the pokeballs off of his belt. “Your pokemon look hungry,” Simon said as, one-by-one, he released his pokemon. Shiri simply stared at the creatures that emerged from the balls, once again mesmerized.

Among the houndour and heracross, three other amazing pokemon stretched and flexed cried out happily to be stretching their limbs. One was a giant pelican-type bird that had white and blue feathers. It looked too big for its small yet thick wings, but it flew up and around, expelling built-up energy, before landing on a rock. Another was a big brown shrew creature with long claws that extended from its short arms. Along its back were plates that rattled as the pokemon shook its body as a wet dog might. Beside it, a yellow pokemon stood, almost as tall as its master. Along its body were black stripes that were shaped like lighting bolts. It had large, muscular arms that it flexed like it was showing off. Two yellow antennae rose from its head, separated some long fur that stuck up like a horn.

Simon pulled various types of pokemon food from his pack, each kept in different colour-coded cups or containers, each colour matching each pokemon’s main colour. The boy was organized, Shiri thought as he fed his pokemon. In her lap, Pike was wigging out of her arms, his gaze on the leaves that shimmered in what little sunlight hit them.

Shiri looked down at Pike, then his target snack. She let him go, watching as she scrambled up the short trunk of the tree, then onto the thinner branch. He munched happily on the sweet leaves, his chewing audible.

Shiri giggled and released her other two pokemon. Pippa watched her as Briony and Satva stretched. Shiri pulled out some extra muffins she had taken with her from the pokemon centre in Viridian City. She split them amongst her pokemon and munched on a blueberry muffin herself, watching as Simon ate an apple.

Shiri scooted over to sit by him, offering part of her muffin, but he declined it. “I don’t like sweet things,” he muttered, taking a large bite from his apple.

“Apples are sweet,” Shiri said simply, feeling his glare.

“I meant sugary-sweet,” he said, louder now. “You know what I mean.” Shiri chuckled at him.

“I’m just messing with you,” Shiri said, touching his arm. He felt tense and snapped his arm away, surprising Shiri.

“Please don’t touch me,” he said clearly, almost making sure that there was no way she could have misheard.

“Sorry,” she said. “Why don’t you like being touched?” She immediately regretted asking when he looked at her, his eyes looking dark again.

“I just don’t like it,” he said coldly.

A silence passed, the two eating quietly. Simon had eaten the entire apple, even chewed on the seeds. He was now biting into a second apple while Shiri had finished her muffin.

“What are all your pokemon?” Shiri asked, watching all his pokemon eat and growl at each other.

He looked over at his pokemon, smiling a little to himself, though Shiri was too preoccupied by said pokemon to have seen that rarity. He pointed to his bird pokemon. “That’s a pelipper,” he said. “And that’s electabuzz.” He pointed to the yellow pokemon with the muscular arms.

“And that one?” Shiri asked, pointing to the brown shrew-like creature.

“Sandslash,” Simon answered quickly, wiping his mouth on his jacket sleeve.

He took one last bit of the half-finished apple, then threw it over his shoulder. Shiri watched it sail through the air, wondering why someone like Simon, who looked like he’s never waste a thing, would only finish half and apple, until she realized the apple had never hit the ground.

It had been caught by a dark purple claw, the rest of the body otherwise covered in the shadows of the trees. Shiri looked hard at where she saw the claw pull the apple in, and she saw two bright gleams. She gasped and jumped some, causing Simon to look at her.

“What is it?” he asked, not sounding too concerned.

“There’s something in those trees,” Shiri said, backing up behind Simon as though he would protect her from whatever unknown creature might break from the trees. She was reminded of the huge pokemon she had seen the previous day and shuddered.

Simon just gave her a strange look like she was crazy, then looked into the shadows, the same gleam still there.

Suddenly, he chuckled. It sounded so strange from someone as serious as Simon. “That’s my sableye,” he explained, turning to Shiri.

“Your sableye?” Shiri asked, puzzled. “What’s a sableye?” Simon whistled like he was calling a dog, and out of the shadows emerged a small purple gremlin-like creature. Its eyes gleamed brightly in the dim sunlight, looking like diamonds instead of normal eyeballs. Its hands were hard to discern from the rest of its body, its fingers looking to be only claws. Across its face spread a creepy grin as it ran – nearly gliding – over to Simon. It looked at Shiri, a sort of curiosity glimmering in its jeweled eyes. It extended one clawed hand and poked her nose, thought its claws didn’t feel sharp.

