To Be a True Master - The Journey Of a Lifetime







Part 16.		A New Fire Pokemon Is Added To My Team
(Continued)




	I stood still for a moment, trying to absorb the gravity of
	the situation.  I had beaten Erika, the Gym Leader of Celadon
	City.  With ONE POKEMON.  "YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAH!" I shouted,
	jumping into the air and pumping my fist in victory.  I ran
	over and picked up Growlithe, throwing the little puppy in the
	air and catching him.  Jessie, James and Lark ran over and
	started celebrating with me, dancing and hugging Growlithe.
	With tears in my eyes, I held Growlithe in the air
	victoriously, and he leaned down and tiredly licked my face.
	Erika stepped forward and handed me a badge, which I pinned
	beside my other two.  "And, now you have proven yourself
	worthy of the Celadon Gym's Victory prize.," she said
	solemnly, then smiled.  "Actually, it isn't ana official
	badge, it's something I can't take care of, and I was looking
	for a trainer for it." Erika handed me a minimized pokeball,
	and I took it unsurely.
	"It's a Bulbasaur, and a very powerful one at that," she said.
	"I hope you'll take good care of, but I must go now, good luck
	on your journey, Jack." And with that, she was gone.
	I grinned and hooked Bulbasaur's pokeball to my belt.
	'Bulbasaur's said to be the best grass pokemon, and excellent
	for beginning trainer's teams,' I thought.
	"Woops, I'd better give Growlithe some potion, he's pretty
	tuckered out." I fished a small pink bottle from my backpack,
	then sprayed the entire contents on Growlithe.  In moments, he
	was awake and kicking, barking and licking me ecstatically.
	"Woah, hold on boy, if ya wanna evolve into an Arcanine,
	you'll have to stop knocking me down! When you're an Arcanine,
	you could knock me cold with one tackle, 'kay?" Growlithe
	looked a little sad at the idea of not being able to tackle me
	anymore, but then he cheered up and barked he was ready to
	evolve.
	"Okay, here goes," I murmured, then touched Growlithe with the
	red stone.  The white glow I was getting used to seeing on my
	pokemon engulfed Growlithe, and his shape and size changed,
	elongating and growing more powerful.  James whistled
	approvingly when the glow faded and Arcanine stood proudly.
	We all jumped back when Arcanine roared, shaking the gym and
	our bones.  Suddenly, the over 6 foot tall tiger turned to
	face us, and I could see a spark of fury in his eyes.
	"Arcanine?" I said, walking to him with one hand extended.
	The next thing I knew, Arcanine pounced on me, and everything
	went black.
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	Part 17.			The Next Step Of The Journey




	I must've woken up in a pokecenter, at least that was my
	impression, as there were kids my age carrying injured pokemon
	in all around me.  When I looked up, it was into the
	comforting face of my traveling companion, Lark.
	"What haaaapened?" I slurred out, pain radiating from my ribs.
	"Shh, just keep still, you're hurt, don't make it worse," she
	said, then wiped tears from her eyes.  "I thought you might
	have died when Arcanine hit you that hard."
	I shook my head, then made a feeble grin up at her. "What
	happened?"
	She took a deep breath, and began.  "When Arcanine evolved, he
	lost all memories of you, and us, and consequently attacked
	you.  I used Drowzee to levitate Arcanine off you, then slam
	him him into the wall.  When that happened, his memories of
	you came back, and he went back into his pokeball.  Then we
	brought you here to the pokecenter.  Nurse Joy says you have
	some injured ribs, but you should recover within two weeks, if
	you keep these bandages on and don't make any sudden moves."
	"Thanks," I said with a smile.
	She hugged me gently, burying her face in my shoulder for a
	minute.  "So, umm.... Where're my pokemon?" I asked after a
	moment.
	"Oh," she said as she pulled back from me.  "Here, I had them
	healed." She unbuckled my belt of pokeballs from above her own
	and handed them to me.
