ADVENTURE ROAD #2:

A FRIEND IN THE ROAD

 

 

 

Today marks the first morning I’ve woken up on the road of my adventure. It’s been quite a thing already. This is only day two officially, but I already feel like it’s been a few. I guess I never went on enough camp-outs.

Beside me, little Pichu is still sleeping soundly. I don’t think I could have ever gotten a better starting Pokemon in the whole world. It’s so sweet and loyal, and I know in my gut that we’re going to make quite a team. It’s going to be a long road ahead, and friendship between us and whatever other Pokemon I capture is going to be essential.

Today we’ll start on the path through the Entorrin Forest, and with any luck in a day or two we’ll get to Margoda, the closest town with a Gym. Still, I guess I’m going to need a lot of practice battling before we get in, if what Tabby told me is any indication.

Nick Samuels stopped writing in his small journal and looked up at the mountains far away as the sun was gradually climbing higher. The lush green country was coming alive as the rays touched them, and he couldn’t feel more energized.

Yesterday he had left his home of Pine Falls and had begun his Pokemon journey at the age of 16. He had also saved a Pichu, a tiny yellow mouse Pokemon, from another dangerous one called a Scyther. After that the little creature had bonded to him with complete loyalty, and they had spent the past evening getting acquainted and training.

And now as morning came Nick looked down at the cute little creature with a warm smile. Pichu’s big ears twitched as it dreamed, and its soft pink cheeks glowed in warmth. It snuggled next to Nick’s leg as he sat up writing.

Nick sighed and decided to wait a while longer before he woke it up. He wanted to be fair, though at the same time he greatly desired to get back on the road. They were right on the outside of the thick of the Entorrin Forest, and he wanted to explore them, see what they held, and get as far along the path as he could manage by the end of the day.

He got out his food pack from his bag and unwrapped a morning sandwich. Nick also looked in a small mirror, and saw that his wavy brown hair was mussed down on one side.

Attractive, he thought. He pulled off the plastic wrapping on the sandwich and took a bite. It was pretty good, provided it had been in his pack for a day, but suddenly Nick heard the sound of Pichu stirring next to him.

He looked down and Pichu was slowly sitting up. It rubbed its big black eyes and yawned with a high pitched squeak. Nick laughed, only because it was so cute when it did, and then noticed that Pichu was sniffing the air. He guessed that the little Pokemon had caught the scent of the contents of his sandwich, and Nick said in a light voice, "Well good morning. Hungry?"

Pichu looked up at him with a big smile and exclaimed excitedly, "Pichu, Pichu!"

It looked longingly at the cheese and ham sandwich, so Nick rolled his eyes and tore a small corner off, just big enough for a large mouthful for a little Pokemon.

"Here ya go," he said. Pichu gladly took the piece and said in a tone of seeming appreciation, "Pichu!"

The food was gone in a flash, and Pichu seemed pleased with the taste. It was starting to ask for more, when Nick’s attention was suddenly diverted to the distant horizon.

Far off, so far it must have been miles, Nick saw a bright flash of purple colored lightning shoot up into the sky for a brief moment. It was so bright it illuminated the clouds for miles in every direction, but as soon as it had come it was gone, as lightning comes and goes.

"Whoa!" Nick said in a hushed tone of awe. He looked down at Pichu. "Pichu, did you see that?"

The yellow Pokemon looked confused, and then looked in the direction Nick was staring. But from the look on its face it was obvious that it had seen nothing.

Nick sat still for a moment, and then grabbed his map. After locating his position he discovered that the flash had been to the east, in the area where the world’s largest mountain was, Pokenra. It was massive and well over half of it was covered in clouds itself. But it was still very strange.

Nick had never heard or seen anything like that before. He put his map back and thought about it for a moment, but then standing up and grabbing his gear he said to Pichu, "Well, I don’t know what it was, but I hope it’s not some bad weather coming our way."

Pichu seemed in full agreement with his opinion, and with a good leap it placed itself on Nick’s shoulder with a sweet squeak. Nick smiled and patted it on the head, and then looked to the forest. It seemed dark and brooding, but looking to his little friend he asked, "Ready to hit the Entorrin, Pichu? It’s going to be kind of scary, but something tells me we’re both tough enough for it. What do you think?"

Raising its little arm as though to cheer the Pokemon cried "Pichu!" It was ready for the forest.