“It took me two weeks to find this one,” Simon said, watching the sableye as it scampered off to play with its teammates. “They’re very rare.”

“Where did you get it?” Shiri asked, watching as Pippa curiously approached the gremlin, attempting to make some kind of contact.

“The Hoenn Region,” Simon answered, laying back in the soft grass in which they sat.

“You’ve been there too?” Shiri asked, amazed. “Where haven’t you been?”

“Orre,” Simon said simply, closing his eyes. “I just returned from the Sinnoh Region about two weeks ago. If I can raise the money, I’ll go to the Orre Region. The desert seems like a nice place.”

Shiri had decided already that Simon was strange, but how strange, she was just finding out. “What’re the other regions like?” Shiri asked as she watched the sableye run around with Pippa and Briony. Satva had flown over and looked to be talking with Simon’s pelipper and looked to be talking to it. Pike had eaten his fill and was crawling down the tree trunk.

“Different pokemon,” Simon said, rubbing at the corners of his eyes with one hand. “Sinnoh and Hoenn are a lot bigger than Kanto.”

“Do you have any Sinnoh pokemon?” Shiri asked, laying down by him.

“Yes,” Simon said, scooting back a little to give her room. “I don’t carry them with me, though.”

They were quiet after that, Shiri thinking about all the pokemon there were in the world. She had heard that they had found hundred upon hundreds of pokemon: ones that could fly, swim, blend in with the forest or desert, ones that were extinct but can be resurrected if their DNA could be found in fossils. Shiri wanted all of them, but she knew that could never be a realistic goal. It would take her more than a lifetime to catch all of those pokemon. Instead, she would work on all the pokemon she could catch, and she would train them to be so strong, she could never lose to anyone, not a single gym leader or trainer or those mysterious adults Simon had been fighting.

And, of course, she could not lose to Simon himself.

[Shiny Espeon]

Oooh, very interesting chapters! I love the way Simon and Shiri are so different. That makes it very funny and intruiging to read. I mean, there's Simon with all his awesome Pokemon (great descriptions) and then there's Shiri with her cute Pokemon. lol I would really like to see their comical relationship advance.

He turned his gaze to her, his blue eyes looking darker and very intense, as if they could drill through her and rip out her soul if he so chose to do so. It was such a chilling look that Shiri looked at her map just to stop herself from shivering visibly.


That's my favorite simile of the chapter. It really gave me an image.

NEXT Chapters pwease!

[Alexi8945]

XP Simon's so serious and Shiri is so silly, it just calls for comedy!

But, as it is Christmas tomorrow, the next chapter won't be up or a while. I have a friend coming over for a few days, so I won't be able to get around to writing until New Years Eve, sorry, but look out for it then! Thanks for reading! ^_^

[Shiny Espeon]

Your welcome. Oh, and update your story whenever you feel. We'll be waiting. ^^

[Alexi8945]

Well, at last, the next chapter to my fic o' doom. Sorry it took so long.

Chapter 7

He lit up another cigarette, this one the third in less than twenty minutes. The taste of the tobacco calmed him, and the smell let him relax despite his grating nerves. He took a deep puff and slowly expelled the white smoke, watching it as it floated away like a formless ghost. Almost as if his past were coming to haunt him.

He felt the ultra ball in the deep pocket on his trousers. Sure enough, he had managed to catch that **** thing, and now he could stop worrying. It couldn’t break out of such a strong ball. Why was he still feeling nervous? The problem was over.

AJ took another deep puff, feeling the thick smoke fill his lungs. He held it for a moment, then blew it out, watching again as the ghost floated above his head and vanished into the thick trees. Running a hand through his spiky green hair, he dropped the cigarette butt, already spent after only three minutes.

He looked around, checked his watching, felt the ultra ball, then looked around once more. If anyone were watching him, they might wonder what a thirty-something-year-old guy would be doing in the middle of a forest that only kids wandered through, training their weak pokemon, trying to get them to strengthen.

Well, he had pokemon too. But today, he wasn’t training. He was waiting. Waiting impatiently. That guy should be here by now. He said he’d meet AJ at one-thirty, sharp. It was now one-forty-two. AJ hated being kept waiting. If that guy didn’t show by one-fifty, AJ would get out as fast as he could. He hated forests. All the trees. They looked like they were closing in on him.