	"Great, thanks for everything, now where're Jessie, James and
	Meowth?" I questioned as I stood up and put on my pokeball
	belt and jacket.
	"Last I heard they were still battling in the public gym,"
	Lark said as she handed me my backpack.  Just then, the three
	people in question walked into the pokecenter to heal their
	pokemon.
	"You should have been there!" James yelled when he found me.
	Making motions with his hands and noises appoximating those of
	a Pokemon battle, James described how his Geodude had evolved
	into a Graveler, and he had beaten all but one of Erika's Gym
	Leaders.  Jessie ran up and, slightly calmer, explained that
	her Oddish had evolved into Gloom, then she had bought a Leaf
	Stone and evolved it into a Vileplume.  I was impressed to
	find out that the two former Team Rocket members had ruled the
	day, together defeating all challengers and gym trainers.
	They did fight Erika, and James nearly won with his Graveler.
	The rest of the day I didn't even suggest going anywhere, my
	ribs were still hurting.  So Jessie, James and Lark spent the
	day in combat with trainers coming to Celadon Gym, and
	becoming legends of the gym with their stunning victories.  I
	however spent the day organizing my travel supplies and
	Pokemon team.  I talked with professor Oak for an hour,
	trading my pokemon back and forth.  At the end of that hour I
	had evolved Vulpix into a Ninetales, and Eevee into a Jolteon.
	Then I messed around with my Pokemon team, ending up with
	Charcloy, Arcanine, Jolteon, Vaporeon, Pidgeot and Bulbasaur's
	pokeballs on my belt.  Arcanine I carried for my main fights,
	because he was incredibly strong.  Also so I wouldn't have to
	take out Charcloy often.  I found out from Oak that Charcloys
	tend to tire after one or two battles, that was their one
	weakness.  So Arcanine was my new starting pokemon, Charcloy
	my backup.  The poor fire-tiger was still feeling guilty about
	injuring me, but after repeated reassurances that I didn't
	blame him he finally cheered up.
	The only time I left the pokecenter that day was to go watch
	the pokemon battles in Celadon Gym, where I saw just how
	powerful Jessie, James and Lark were.  In spite of the fact
	that Flareon was her only evolved pokemon, Lark manuevered her
	Drowzee, Oddish, Pikachu and Flareon skillfully, using their
	speed attacks to slowly chip away at the slower, more powerful
	plant pokemon that many of her opponents seemed to favor.
	James's Graveler, Weezing, Victreebell and Jolteon were
	powerpackers.  The heavy, destructive plant, poison, electric
	and rock types simply stood their ground and hurled out
	devastating blows which severely leveled all competition.
	James never seemed to use the little Spearow I had captured
	for him in Viridian Forest.  I think it was because he was
	embarassed of the tiny bird trying to compare to his towering
	muscle-bound starter pokemon.
	Jessie was usually a fighter, yelling and screaming at her
	pokemon, but I noticed she began to soften and not get angry
	at her pokemon when they lost (which was rare.)  Her menacing
	Arbok seemed to shut down competition's defense, leaving the
	way open for her Jolteon, Lickitung or Vileplume to deliver
	the killing blow.  Unlike James with his Spearow, Jessie let
	her Doduo battle some, and found that he was a fast little
	bird, and with patience and time, could actually defeat an
	evolved enemy.
	The Dodrio that I had captured in Viridian forest was shared
	between Jessie and James, and was only called upon once, when
	James was in trouble.  It was a powerful bird, and its loud
	shrieks had people covering their ears to avoid the sound.  I
	assumed that when Jessie's Doduo evolved, then the Dodrio
	would pass on to James.  Through all of this, I noticed that
	Lark was true to her word, and never used one pokeball.  The
	one that had belonged to Adrian.
	At the end of the slugfest that marked Jessie, James and
	Lark's entry into the Celadon Gym, their score were as
	follows.  (Lark: 20 wins, 3 losses.)  (James: 25 wins, 5
	losses.)  (Jessie: 23 wins, 2 losses.)