Nick nodded his approval. "Good attitude. I’m definitely glad we ran into each other."

Pichu gave Nick’s head a little hug, and then it yawned as it continued to fight off morning weariness.

"Don’t worry buddy," Nick said. "I’ll walk, you rest on my shoulder. All I ask is you be ready to go into action if we meet any Pokemon that I want to capture."

Those terms seemed acceptable to Pichu, who sat back and rested its head on Nick’s backpack.

Without another word they both made their way into the old gray forest, like two bugs flying into the mouth of a massive hungry creature.

 

It was long, hard walking for Nick as he and his companion made their way through the forest. The path was hidden often by growing weeds, grasses and ivy. The sun had a hard time as well filtering through the think overhead brush and clusters of leaves, but what few beams there were were enough for Nick to see by, who had always had good eyesight, though he was certain traveling at night would be impossible.

Two and a half-hours had passed, and it seemed an ultimate repetition of old brownish gray trees and knee-high weeds. Nick was figuring that soon he would need to give himself a rest, though Pichu just glared into the trees, as if expecting another menacing Pokemon to leap out and attack them.

Nick had hoped that the little mouse would not be afraid of going into the forest out of fear that it would be hurt, because the chances were remote that they would meet another Pokemon as vicious as the Scyther had been, and even at that, like he had been before Nick was there to help it.

One thing however that surprised Nick was that in all this time they had not met up with another Pokemon. Forests as thick as this were normally loaded with bug type Pokemon, grass types and sometimes assorted normal types.

But so far there was nothing. Not even a Pidgey or a Spearow.

Maybe the wrong time of day, Nick thought.

Just when he was preparing to settle on a bare patch of ground for an early lunch or late breakfast, Pichu perked to attention and pointed ahead of them on the path, crying, "Pichupi! Pi, Pichu Pichu!"

Nick was confused but looked ahead anyway. To his surprise there was in fact a Pokemon on the path ahead, chewing on some local berries.

It was small, only a little bigger than Pichu, and had a tough body colored dark pink. It had big ears and a little horn sprouting from its nose.

Nick was very excited about this find. He knew what this Pokemon was. It was Nidoran male. They were tough fighting Pokemon, with a little poison mixed in their type. But they were fierce in a battle, and Nick knew that if he could capture it, it would make a strong addition to his team.

He ducked behind a nearby tree and pulled a Pokeball off of his belt. He then whispered to Pichu, "Okay, Pichu. This is it. We’re going to add a new friend to our team. All you’ve got to do is go and weaken it enough for me to capture. Think you can do it?"

Pichu looked eager to please its trainer and more than willing to fight, so it nodded and cried, "Pichu!", leaping from Nick’s shoulder and cautiously approaching the Nidoran.

The four-legged Pokmon saw Pichu coming and back up defensively. It growled and looked ready to charge the yellow mouse.

Pichu suddenly seemed to lose confidence, until Nick came out from behind the tree and commanded, "Pichu, thundershock."

Focusing its power Pichu closed its eyes and cried out, releasing a pure stream of electric energy at the Nidoran. The Nidoran saw it coming and was smart enough to jump out of the way and then leap towards Pichu. It tackled Pichu hard and the little mouse was sent into the dirt with a small cloud rising from its impact.

Nick looked at the Nidoran. It stood waiting for Pichu to stand and try another attack. Good, he thought, it still wants to fight. It’s going to regret it.

Nick went to Pichu’s side and asked with concern, "You okay Pichu?"

The little Pokemon looked at the Nidoran with a hard glare and then shot back up defiantly, not willing to give up. Nick smiled. It certainly had spirit.

"Okay Pichu, are we going to take that?" Pichu made a noise that sounded to Nick like a definite NO. "Alright then, quick attack it!"

Nidoran had no chance this time of jumping to safety, because like lightning Pichu shot forward and tackled it hard, too fast for any reaction. Nidoran went down, to the ground, and seemed stunned by the hit.

Deciding to press his advantage Nick ordered Pichu," Now try that thundershock again."

This time the shot hit true. The charged energy hit Nidoran dead on and shocked it completely. It growled in response to the power flowing through it, and then collapsed in defeat.

Not wasting a second Nick threw the Pokeball at the Nidoran, and upon impact the ball opened and created an energy field around Nidoran, which broke down the creature’s molecular structure to electrical energy and then sucked it inside.

