When I woke up, my fingers were laced in something soft and fluffy. It took me a moment to process the strange feeling. As soon as I did, my eyes flung open.
"Please don't be...!"
I jolted up, only to be greeted by a dog determined to lick my face.
"Growlithe? Ah, pleh! Fur in my mouth... What, what are you doing here?"
He barked and settled in my lap. Luxio aggressively replaced him.
As the two bickered, I pet them both and looked around. Pikachu slept in a ball on Paul's pillow, and a pile of tiny Pokémon snoozed near the sofa. However, no signs of Paul or his Eevee anywhere in the room.
"Where's Paul?"
Luxio explained that he went to grab some breakfast, and that he'd return soon.
"Wow. I didn't even notice him leave. I must've been sleeping like a rock. What time is it?" I plucked my Pokétch off the nightstand. Upon turning it on, my eyes caught sight of a new application loaded on the screen. "Huh? This wasn't here yesterday. Did it get a software update overnight?"
"Sort of."
Paul entered the room with a drink carrier in one hand and a brown bag in the other.
"I worked on it this morning while you were sleeping."
"Really?" I checked the time. "But it's barely seven o'clock. What time did you get up?"
"Doesn't really matter, does it?"
"Yes! It absolutely—" A donut suddenly appeared in front of my face. "Ooh! Sweets for breakfast? You're a bad influence." I swiped the donut and nibbled on it like a very hungry Pikachu.
"Just focus on eating. The sooner we head out, the better."
"And off to the mountains, we go!"
He nodded, handed me an orange juice, then sat down on the sofa with Eevee. He avoided the topic of him waking up at all costs. She doesn't need to know. It won't kill her, he thought to himself as he exchanged looks with Eevee.
She wanted to snitch, but since Paul let her snack on sweets, her mouth remained shut.
After finishing breakfast, Paul and I got dressed for the day, packed our things, recalled our Pokémon, and left our temporary residence. We walked to the edge of town with the three brothers as our guides. They marked a route on our map to follow.
"It'll lead you straight to the mountains," Rainer said. "That rest stop Nurse Joy told you about should be somewhere around the base."
"Rosa, this is for you." Pyro handed me a small notebook filled with scraps of paper.
"Is this a cookbook?"
"A ton of spicy recipes I've tried over the years. I had a feeling you'd enjoy them."
"I will! Thank you!"
"Just don't go crazy on the ghost peppers, alright?" grumbled Paul.
"Oh, you'll get used to them. Don't worry."
Jolteon stepped over to say goodbye to Eevee.
However, she scooted back to be closer to Luxio.
Thus, the world came crashing down around the Lightning Pokémon.
"Sorry, pal," Sparky said as he patted his Pokémon's back. "I think Eevee was already spoken for before you even met her."
"Don't give up hope, 'k, Jolteon?" I said.
"Oh, and one more thing." Rainer shoved a bag of colorful evolution stones into Sparky's arms. The yellow-haired boy seemed reluctant to move, but his brothers gave him a slight shove forward followed by a thumbs-up.
With a deep breath, Sparky stepped right up to me. "Rosa, these are for you, too."
I blinked rapidly at the stone collection. "These? You mean, all of them?!"
"It's a gift. Call it hospitality for being awesome guests."
"Hospitality? That wasn't the reason!" smirked Pyro.
"Shut up!" Sparky cleared his throat. "Anyways, there's a whole bunch of stones in this bag. I collected them myself. They're for you, and anyone you want to share them with, I suppose. It's, uh, to apologize for yesterday." He had turned as red as a Magikarp.
Touched by his adorableness, I accepted the bag with one of the best smiles I could muster. "Thank you, Sparky! I'll treasure this, and I'll try my best to put the stones to good use!" I nearly made him pass out.
"You are gonna share those with me, right?" asked Paul from over my shoulder.
"Zip it. I haven't decided."
Sparky smiled at us both. "And let me know if you need any Electric-type advice."
"Will do! Thanks!"
"See ya guys around."
With a wave of the hand from everyone, Paul and I started down the dirt trail leading to the mountains. Our Pokémon all waved back to the others, up until the point where they couldn't see them anymore.
"But, seriously, you are gonna share, right?"
"Will you quit worrying? I'll share. Just don't force anyone to evolve, got it?"
"I won't, I won't."
I lightly shook the bag suspended in my arms. "Hmm? Expected it to be heavier. I wonder if Sparky isn't used to carrying this many stones at once. You think he would be with all of his stone-collecting trips."
"What are you talking about?"
"Didn't you see him back there? He really struggled to carry them. His face was all red."
Paul's jaw hit the ground.