	The Gym was glad to close the doors at the end of the day.
	The pokecenter that day was constantly filled with injured
	pokemon as the defeated trainers flooded in, then went back
	out to challenge Jessie, James and Lark again.  I didn't sleep
	well that night, partially because we were sleeping in a hotel
	and I was adding up the costs of the two nights, and partially
	because of my bruised ribs, and still more, I was worried
	about where the next day would lead us.
	"Rise and shine!" Lark hollered in my ear the next morning,
	around seven o clock.
	"I'll rise, but at this hour, I ain't gonna shine," I growled
	as I rolled out of bed and prepared to leave.  Lark laughed
	behind me, and tried to wake up Jessie.  POW!
	I chuckled as I poked my head out of the bathroom to see Lark
	sitting on the floor, looking thoroughly flustered.  "What-?"
	she began.  I laughed at her, then slung my backpack over my
	shoulder.
	Well, we got on our way at 8:30.  After, of course, Queen
	Jessie had had her fiftful rest, the rest of us spending our
	time in friendly pokemon battle outside the hotel until she
	pronounced that we could leave.
	"So, Eevee, where's the... thunderstone?"
	Bill's Eevee studied the map, and his stone glowed, then
	emitted a yellow beam, which centered on a point.... In the
	middle of the ocean!?!
	"Are you crazy?" I yelped at Eevee.  The furry little animal
	whimpered and cowered behind Lark, then quickly returned to
	its pokeball.
	"How're we going to get there?" James whined, circling with a
	marker the spot Eevee had pointed out.
	"Well," I said, scratching my head.  "Charcloy can't fly that
	far, that's for sure, and even if he could, there'd be nowhere
	to land." I pointed to a large island not far from the
	appointed spot.  "We can fly down to Vermillion, take a ship
	to Cinnabar, then see what happens from there."
	"I see what you're getting at, and you'll have to defeat the
	Vermillion Gym Leader while we go get tickets, so it'll have
	to be a quick battle," Lark said, then folded up the map and
	tucked it into my backpack.
	"That ain't fair!" It was my turn to whine, and so I went all
	out.  "Charcloy'll be too tired from flying to fight, we'll
	have to give him time to rest before I fight Lt. Surge!"
	"Use your other pokemon ya big baby!" Lark countered.  "Don't
	always rely on Charcloy!"
	"I almost never use Charcloy, and Electric attacks would knock
	out Pidgeot, Arcanine, Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Bulbasaur, who
	isn't strong enough to defeat that mean Raichu!" I blasted
	back.
	"Well then that's your problem for training your pokemon
	badly!"
	"It has nothing to do with my pokemon's training, it's their
	weaknesses!"
	"They can be strong against their weaknesses if you'd train
	'em better!"
	"I'm only a beginner! I'm good enough to have all my starters
	except Bulbasaur fully evolved!"
	"That's got nothing to do with it, you evolve your pokemon too
	soon! You just catch 'em and evolve them, give 'em more time!"
	"Evolution pumps up a Pokemon's power!"
	"It makes them lose attacks!"
	"I make sure they know all their attacks before I evolve
	them!"
	"Ya Big Baby!"
	"Nerd!"
	"Amateur!"
	"Dork!"
	"Idiot!"
	"SHUT UP!"
	"BOTH OF YOU!"
	"NOW!"
	Lark and I instantly halted our argument, looking in surprise
	at the flaming mad Jessie, James and Meowth.  "Stop arguing,
	let's just get it over with, I don't like flying on that big
	dragon!" Meowth yowled.
	I stuck out my tongue at the cat, and released Charcloy.  Lark
	and I quickly forgot the argument, and I hit upon a brilliant
	plan, use Abra to fight Surge.  So I temporarily traded in
	Vaporeon for Abra.  On the flight over Pokemon Island to
	Vermillion, Charcloy took it slow and easy on my orders.  Lark
	released her Drowzee, and he began to teach Abra the psychic
	attack Confusion.