He heard a twig snap to his left. Instinctively, his hand shot to the pokeball on his belt. Someone was close. Hopefully it was that guy – what was his name? – so that he could take the **** pokemon and leave AJ alone.

Out of the trees emerged a man in his mid-forties looking like a little girl lost in the woods. Covering his eyes were a pair of red-tinted sunglasses, and why that guy would need sunglasses in a dim forest like the Viridian was beyond AJ.

“The trees sure are tall here,” the man stated. It was a code. This was the guy AJ had been waiting for.

“Ain’t tall enough to keep the pests out,” AJ said in response, a statement he had been told to say. The man lifted his glasses, revealing a pair of blood-shot lavender eyes.

“You have what I need,” the man said, looking directly at AJ. AJ crossed his arms over his chest in response, not making any moves to the pocket which held the ultra ball.

“An’ ya have what I want,” AJ said coolly, acting as if he had done this thousands of times previous, which was not far from the truth.

The man scratched at his messy lime-green hair with gloved fingers. “Then give me what I need and I’ll give you what you want.” Anyone eavesdropping would be suspicious by now, and as AJ stretched his arms over his head nonchalantly, he glanced around to see if he could catch anyone who might have hidden themselves. Of course, if they were good at hiding, AJ wouldn’t be able to see them.

“Ya think I’m stupid?” AJ asked quietly, willing his deep voice to not carry through the trees. “Y’all hand over my money, then ya get yer prize.” The man in front of him sighed in annoyance, as if he were facing a small and stubborn child.

Digging in the pockets of his bright orange vest, a garment that would certainly attract attention in the never-ending green of the Viridian Forest, he pulled out a thick wad of bills. AJ outstretched his left hand, his right hand falling near his belt and the pokeball it held. He snatched the wad from the other man’s gloved hand.

Leafing through it quickly, noting that the money looked real and was the correct amount, AJ quickly pocketed his earnings and slipped his hand into his other pocket, extracting the ultra ball. The bright yellow of the ball seemed to glow despite the forest’s dimness.

The other man snatched the ball just as AJ had snatched his money.

“This the one we asked for?” The lavender eyes scrutinized AJ untrustingly.

“Course it is,” AJ muttered. “Them balls’re expensive. Wouldn’t waste it on a pidgey.” He extracted the nearly-empty pack of cigarettes from the pocket that also held his money.

“It would be bad for your health if it really were a **** pidgey,” the man said, his gaze turning to the yellow ball in his hand. He replaced his red glasses back over his eyes and without another word, walked off into the forest.

AJ wondered if the guy would make it out before sunset. Lighting up his fourth cigarette, he checked his watch. It was nearly two o’clock. He told his wife he’d call her by two. He slipped his cell phone out of his back pocket and dialed the familiar digits. He often had to leave home for days at a time due to his job, a job that he had to lie to his pretty wife about.

The silly little girl didn’t know what he did. She thought he was a delivery man.

“Hello?” the cute voice asked in his ear. He blew out the smoke in his lungs.

“Hey, babe,” he greeted cheerfully. “It’s me.”

“Oh, AJ, you never fail to call exactly when you say,” she said. He could hear music in the background, mainly electric guitar. He knew his stepson, Ashton, was probably blaring his death metal music once again.

“Tell that boy to turn that **** down,” AJ muttered into the phone.

“What did you say dear?” she asked. “I can barely hear you. Are you in a tunnel or something?” ****! Of course, being in a forest, he’d get horrible service.

“Yes,” was all AJ said.

“You must be busy,” his dear wife said softly. “I miss you.”

“I miss ya too, babe,” AJ said, a smile on his lips. Somehow, that girl always managed to bring a smile to his lips, even in his ****tiest of moods. “I’m getting ****ty service in here. I’ll have ta call ya back.”

“I understand,” she said, her voice broken by the bad service.

“Hey, babe, I’ll call ya back at three o’clock, ‘kay?” He heard a crunch, but it didn’t register in his mind. He was too distracted at the thought of his wife – and their bedroom – to take notice of his surroundings.

“That’s fine, dear,” she answered. “I love you, AJ.”

“I love ya too, Misty.”

He hung up.

[Alexi8945]

-

Simon sighed dramatically at Shiri’s antics. He had just gotten relaxed when Shiri sprung up like her pants were on fire, claiming she had smelled cigarette smoke for the third time that day. Now she was looking between trees and under bushes to see if anyone was following them.