The ball closed, and then fell to the ground. It shook and rattled as the Nidoran sturggled in vain to escape, but Nick knew that the Pokemon was his. After a second the struggle stopped, and Nick laughed with delight. "Ah, sweet!" He knelt down and opened his arms wide, welcoming Pichu to an embrace.

The little mouse cried out happily and ran to accept the hug, its little heart overjoyed at its simple victory. It had done a good job and pleased its master, and that made it feel better than even the best sandwich it could eat.

Nick was very pleased. He had captured his first wild Pokemon, and it was going to make a good addition to the so far small team. He picked up the ball, and then he triggered the released button.

The Pokeball opened and with a stream of white light it released Nidoran from its confinement. It materialized before them and looked around in confusion at first, until looking up at Nick.

Nick knelt down and looked at it kindly. "Hey, you put up a good fight. I can tell that you’re a powerful little guy. I’m really glad that you’re with us. You’re the first Pokemon I’ve ever captured."

He reached into his backpack and pulled out some cheese slices. "Hey, you must be hungry now. How about a little lunch? Pichu and I were just about to eat before we met you."

Nidoran looked at the food, and then it looked at Pichu who was standing next to Nick. Pichu smiled at it and said cheerily and warmly, "Pi!"

It didn’t seem that bad to the Nidoran all of a sudden to have a master, and it gladly took the food from Nick’s hands and ate up. Nick smiled and said, "Well, you’re welcome. Now let’s eat."

Those three words seemed to sound good to Pichu.

"Pichu!"

 

A while later Nick and Pichu, with Nidoran safely and comfortably inside its ball, were once again on their road through the old forest. It was becoming more common now to see Pokemon, who had begun popping up almost out of nowhere after their encounter with Nidoran.

They saw a flock of Pidgey, two of whom Pichu defeated in battles for exercise. They saw three more Nidoran, but they were tiny and too frightened of the big human to battle.

Eventually they began seeing the bug Pokemon Nick had been expecting. A Weedle appeared, sucking sap from a tree. It looked like any average caterpillar, colored brown with a big head and a silver horn on the top.

They saw many Caterpie, which were green colored most of them with big black eyes. They crawled around slowly with their suction-cup feet, picking up sticks and dead grass to either eat or use for themselves.

  Nick gave no thought to capturing them, because even though he knew a good bug type could make a strong member of a team and a good balance, he really was not a bug person.

He didn’t hate bugs or anything like that, but if he could have his way he preferred not to have one on his team. Just a matter of taste.

Soon the after noon was getting on, and Nick guessed that they were probably a little more than halfway through. But it was becoming hard to see the path, and more than a few times Nick caught himself straying off of it. He corrected the error at least three times, but he was becoming afraid that soon it would be too dark to continue.

The company stopped again for another meal, small as they were since they had to save all of their food as far as Margoda.

As they ate, Nick looked about the old forest as he had been all day, admiring its beauty, but somewhere deep in his mind feeling that they were being watched. Or course they probably were, by the many Pokemon they had encountered so far, but that wasn’t what he was feeling.

It seemed to Nick that a more intelligent force was keeping its eyes on him and Pichu, and when he had his senses nagging at him it was impossible to shake them off.

Still, Nick decided to press on while they had light, and before long they were at a small gathering of hills that fell into a tangled mess of fallen trees. The path led right through them, for the trees had over time fallen on the trail.

Nick walked on and jumped over the dead wood. He yawned and said to Pichu, "Sure does make a guy tired all this walking, huh Pichu?"

Even though Nick had been doing all the walking, Pichu was a little tired from the battles and said in agreement, "Pichu Chu."

Nick smiled. He would let poor Pichu rest up soon enough. They continued walking down the path, when suddenly Pichu’s sharp ears perked up and it looked lost in concentration.

Noticing this Nick asked it, "What? Do you hear something interesting?"

Pichu made no reply, and then suddenly they both heard from the trees ahead a loud scream of fright. It made Nick jump in surprise, but then he looked ahead to see where it had come from.

But the shadows were already darkening as the sun failed, and he couldn’t see anything. He looked to Pichu and asked, "Where did that come from?"

Pichu jumped down off of his shoulders and ran off into a collection of thick trees, Nick following close behind.