	It worked out well too.  Halfway to Vermillion, Abra used
	Confusion for the first time, knocking out a Fearow that was
	diving and circling through the air.  I captured the Fearow,
	not easily, because the pokeball fell to the ground after
	Fearow was caught.  Pokedex came in useful then, automatically
	reaching out and retrieving the pokeball to beam to Professor
	Oak.
	"Now that Abra knows Confusion, I'll have a better chance of
	defeating the Vermillion Gym Leader," I said with a grin when
	Charcloy began his descent to Vermillion's street.
	"Ground!" Jessie cried.
	"We love it so!" James continued.
	"So let us go," Meowth said with tears in his eyes.
	"Sweet... Solid... Ground!" Jessie, James and Meowth yelped
	together after collapsing and kissing the ground upon landing.
	"Aaaaabra!" I reached out, but couldn't catch Abra.  The small
	psychic, pokemon, which had been sleeping, fell and hit the
	ground, hurting nothing mroe than its pride as our entire
	crew, even Charcloy burst out in laughter.  The little Abra
	stood up indignantly, brushing itself off.
	"Zzzzeeeoum!" Abra glowed for a moment, then evolved!
	"Oh yes! I got a Kadabra, now I can vape Surge!"
	"Ka-Dabra!" Kadabra barked, spinning his psychic spoons
	skillfully.
	"Right, so we're off to go get the tickets, we'll meet you
	back here in about thirty minutes, 'kay?" Lark asked, then ran
	off without waiting for me to respond.
	I muttered to myself, then recalled Charcloy.  "Okay, let's
	go, Kadabra," I said cheerfully as I walked across the street
	to the Vermillion Gym.
	"Ka-dabra," Kadabra said as it slowly looked up and down the
	massive doors of the Vermillion Gym.  He studied it for a
	moment, his brilliant mind pumping.
	I stepped into the dark lobby of the Vermillion Gym.  "You'd
	think with this being an electric gym they'd have enough
	electricity to turn on some lights," I joked to Kadabra
	nervously.  The psychic merely studied me for a moment, then
	nodded.
	"You wanna challenge me?" asked a heavy, weird accent.  "You
	must be nuts, no one's ever defeated me, 'sept for that two
	kids..." A truly imposing man stepped into the light that
	poured in from the still-open doors.  Fully 8 or 9 feet tall,
	the man wore army clothes, and a dog tag around his neck.
	"Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak? I asked curiously.
	"Yeah, those were them,. the babies!"
	"You're Lt. Surge, sir?" I asked in a timid voice as it soaked
	into me that only Ash, Pallet's hero, and Gary, the boy I had
	defeated had ever beaten Surge.  If I could triumph over Ash's
	rival Gary, and his hardest battle yet, Lt. Surge.... Then
	that would mean I was as good as, if not better than Ash.  I
	heard it had taken Ash two tries, and some tricks to win.
	"Yeah, that's me! You here to fight me, baby?"
	"Yep! I, Jack Soniq of Pallet Town, do hereby challenge you to
	a pokem-"
	"Save the introduction, kid, as Gym Leader I have to accept
	all challenges, you don't have to go through all that!" Surge
	said with a smirk.
	"Right!" I chirped.  "So, where's your battle arena? Let's get
	the battle on!"
	Surge reached to his left and flipped a switch.  Lights burst
	to life, and Surge's 'throne' was dropped down through the
	floor by way of a secret panel.  I jumped back as I realized
	that I was standing on the challenger's side of the battle
	arena.  Surge made a mighty jump and landed across the gym in
	his appropriate space.
	"The Gym leader, Lt. Surge, is using a Raichu.  The
	challenger, Jack Soniq, is using a Kadabra, let the battle
	begin, no time limit," droned a voice, but I noticed it droned
	more describing me and my pokemon.