He didn’t take her for a paranoid skizo, but she sure seemed to be acting like one at that moment. At her feet, her charmander was helping her check every bush and rock as if they were being followed by the Mafia of Orre or something.

“Shiri, I didn’t smell anything,” Simon said with another sigh. After claming for the umpteenth time that she had, and she was sure of it, Simon gave up and began to recall all his pokemon. “So what if you smelled cigarette smoke?” Simon asked, trying another attempt to get Shiri to calm down. “Plenty of people smoke.”

“Do you?” Shiri asked, glancing at him before checking behind a tree that she had checked probably three times already.

“I do not,” Simon said, cleaning up all the containers he had pulled out for his pokemon.

“Neither do I,” Shiri said, finally calming down. She had stopped looking behind trees.

“Well, that’s one thing we have in common,” Simon said sarcastically. He heard Shiri sigh and he looked at her as he zipped up his pack.

“It just scared me, is all,” Shiri said, staring at her feet.

“Oh, I know,” Simon said, standing up. “Second-hand smoke kills.” Shiri looked up at him with a glare. He just rolled his eyes and slung his pack over his shoulder. When he looked back at her, she was still glaring. “Get over it,” he said, catching her off guard. “Cigarettes aren’t our concern right now, are they? I want to get out of this forest before sundown, if that’s okay with you.” He turned on his heal and headed north, looking at his pokenav for the time.

Shiri recalled her pokemon and ran after him. “Why can’t you be nicer?” she asked, looking directly at him. He shook his head.

“I don’t feel like it,” he muttered sarcastically.

“What kind of answer is that?” Shiri asked, shaking her head. “You’re so weird, Simon.”

“Thanks,” he said, quickening his pace. “Same to you, kid.” He saw her cheeks flush in anger out of the corner of his eye, but resisted the smile that played at his lips. He didn’t want to be amused. He always thought better when he was angry.

He thought about what he would so once he got to Pewter City. Pewter was his hometown, where his older sister lived. He had left that town seven years previous, and hadn’t returned until now. He wasn’t sure if he were going to live there or just drift on after seeing his sister.

He glanced at Shiri. She still looked peeved, but she wasn’t saying anything. She wasn’t even looking at him. At least she had shut up. He knew why she was going to Pewter City: the gym. Headed by Forrest Manning, the gym specialized in rock and ground-type pokemon. All of Shiri’s pokemon were weak to both of those types. Shiri was destined to get creamed.

Simon’s thoughts were cut short when he tripped over something. He caught himself before he fell and regained his balance. When he looked back, he saw had tripped over the outstretched foot of a man who towered over Simon.

“What where y’all goin’,” the man muttered irritably. He was smoking.

“Sorry, sir,” Simon heard Shiri say. He felt Shiri nudge him in the ribs. “Apologize, Simon,” she whispered to him.

“Maybe you shouldn’t take up so much space,” Simon said in place of an apology. The man blew smoke in Simon’s face. Suppressing the urge to cough, Simon grunted and walked on. Shiri ran after him after apologizing again to the man.

“That was rude, Simon!” Shiri exclaimed, sounding as annoyed with him as he was of the man he had tripped over.

“And that surprises you?” Simon asked rhetorically. “He was in my way.”

“You could have moved around his foot.”

“My mind wasn’t on his foot.”

She sighed again. “I’ll be glad to get to rid of you when we get to Pewter City.”

Simon felt a jab at her words. “Well, if you hate me so much, then leave me alone!” he exclaimed too loudly. He couldn’t help it; he was angry. Not at her, though. He was angry at himself.

However, Shiri didn’t know that. “Fine, Simon,” she said slowly, her voice heavy with irritation as well as annoyance. “I’ll leave you alone. For good.” She then took off into a wall of trees, and was quickly out of Simon’s sight.

[Shiny Espeon]

You have seemingly impeccable grammar, so I'd like to pick out the little things I find; however, remember that you already have an excellent grasp of grammar. ^^

The man scratched at his messy lime-green hair with gloved fingers.

In this sentence, the article "at" is not necessary.

He turned on his heal and headed north, looking at his pokenav for the time.

This is a slight spelling error. "Heal" should be "heel".

He was too distracted at the thought of his wife – and their bedroom – to take notice of his surroundings.

He didn’t take her for a paranoid skizo

I laughed out loud here. You bring good entertainment to the story.