"Girlie, just how dense are you, exactly?"
"Don't call me that! And what do you mean dense?"
He released a single laugh as he walked past me. "I can't help you if you don't know."
"Seriously, tell me."
"Nope. You have to learn it for yourself."
"Tell me!"
The Pokémon suffered through us bickering all the way to our next stop.
★
Our next stop was freezing.
"Brrrrr..."
I shuffled across some dirt and grass with hands buried in pockets. Vulpix was on my shoulder. At my side: Ponyta. A bone-chilling breeze traveled down from the mountains, whipped through the treetops, and played with my hair. "You couldn't have picked a warmer spot to set up camp!"
"This is as close to the rest stop as we can get without being on the path!" Paul supervised Gyarados's mealtime. The Atrocious Pokémon busied himself with inhaling his serving of food; as usual, Dratini glued herself to his side. "Plus, since we're only stopping to give the Pokémon a chance to run around, we needed the space and the water."
"Still. We're in the prime spot for getting hit by all the wind blowing down from the mountains. The lake isn't helping either. It's so cold!" I brought both hands over my lips. Seeing this, Ponyta whinnied and pressed against my side. I hugged him tightly.
Once done cleaning his bowl, Gyarados thanked his trainer and turned to join the other Water-types enjoying the lake. His serpentine shadow struggled to keep up with him.
"Keep an eye on everyone, Gyarados! You too, Dratini!"
They both waved back with their tails; Gyarados splashed Dratini in the process.
I went over to Paul. "Are all the Pokémon fed?"
He nodded, very proud to see everyone enjoying their after-meal playtime. Some of them napped. Some of them battled. Some of them chased each other in circles; by some, I meant Cubone and Li'l Kanga while Mama supervised. "Full bellies all around."
"That's a relief. Thanks for taking care of that while we went shopping."
"No prob. Your nose is all red, by the way."
I moved some hair over my face. "I told you I'm cold!"
Paul conjured his absolutely annoying, shit-eating grin. "You're just gonna have to get used to it, Girlie." After all, we stood on the doorstep of the snow-capped Evolution Mountain, which we'd be crossing in the morning. Paul felt the need to constantly remind me. "Did you get everything?"
"And more. Come see."
Away from the water, I dropped a pile of clothes onto the grass.
"What are you doing?! Everything's going to get dirty!"
"Quit whining. It's outdoor stuff. It's meant to get dirty."
"Why'd it take you so long to get all this? Wait. Where's your stuff?"
"I'm already wearing it."
When he looked over, his expression turned blank and stupid.
"You didn't notice, did you?" I spun in a circle. "They had a buy-one, get-one deal on everything in the store. Scarves, gloves, boots. The jacket's a little big, but it's warmer that way, and I can attack with these sleeves." I retracted both hands into my sleeves and smacked his shoulder with the ends. "See? Neat, huh?"
He struggled to stop my sleeves while not looking at me straight. "What are you, five?"
"Yes! Why's your face all red? You cold?"
"Mind your own business."
Shrugging, I rifled through my pockets and pulled out a small piece of fabric. "Well now, all I've gotta do is sew this patch on and it'll be perfect!"
Paul eyed the fabric. "A star patch?"
"Yeah. You know the patch I have on my usual jacket? The one that looks like Luxio's tail? I bought another to sew onto this new one."
"Is that why you took so long? You needed a jacket to fit the star patch?"
"Well, that, and I was buying clothes I intend to keep. You don't just blow a bunch of money on clothes you're going to immediately throw away."
"Why not?"
I frowned at Pikachu and Eevee. "Must be a boy thing." They agreed. Luxio looked confused. "You boys never understa—achoo!"
Paul jumped several feet back. "You're not getting a cold already, are you?"
"No. I just sneezed." I went to wipe my nose.
"Yeah. That means you could already be getting si—and don't wipe your nose on your sleeve! Use a tissue." He tossed me a pack. "You should wear a hat so you're covered properly."
"Not a chance," pausing briefly to blow my nose, "I hate hats."
"You do?"
"Yup. They're an extra thing I have to look after, they always fall off my head, and they mess up my hair. Hats are a pain when this much hair is involved. But, anyway, I'm already covered properly. I have clothes on every inch of my body. You should really worry more about yourself, Paul. Just a scarf, some boots, and gloves? I could've bought you a new jacket if you wanted."
"I'll be fine."
"And you told me to cover properly?!"
"What are these for?" He pointed to several child-sized items.
"Ah, thanks for reminding me. Pikachu, you're first. Come here—Ah!"
I nearly fell over from Pikachu tackling my chest.