	"Kadabra, go!" I yelled, pointing to the center of the
	fighting circle.  Kadabra teleported to the spot in a moment.
	Lt Surge released a powerful-looking Raichu, which immediately
	ran to its space.
	"Okay Raichu, let's start him off with a Body Slam!" Surge
	ordered. Raichu built up speed, then hurled himself at
	Kadabra.
	"Teleport away fast Kadabra!" I advised.  Kadabra flickered
	for a moment, then reappeared behind the hastily slowing
	Raichu.
	"Now Disable it Kadabra!" Kadabra reached out a clawed hand,
	and suddenly Raichu staggered.  I got a mental message from
	Kadabra saying that Raichu's thuderbolt had been disabled.
	Apparently Surge  had received the same news, because he
	suddenly howled and smashed his fist into the wall behind him.
	"Okay then Raichu, we'll have to use Take Down!" Surge
	bellowed, face red in fury.
	"Kadabra, Teleport and Confusion," I shot back.  Raichu made a
	fast move to grab Kadabra, but ended up staggering across the
	gym holding air.  Kadabra reappeared behind Raichu, then using
	his Psychic powers, picked up the electric opponent, hurling
	him to the ceiling, where he lay flat for a moment before
	dropping to the floor.  Raichu jumped back up again, hardly
	hurt.
	The battle went on like that for twenty minutes, Raichu
	charging, Kadabra dodging, then sending Raichu into another
	wall.  And Lt. Surge got angrier and angrier, as the time
	ticked by, Raichu inflicting no damage, Kadabra chipping away
	at his opponent.
	"Okay Kadabra," I yelled, trying to keep up my confidence in
	this bnoring fight, "finish it, give 'im your best Confusion!"
	Kadabra concentrated for a moment, and begana to glow.  His
	spoons began to rattle in his hands.
	"Raichu, he's hesitatin'! Givvim a Body Slam!" Surge cried
	triumphantly.  Raichu built up speed, and came neared Kadabra.
	Kadabra glowed brighter.  Raichu neared.  Kadabra's eyes
	opened.  Raichu began his dive into the air.
	"SSHHEEEEZZZEEEEECH!" Kadabra's spoons emitted purple and red
	beams, which joined together, slamming into the flying Raichu.
	Raichu was knocked back thirty feet.  As he spiraled through
	the air, the beam of energy kept up with him.  Tendrils of the
	red and purple beam craeled over Raichu, seemingly
	electrocuting him.
	When Kadabra's attack ended, Raichu hit a wall, then slid down
	to the floor, where he lay unconscious.  "Raichu!" Lt. Surge
	bellowed, then recalled the fainted pokemon.  "Here, take the
	Thunderbadge and go!" Surge said, and angrily tossed me the
	gold badge.
	"Thanks, sir," I said with a nod, then recalled Kadabra and
	pinned the badge to the inside of my jacket.  I got outside
	just as the rest of my team arrived, boasting tickets on a
	fast two-day cruise over to Cinnabar.
	"This works out perfectly," Lark said as she showed me the
	tickets.  "The ship's Captain said he'd drop us off at an
	island only a mile away from Cinnabar, rent us some diving
	equipment, and we can stay on the island and go diving for the
	stone.  When we're done, we just fly over to Cinnabar," Lark
	finished with a triumphant and somewhat smug grin.
	"You seem to be the only one so passionate about taking out
	Ultrareon," I joked at Lark as we walked away from the
	Vermilion Gym.
	"Well at least someone in this group is," she shot back at me.
	I frowned.  "When does this ship set sail?"
	Lark looked at me and smiled.  "Oh, tomorrow, I chose the
	later one to give you time to roam around the fields to the
	west of Vermilion."
	"Ooooh! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" I burst out,
	hugging her and lifting her several inches off the ground.
	"I'm gonna an Arbok, then one of those Sandshrews, and oh boy!