Now that I cleared that up, let's get started onto the main course of the review. :P

I liked Chapter Seven. You bring more mystery into the story, while more questions arise into my head. Who is AJ, what Pokemon was in the ball, who the other guy was...I must know. I also enjoyed the way you bring real life, everyday events into the story. The people smoking, the lie AJ had made, the trade off between the Pokemon and the money...I love it. ^^ You also left us with a shocker at the end, a new character relationship that kinda scares me. :P

Ooooh. You bring more drama full relationships in the next section. The two seemed to be doing so well until that guy just had to get in their way. Aww. I hope they somehow get back together. Their differences are too entertaining.

Next chappy pwease. ^^

[Pokemaster]

2 mistakes I found in Chapter 6.You changed Pike from a girl to a boy.She let him go, watching as she scrambled up the short trunk of the tree
And you misspelled BITE.
He took one last bit of the half-finished appleHeh, That's all.

[Alexi8945]

Ahh! So many typos...T_T

Aw well. Here's the next chapter!

Chapter 9

Simon sighed audibly, staring off into the trees that loomed in front of him. It had been over an hour since Shiri left, and in that time, Simon had walked maybe a hundred yards.

At first, he had been angry that she would just run off foolishly like she did. He was angry at himself for acting like a jerk. Now, he felt guilty. He contemplated looking for her, but guessed he’d never find her in this impossible maze, and if he did, she’d be pissed off more at him for pursuing her.

He kicked at pebbles on the ground, highly annoyed with himself. He paced back and forth from one tree to another, debating with himself whether he should find Shiri and apologize or just let her go and forget. She may be angry with him, but he missed her.

He stopped in his tracks. He missed her? No, that was impossible. He didn’t miss her; he had just gotten used to having her near him in the short time they had spent together. To miss her would mean he would like her. He didn’t like her. She was annoying, hyper, too touchy. Too immature. He should be glad that she was gone. Now he could have a moment to think.

“She was just slowing me down,” he said aloud. “I would have been out of here long ago if she weren’t with me.” But now, she was gone, and he wasn’t getting anywhere.

He let out a growl that would have sounded more natural coming from his houndour. He looked up towards the sky, noticing the orange and pink colours invading the blue sky. The sun was setting. Of course, it was summer, and the sun set earlier.

Great, he thought. Now I’ll probably have to spend the night in this forest. He kicked a stone so hard, it hit the tree in front of him. Suddenly, dozens of kakuna dropped down from the branches, suspended in the air, connected to the branches by a thin, sticky string.

“****,” Simon muttered under his breath, knowing what was coming next. Five beedrill suddenly popped up from the bushes, their wings beating so fast that Simon could not see them. The buzzing they created seemed deafening. The drills on the beedrills’ arms began to spin at speeds that would have easily ripped through Simon’s flesh should those drills have connected. But Simon didn’t think about the damage they beedrill could do. Instead, he turned and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him

But the protective beedrill gave chase. They could fly a lot faster than Simon could run, and so he tried to weave through the trees in an attempt to lose him. He looked behind him, seeing that his tail was beedrill-less. He looked ahead and saw that three beedrill had blocked off his path.

He came to a screeching halt, then darted off to the left. He was panting heavily, looking all around him for the glints of yellow and trying to hear over his pounding heart for the tell-tale buzzing. He jumped over fallen logs and large rocks, ducked under the low-growing branches. Two beedrill grouped up in front of him. A glance behind him revealed two more at his tail. Trees lined his sides. No where to run.

He swallowed hard and kept running, then, like a baseball player sliding into home base, he slid under the two beedrill in front of them, feeling the wind their rapidly-flapping wings created and hearing the deafening buzz as he had never heard it before – so loud it was nearly maddening – and then, he was in the clear.

He ran and ran under the beedrill, now tired out, gave up the chase. He heard their buzzing slowly fade out, but he didn’t stop running until he could no longer hear a single buzz.

Panting harder than he ever had in all seventeen years of his life, he came to a halt by a small pond. He dropped to his knees in front of the clear pond and splashed water over his sweat-drenched face. His clothes stuck to him with sweat. He was hot from running so fast and so far.

He sat back and slipped his jacket and shirt off after looking around to make sure no one was around. He hated disrobing in front of people. His chest bare, his looked down to see all the scars he had gotten from his pokemon journey, a seven year-long journey that had taken him through Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh.

He never collected badges. When he first started out as a pokemon trainer, his dream was the typical one – to become the best pokemon trainer ever. However, after collecting three badges and struggling through with his pokemon, he came to realize his dream was unreachable.