"Someone a little excited? Here." I wrapped a red scarf around her neck and placed a beanie on her head. Both ears drooped down around her face. "These are to stay warm. I got stuff for Luxio and Eevee, too."
"You got the Pokémon clothes? They're not dolls."
"No, but they're gonna be outside of their Poké Balls when we climb the mountain. I want them to be protected from the elements. Of course, they already have fur, so I didn't have to buy much."
"Oh. Good thinking."
"Here. These are for Eevee. Get over here, Luxio!" The entire trio wore matching red scarves, and Eevee's beanie matched Pikachu's. Luxio received no hat. I rubbed his head with a smile. "You don't like hats much either, huh, pal?"
Paul fastened the scarf around Eevee's neck. "How's that?"
She and Pikachu danced around in circles, scarves trailing behind them as they chased each other around the clearing. They climbed trees, weaved in and out, resuming the game they had been playing after they finished dinner.
Their enthusiasm made me smile. "I'd say they like 'em." Then, I laughed when Pikachu and Eevee accidentally startled Torterra awake.
"You guys should know to be careful while he's sleeping!" Paul shouted.
"Lighten up. It was an accident, and they're having fun."
Torterra shared my mentality. He did nothing but watch the two little Pokémon climb all over his back. He sat beside Venusaur, who could sleep through anything. Fearow and Pidgeot observed from their perch on the Pokémon's plants. Various others were scattered around them.
"I don't know about you, but this is getting a little out of hand."
"What is?" I said as we sat down beside my tent.
"The amount of Pokémon we have with us."
"Think so?"
"You have to agree with me. I mean, anymore catches and we're going to need another backpack just to hold 'em all. We should really consider sending some over to Reggie, especially since we downloaded that software."
I tapped a finger to my chin. "I guess you've got a point. The food budget is getting pretty expensive, and it's getting exhausting to cook for everyone. But, don't you like having everyone here? It's like we're one big family, and I don't want to be apart from my family for too long."
Paul's chest felt a little tingly. "I mean, sure, but it's still a lot. Dangerous, too. We don't exactly go unnoticed anymore. That's another reason I picked a spot so out of the way."
I stared at the ground. "Yeah..."
"Hey." When I turned, his eyes locked with mine. "You don't have to worry if we do transfer them to Reggie. He'll take great care of them, and you'll get to see them whenever you want. I'll even give you a key to the house."
A giggle forced its way out of my mouth. "Really?"
"Yup. I promise." He planted a hand on my head. "So quit worrying, 'k?"
"Okay." As a way to agree with Paul, Luxio snuggled his way into my lap and barked at me. I gratefully scratched behind his ears. "Are you telling me not to worry, too? Thanks."
As Pikachu and Eevee ran past us, Pikachu skid to a halt.
We noticed her odd behavior.
"Pikachu?"
Her ears shot up. Eyes forward. Tail sticking up like a lightning rod. Nose wiggling to discern scents.
I stepped over; lightly, so as to not startle her. "Hey. Something wrong?"
She suddenly bared her teeth toward the forest, and she sparked her cheeks.
"What—?"
A roar shattered the evening peacefulness. A cry for help!
We rushed over to the water. Every Pokémon in the lake had been trapped underneath a net, which was currently electrocuting the life out of them. Gyarados. Dratini. Both Poliwag. Anyone who was in the lake or even touching it received a shock.
"Where the hell did that net come from?!"
"No idea. Pikachu, get out there and use Iron Tail to cut the netting."
Pikachu climbed up a fallen tree that hung out over the water. She sprinted along a branch, jumped, activated Iron Tail, and spun into a disc. Her body launched itself at the nearest section of the net.
A flurry of rocks was suddenly flung in Pikachu's direction. A few made contact with her tiny body, a few plopped down into the water, and a few flew past to hit Gyarados and the others.
"Pikachu!!"
Paul had to use all his strength to keep me from throwing myself into the lake. "You can't touch that water, Rosa! It'll kill you!"
"But, Pikachu! She'll drown!"
"Torterra, fish for Pikachu with your vines." He shot two vines into the lake while Paul pulled me further away from it. "Electricity does nothing to him. While he finds her, we have bigger problems to deal with."
At the other end of the clearing, our Pokémon had been approached by a rock on two legs, clawed arms positioned on its right and left sides, and a tortoise-like head with red eyes and fangs. Even I got intimidated and instinctively backed away from it. Persian, Nidorina, and Mama Kanga, the three standing closest, all hissed and threatened the creature to stay back.
"I'll bet that's what attacked your Pikachu."
"What even is it?"