	A drowzee!" I bubbled out happily as I took off to the west
	gate of the city.
	"There he goes again!" James howled and chased after me
	"Looks like Team Rocket's chasin' Jack again!" Mewoth cried as
	he started off.
	"We should be getting used to this," Jessie and Lark said
	together.
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	Part 18.	        The Pallet Trainer's Steady Obstacle!



	Well, I don't need to bore you with the details of how I
	captured Sandshrew and Drowzee, but it wasn't easy, especially
	in Drowzee's case.  The ugly little sucker knew Hypnosis and
	Dream Eater and knocked out my Jolteon and Pidgeot before
	Arcanine ended the battle with his powerful Take Down attack.
	Arbok was a whole other story....
	"Eeeeeeyaaaaaaah!" I screamed as I took a one way flight back
	into the road.  I had been crawling around in the fields, when
	a huge purple vine of some sort had smashed into me
	unexpectedly, propelling me ten feet back into the road.
	"Chaaaaaar-boka!" Something snarled, then the fear-inspiring
	12 foot monster known as Arbok slithered out of the field to
	confront the enemy who had disturbed it.  Colored purple, with
	a wide neck and chin that had various paintings on it, the
	gigantic snake was truly a force to be reckoned with.
	"Holy Smokes, let's go Arcanine!" I yelped as I tossed out a
	pokeball and jumped to safety.  "Arcanine, give it a hard Take
	Down attack!
	Arbok reared its head back, preparing its attack.  At the same
	moment that Arbok jerked his head and spewed forth green
	stingers, Arcanine tackled him.  Arbok's head was snapped
	back, and his green poison spines sprayed around him.  I
	ducked the spray of deadly thorns, and felt two or three
	puncture my backpack.  After I was sure the danger was over, I
	looked up.
	Arcanine had the mighty Arbok pinned down, and was breathing
	flames into the snake's face angrily.  On the other hand,
	Arbok's tail was wrapped around Arcanine, constructing
	painfully.
	"Okay, my turn now, Arcanine, jump off him quickly!" I
	ordered, prepping a new Great Ball.  "Zzzzzip!" Arbok was
	sucked into the Great Ball just a split second after Arcanine
	leapt away.
	"That's twenty-one pokemon!" I yelped.  "At this rate, I'll
	pass Ash, become a pokemon master, and make the town of Pallet
	known across the world!" I said truiphantly as I rubbed
	Arcanine's head.
	"Did you say Pallet?" Asked a sharp voice behind me.  I
	turned, and saw a short, stocky boy about my age emerge from
	the grass.  He wore strange ninja armor and carried a sword.
	"I am Samurai," he stated proudly.  "I am also swift, cunning,
	and completely invincible in battle!" He ended, striking a
	fighting pose.
	"So, you want a match?" I asked while looking him up and down.
	"Yes!" Samurai chirped.  "I have been awaiting anxiously the
	day I could challenge the next trainer from Pallet! So far I
	have fought every trainer to emerge from the town."
	"How many'dja beat?" I asked.
	"That is not important! The battle is, so choose your Pokemon,
	Novice and prepare to be defeated in combat!" Samurai removed
	a pokeball from under his heavy armor jacket.  "Pinsir,
	prepare for battle!" he barked, tossing out his first pokemon.
	"Then I choose Arcanine," I said, turning to my fire-wolf.
	Arcanine nodded and trotted towards the Pinsir.
	"Pinsir, use your Swords Dance, power up!" Samurai ordered.
	Pinsirbowed down, and red and white energy soaked into hsi
	body, visibly pumping him up.
	"Let's start with flamethrower, Arcanine, but be careful of
	his next attack, he's dangerous!"
	Arcanine barked, then breathed a harsh spiral of fire.  The
	attack slammed into Pinsir, blowing him back and rolling him
	head over heels into the grass, where the only visible part of
	his body, his feet, remained still.