He stopped challenging gyms and collecting badges, but he never stopped battling and training his pokemon. He traveled through the different regions to train and gain new experiences, but he did not challenge a single gym.

Now, as he looked down at the scars he had accumulated from all the times he had fallen over geodude and scraped his arms, or had been cut by various pokemon attacks that missed his pokemon and hit him on accident. He also looked down at a pudgy gut, framed with stretch marks.

He looked away from his ugly body and instead closed his eyes and dunked his head into the pond. He smiled at the coolness of the water and opened his eyes. He was surprised at how clear the water was. He could see the vague shapes of water pokemon swimming down near the bottom. He wondered if they were looking at him, as he couldn’t tell. He could see orange and white and guessed there were goldeen somewhere amongst the blurry jumble that the water created on his sight.

He sat up, shaking the water from his head like a dog. His wet, shaggy hair fell in his face, and he tried to push it away, but it never stayed where he wanted it to. He splashed some water onto his sweaty body, enjoying the coolness. He then laid back in the grass and watched the sky as it turned from pink to orange to purple and, finally, to blue as the sun set.

The night cooled down and soon Simon was shivering. He slipped his shirt back on and made a campfire, releasing all of his pokemon for dinner.

As he ate and watched him pokemon, Simon finally decided he would look for Shiri in the morning. If he could find her, he’d apologize. He didn’t know if she would accept it, but he’d do it, then move on to Pewter City. That was the best he could do.

-

Looking around, Shiri could come to only one conclusion: she was so lost.

Ever since she had run away from Simon, she had been walking around in circles. She was tired, upset, and hungry. It was night time now, and she could barely see her hand in front of her face. She stomped on the ground in frustration.

I should never have left Simon! she screamed in her mind. Why am I so stupid?!

She felt tears behind her eyes. With no one around to see her, she let them come, and she fell to her knees, crying out loud like a lost little girl trying to find her mommy. She just let the tears come after so many hours of holding them back. The wind swept through the trees, making her shiver and choke on her tears.

“How am I going to get out of here?” she asked aloud, knowing no one would be there to answer. Needing someone to comfort her, she let out all of her pokemon.

Pippa, instantly sensing her master’s dismay, ran to Shiri and nuzzled against her leg. Shiri hugged Pippa close, wiping at her tears. Briony wondered over and sat by Shiri, too proud to show any act of compassion, but sympathetic enough to show that she cared. Pike, too preoccupied with his incessant hunger, crawled to a bush and ate leaves. Satva flew over and landed on Shiri’s back, cooing softly.

Surrounded by her pokemon, Shiri felt better immediately better. She sniffled a little, collecting herself.

“We’ll just stay here for tonight, then look for a way out tomorrow,” Shiri said, to herself more than her pokemon. She stood up, about to slip her pack off when she saw something in the distance. Curious, she picked up Pike and walked through the trees toward a small building, her pokemon following.

Upon closer inspection, Shiri had discovered a small, run-down cabin. The windows were boarded up and there seemed to be no one inside. She tried to open the front door, found it yielding to the pressure, and stepped inside.

Shiri felt like Goldilocks as she stood inside the cabin. It was small – only appearing to have two rooms. The room she stood in had furniture – a simple couch with a small table next to it, a couple chairs here and there, some rugs laid about on the hardwood floor. In a corner of the room looked to be an old stove and fireplace.

Shiri put Pike down. Briony began sniffing around, always the cautious one. Pippa, just a curious as Shiri, ran over into the other room as Shiri followed, Satva still on her shoulder.

The other room was a bedroom with the biggest bed Shiri had ever seen. It looked like a princess’ bed, with big posters at its four corners and a dark violet canopy above it. The covers, also violet, looked very soft and comfortable. Next to the bed was a huge mirror that took up the entire left wall. Shiri sat on the bed and looked into her reflection, wondering who would need such a huge mirror.

Satva flew up onto one of the posters, surveying the room. Shiri laid back, smiling up at Satva and stretching. She was so tired. The day had just totally drained her. She slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep within minutes.

As Shiri lay sleeping in the bedroom, dead to the world, the doorknob to the front door began to turn…

[Pokemaster]

Omg!!! "shiri, Get Out!!"

[Alexi8945]

Shiri: Oh, what can happen? *shot*

[Pokemaster]

Also.. too many errors in this Chapter for me to point out.. If you want, from now on.. when I find errors I'll just correct them.