Paul used his Pokédex. "Golem the Megaton Pokémon, and the evolved form of Graveler. Golem is the final evolved form of Geodude. Its rock-like body is so durable, even high-powered dynamite blasts fail to scratch its rugged hide."
"That Pokémon's the definition of defense."
"Nobody hurts my Pikachu like that! Persian! Iron Tail!"
Without question, Persian lunged at Golem. Despite its massive size, it dodged the attack by rolling into a ball and drifting to the side. My cat slammed her tail into the ground instead.
"It's quick enough to avoid Persian?!"
"Quick! Primeape use Karate Chop!" Primeape kicked off the ground and went straight for Golem's head.
Golem rolled into a ball again. However, instead of dodging, the Megaton Pokémon slammed into the ape's gut with Rollout. From there, it curved and crashed into Persian, easily knocking them both out.
Paul's jaw fell open. "How...?! That's a strong Golem!"
"Haha! That doesn't matter, since it landed in my trap. Wartortle!" He stood at the perfect angle to score a direct hit on Golem—who so happens to be a Rock- and Ground-type. "Water Gun!"
"Help out with Razor Leaf, you guys!"
Golem rolled into a tight ball again, prepared to take the full force of the—potentially fatal—attack.
But no attack came.
Just as we called the command, two Pokémon appeared from the blend of trees behind us. Wartortle and Torterra got taken out by a bulkier version of Nidorino with back-to-back hits of Poison Jab. A metal bird attacked Venusaur with Aerial Ace, and then Butterfree, Beedrill, and Venomoth with Drill Peck, all before we even realized what happened.
"Is that Nidorino's big brother?"
Paul had to resist the urge to hit me over the head. "No, it's a Nidoking, but never mind him. I want to know what that metal bird is. I've never seen one." The Pokémon in question had landed on Nidoking's head, who seemed slightly irritated but not enough to do anything.
"No idea. Dex?"
The device responded, "No data found."
"NO DATA?!!"
"It's a Skarmory."
BOOM!!
Following the sudden sound of a gun being shot, a net flew over our heads. It subdued Pidgeot, Fearow, and Zubat all at once; and just like the net in the lake, it delivered a painful shock to its captives. They all fell to the ground like a pile of bricks.
The bundle retracted back towards the dark trees, towards an approaching figure. A muscular man appeared wearing combat gear, a menacing pair of sunglasses, and a belt full of gadgets. Some of the gadgets included Poké Balls.
He sported a wide grin and said: "It's a pretty sweet Pokémon, huh? Caught it back in the Johto region."
"Johto? Is that where you're from?" replied Paul.
"Got that right." Being the cocky bastard he appeared to be, the man removed his sunglasses to reveal more of his arrogant expression. "The name's Attila, all the way from good ol' Olivine City. I'm—"
"We don't care about your life story! All we want to know is why you're bothering us!"
"Simple," replied the man, with a temper already on the verge of snapping. "You have such a nice collection of Pokémon..." Using the cannon perched on his shoulder, he launched another net to capture anyone nearby. "...that I couldn't resist taking it off your hands."
With a click of a button on the cannon barrel, all the nets buzzed back to life, shocking all the trapped Pokémon.
"That cannon must've been what he used to catch all the Pokémon in the lake."
"We've gotta destroy it! Luxio, Thunder Fang!"
"You think I'll just let you do that? Golem, take care of them!"
Luxio barely dodged Golem's second Rollout. However, the color drained from his face when he realized he wasn't the only target, watching Golem barrel straight at me. We all had less than a second to react.
"Look out!"
I suddenly found myself crashing into the dirt with Paul's arm thrown across my back. A sleeve went up to clear the dirt from my face, and a cough expelled any dust that got into my mouth.
"You okay?" asked my savior, neglecting the scrape on his elbow to help me get up.
"Yeah." I manage to rise onto my knees. "Thank you."
"Gross." Attila went to catch more of our Pokémon.
"Stop him, Luxio!" With Golem out of the way, Luxio rushed at Attila wanting revenge for attacking me. To protect him, Skarmory swooped in to attack. "Nuh-uh, don't let that birdbrain stop you! Take it out with Spark!" Luxio headbutted the metal bird and lit them both up with blue electricity.
Skarmory fainted, allowing Luxio to reach Attila.
Unfortunately, we forgot about Nidoking. The monstrous Pokémon swung at Luxio with Iron Tail and batted him away like a baseball. While he was on the ground, this gave Golem a clear shot.
"Flatten it for real this time, dammit!" Golem rolled into a ball and jumped up high.
A white bolt of light shot out of the lake. In a split second, Pikachu reached Golem and then slammed her steel-clad tail into the top of its bowling-ball body.
"It's Pikachu!"