	Samurai's shoulders tensed and he stretched out Pinsir's
	pokeball, returning the lost attempt.  "Now, go Butterfree!"
	He yelled, calmly dropping a new pokeball to the ground.  As
	the bug-type emerged and flapped up into the air, I formulated
	a fast and effective tactic.
	"Arcanine, give it a flamethrower three times, varying in
	intensity, going from low to high power!" I commanded.
	Arcanine thought for a moment, then turned back to the battle.
	I hadn't noticed Samurai giving his own order, and as soon as
	Arcanine turned to face Butterfree, he received the brunt of a
	powerful psybeam.  The multicolored beam slammed into Arcanine
	explosively, shattering his defense.  Arcanine roared and
	pressed forward against the continuing beam, standing up to it
	until it ended.
	Still weak, Arcanine barked quickly and let loose a quick
	burst of fire.  The spear of flames hit Butterfree's left
	wing, spinning him around.  Before Butterfree could react,
	Arcanine sent out a longer spear of fire, hitting Butterfree's
	right wing and spinning him again.
	"Finish him now Arcanine!" I said with a smirk at the
	awestruck Samurai.  Arcanine stood on his hind legs, then let
	loose with a huge, and rather unnecessary blast of killer
	fire, engulfing Butterfree.  Samurai recalled the knocked out
	pokemon before Arcanine's attack even ended.
	"Oh no! Time for emergency battle mode, go Haunter!"
	Fear turned my blood cold as the black ghost pokemon appeared.
	Only when caught off guard could Haunter's fire weakness be
	exploited.  Other than that, physical attacks just went right
	through him.
	"Arcanine, give me your best Roar, and build up for a super
	fire attack!"
	Arcanine nodded as he realized the gravity of the situation
	through my voice.  I covered my ears, Samurai looked puzzled,
	and Haunter did a flip in the air. The air was quickly filled
	with Arcanine's deafening roar.  It shook me to my very bones,
	and could rival Ultrareon's.  My senses were jumbled for a
	minute, and strange thoughts flashed through my head.  I dimly
	registered a flash of red and orange, then I slowly came out
	of my weird state.  As reality rushed back to me, I saw
	Samurai holding a pokeball out to me and talking.
	Slowly, his words made sense to me.  "-Is weak.  I do not like
	ghost or psychic types, I prefer poison, bug and fighting, and
	you have proven your worth on the field.  Therefore I am
	awarding you this Haunter, I hope you train it well,
	farewell." I stood, jaw dropped, until Samurai finished his
	speech and ran off down the road.
	Wow! My favorite pokemon were Charizard, Haunter, Arcanine and
	Kadabra in that order, so it was quite a shock for me to
	actually receive my second favorite just like that! Now I had
	22 types!
	I grinned and turned to Arcanine, who was sitting, panting and
	staring at me curiously.  "Thank you!" I cried, then hugged
	Arcanine tightly.  "You're my second best friend, thanks for
	everything."
	Arcanine apparently didn't like shows of affection, and he
	just nuzzled my shoulder in a friendly manner, growled and
	nodded towards Vermilion.
	"Yup," I said.  "We had better get going, common, you can stay
	out of your pokeball." To Arcanine, and indeed all pokemon,
	this seemed a special treat, so I awarded the honor to
	Arcanine.  He was also convenient, since he could sense
	danger, and was big enough for me to ride if I needed to get
	somewhere fast.

	Possibly to be continued.


	AUTHOR'S NOTE: Due to lack of feedback on this story (I have
	received only one message in three months about it) I have
	decided to temporarily discontinue this series.  I'm sorry if
	anybody actually enjoyed this story, if you did, please e-mail
	me and if the next part is finished, I'll sent it to you.
    If people begin to tell me what they like and don't like about
    this, if they liked the story or they think I'm a washout, then
    I'll continue it.  Until then, this is the abrupt end.  Goodbye.
    Brenndon Juster II - brenndon_juster@hotmail.com