[Alexi8945]

You can do that if you like. Thanks! I'll try to be better about my typos, but...Eh.

[Shiny Espeon]

Sorry for holding you up. ^^;

Hehe, such a dramatical chapter. Simon and Shiri are so right for each other (I can FEEL it!!) and when they're seperated, bad things happen. What with Simon facing the terrible Beedrill, and Shiri being completely lost, you really do hope that they come back to each other. What's more, the two do hope to find each other. So cute. ^^ It's also good that you put in suspense at the end. Can't wait for the next chapter.

He let out a growl that would have sounded more natural coming from his houndour.

Haha! Great description! I can see that, too.

He was panting heavily, looking all around him for the glints of yellow and trying to hear over his pounding heart for the tell-tale buzzing.

Aww, poor guy. I can imagine that.

Instead, he turned and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him

You forgot the period. Oh well. Minor mistake.

As he ate and watched him pokemon,

It should be "his".

It looked like a princess’ bed,

I think there should be another s after the punctuation mark. I'm not entirely sure, though.

[Alexi8945]

Okay, because I have been lazy, I haven't updated my fic. Because I haven't updated my fic, its threa has been locked due to time laspe. Becaus of a locked thread, I have to create this new one to continue to post my fic for all to read. You can read the first nine chapters here (http://www.pokezam.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2261).

Now, to pick up where we left off, let's start with a little refreser. We saw AJ, much older, has been swept up into some less-than-virtuous business. We also see that Shiri is paranoid. She and Simon got into a huge fight and went their separate ways. Shiri appears to be in some form of danger when we last left off with her.

And now, Chapter 10.

Billy sighed as he walked into his front room. He dug his hands into his pocket, extracted five minimized pokeballs and set them on the coffee table. He slipped off his sneakers and kicked them under the table, then padded in sock feet over to the kitchen, where he made himself a simple omelette for dinner. He sunk into his overstuffed chair in the living room and ate hungrily, not having eaten since he had left the house that morning. He felt like a cigarette, but he also felt too tired to light up. It had been a long day. Plus, he had smoked all the way from his work to home. It was time to give his lungs a break.

Billy worked at the pokemon centre in Viridian. His impressive baking skills had been implemented into baking delicious pastries for the centre in the morning for hungry trainers. Although that was not his primary job there, it was certainly his favourite, as he did enjoy baking and cooking a great deal.

But all that work at the centre never failed to tire him out. Although he now had five pokemon – two he had just received that day from his father in Orre – he never had any time to train them. But they got plenty of exercise helping out at the centre, usually fetching things for the nurses.

Having finished his simple dinner, Billy got up to head for his bedroom when he saw a female nidoran emerge from it. Knowing there was no way for any pokemon to get into his cabin while he was away, he was puzzled as to how the pokemon had gotten inside.

The nidoran saw Billy and let out a small, protective growl and then ran back into the bedroom. Billy sighed and followed it, first snatching up one of his pokeballs. He was too tired to play games with random pokemon. He walked into his room and nearly jumped out of his socks in surprise, for on his bed, he found a sleeping girl with a charmander curled up by her. On his headboard sat a sleeping pidgey, and on a pillow laid a drowsing weedle. The nidoran turned around and growled, now loudly at Billy.

Billy ignored the nidoran and walked over the mysterious sleeping girl. He put a hand on her shoulder and gently shook her, muttering, “Wake up.” However, she didn’t even stir.

Feeling grumpy due to fatigue, Billy shook her harder, and she finally woke up. She yawned and stretched and when she finally opened her eyes, Billy saw the total surprise register on her face.

She screamed.

The charmander jumped awake, as well as the other two snoozing pokemon. The girl had already hopped out of bed and was backing up against the wall opposite Billy. He put a hand out calmly, trying to calm the girl. The nidoran was trying to tackle his feet and the pidgey took a dive at him. He swatted the bird pokemon away irritably.

“It’s alright,” he growled. He rubbed at his eyes, trying to dig out his exhaustion.

“Who are you?” the girl asked, a tremble in her voice.

“My name is Billy,” Billy answered. “I’m sorry to have scared you, but you were sleeping in my bed.” At his feet, the nidoran’s growl had increased in volume again, and the charmander had now joined the chorus.

“Your bed?” The girl looked around the room. She then seemed to have realized the situation, because she smacked herself in the forehead. “Of course! This must be your house.” She looked at him apologetically. “I’m so sorry. I thought it was abandoned.”

Billy shrugged and sat on the bed, pulling his feet up out of the reach of the angered nidoran and charmander. “Guess that means I have to clean more.” The girl didn’t respond, but began to recall all of her pokemon. “Hey, you can stay here tonight,” Billy suddenly said, surprising himself as much as he seemed to have surprised her.

“Really?” She looked at him disbelievingly.

“Yeah. What kind of person would I be to throw you out in the middle of the night?” Billy reached over to his nightstand and took a pack of cigarettes out of the drawer, deciding this warranted an extra smoke. He glanced at the girl, and asked while lighting up, “What’s your name?”

“Shiri,” she answered. “I’m a new trainer. I got a little lost in the forest.” Her voice was hushed. It seemed she had experienced something else in the forest, but she didn’t say anything about it and Billy didn’t press her for any information.

Taking a long drag, he said, “This cabin’s pretty out of the way. You must be lost.” He blew the smoke out in a thin line. “I can show you the way out in the morning.”

“Thank you so much, sir,” Shiri said with a cough. The smoke was bothering her.

“Call me Billy, please,” he said as he stubbed the half-smoked cigarette out in the crystal ash tray that mysteriously had come to rest on the floor. He stood up despite his body urging him not to. He wanted to sleep to bad. “You can sleep here, still.”

The smoke still seemed to bother her. Perhaps it was just the smell. “Where will you sleep?” she asked, perhaps trying to angle her way out of sleeping in a smoker’s room. However, Billy hadn’t thought of his own sleeping arrangements. He didn’t have a couch to sleep on.

“I’ll find something,” he said simply, walking towards the door. “You rest up.” He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. He sighed and leaned against a wall for a moment, trying to think through the cloud of fatigue. He could just sleep on the floor.

He walked into his living room and released the pokemon that was in the ball in his hand. His big persian stood before him, purring. Billy laid down on the rug near the fireplace, and his persian laid beside him. The big cat yawned and stretched, tired from the day’s activities. Billy laid his head on the persian’s soft, warm, white stomach and closed his eyes.

He wouldn’t get very good sleep, he knew, but he didn’t mind too much. He didn’t have to work the next morning anyway. His father had seen to that. The old man was good for a few things, even if he happened to be dead.

-

Shiri woke up to the aromatic scent of sizzling bacon. She looked around the room, remembering Billy, remembering he had let her stay in his house, his bed. She remembered how much his cigarette smoke had made her cough, and she had to open a window. The room was now cold from the night air that flowed into the room.

After getting up and closing the window, Shiri quickly changed her clothes. She wouldn’t shower here. She only agreed to sleeping in Billy’s bed because she was just so tired. But he gave her the creeps. Something about him was not quite right, although Shiri couldn’t quite tell what. She just knew that she would rather not spend several minutes wet and naked in this man’s house.

Pippa, Satva and Pike were still sound asleep. Briony, however, was wide awake and sitting by the door, as if guarding it. It seemed Briony felt the same about Billy as Shiri did. Sitting by the nidoran, Shiri smiled at her.

“He’s pretty strange,” Shiri whispered to her as if Billy were watching her every move. “His room reminds me of a little girl’s room.” She glanced at he violet canopy, giant mirror and the floral-print curtains that framed the window. A chill ran down her spine and her skin prickled. She should be grateful to Billy, though; he had let her stay in his home and was going to help her get out of the Viridian Forest. But she felt more dread than thankfulness. Perhaps he could just give her directions and she could manage on her own.

There came a soft knock on the door that surprised Shiri so much, she backed up until her back was pressed against the far wall. “Shiri?” Billy called softly from the other side. Briony, who had remained at her post, growled at the door.

Standing up, feeling foolish, Shiri walked back over to the door, told Briony to hush, and opened it. Billy stood on the other side, his hair a mess, his clothes wrinkled and he smelled curiously of bacon and cigarettes.

“Sorry if I disturbed you,” Billy said, glancing around the room as if he had been anxious to make sure she hadn’t trashed it. He then made eye-contact with her and smiled politely. “Breakfast is ready in the kitchen.” Shiri nodded, and stepped past him into the hall. Now facing him, Briony growled loudly, intimidating. She sounded more like a big, ferocious arcanine than a tiny little nidoran.

“Briony, come on,” Shiri called to her pokemon. Briony joined her master in