When they passed through them they realized that they were in a small clearing of short grass and golden flowers. Next to the clearing was a river softly rushing south.

This surprised Nick because if the river was here, then that meant that they had come further than he had anticipated. They were on the edge of the Entorrin Forest, and drawing near to Margoda.

But all of this took second place in his thoughts for the moment, because the source of the scream was then revealed to them.

In the clearing, fallen to the ground was the shape of a young girl, probably Nick’s age or so, and she had her soft arms over her head for protection. Protection was needed, because flying about her several feet up in the air were at least five Beedrill, large bug Pokemon that resembled huge bees with giant abdomens.

They buzzed about the girl as she whimpered in fear, her face buried in then grass. The bug types made no apparent motion to attack her, but they were staying in the area and made no sign of leaving.

Nick swallowed a fearful lump in his throat. Beedrill had never been his favorite Pokemon, but this girl looked like she was more afraid of them than he was, and he didn’t want to see her get hurt.

He looked at Pichu desperately. "Pichu, we’ve got to help her. Shoot a thundershock in the air to get their attention and we’ll lead them away from the girl."

Pichu looked up at him and nodded in agreement, and turned to face the Beedrill and cried loudly, "PICHU!!" sending off a bright thundershock like a mini lightning bolt.

The Beedrill turned their attention to the little Pokemon for an instant, but unfortunately they didn’t seem interested in flying away from the girl. Instead they buzzed even closer, one of them even landing beside her.

Nick bit his lower lip anxiously. This wasn’t going well. The only other thing he could do would be to bring out his newly caught Nidoran, or…or fight the Beedrills off himself.

The second did not appeal to him at all, so he decided to leave it to the Pokemon. He grabbed the Pokeball containing Nidoran and released it. The little pink Pokemon seemed giddy to be out at first, until it saw the collection of Beedrills and suddenly gasped in surprise.

Nick knew it might be afraid, but he tried to encourage it. "Nidoran, that girl needs help. All you have to do is spray the Beedrill with your sand attack and then I’ll call you back."

The Beedrill drew closer to the girl, and seeing her predicament Nidoran growled in challenge to the Beedrill, ready to do its part. It ran close to them, though not too close, and then turned its back to the insects. Then Nidoran used its hind legs to kick up a cloud of dirt and sand from the ground, tossing some of it into the faces of the bugs.

Those Beedrill who were hit became agitated and two of them began coming after Nidoran. Quickly Nick recalled the pink Pokemon and clipped the Pokeball back on his belt. He then signaled Pichu to jump back on his shoulder and as the bugs approached they ran back into the trees.

The Beedrill were fast flyers, but not when they had to maneuver through a forest. Nick got a good head start, and then he hid under the fallen trees. He lay on his stomach and tried to silence his heavy breathing as the Beedrill passed overhead, confused and lost as they searched for their prey. They went down the path in the opposite direction, and after a moment they were out of sight.

Nick sighed and then came out from hiding…to come face to face with a Beedrill that had straggled behind. He cried out in frightened surprise and jumped back as the insect advanced towards him.

But Pichu bravely came to the rescue, leaping onto the tallest point of the fallen trees and with a cry it shot a thundershock at the Beedrill.

The attack hit dead center in the bug’s chest, and more startled than hurt the bug type screeched and flew away into the branches of the trees.

Nick breathed in relief and said, "Wow, thanks Pichu. That was cool."

Pichu pointed back to the clearing and ran towards it. Nick had almost forgotten. They returned to the grassy area and saw that two Beedrill remained. Before they could do anything one landing on the girl’s back and she cried out in pure fright, paralyzed

in fear.

Nick tried quickly to get Pichu to use an attack on the thing, but the girl suddenly sprang to life and leapt up, the Beedrill still on her back. She could be seen better now.

She had short brown hair like fine thread, a pink tee shirt and denim shorts. Her eyes were green and her cheeks were almost as pink as Pichu’s. But at the moment her pretty face was twisted in terror at the thing on her back.

Suddenly she fell to the ground again, the Beedrill firmly clamped on her. But as she fell she threw a Pokeball, and when it hit the ground a meter away it opened in a flash of light, and before long a little shape appeared.

It was a round Pokemon about a foot tall and was colored a very light pink. It had big red eyes, and tiny arms and legs. A little decoration of some sort crowned the top of its body, like a trio of bubbles.

 A black swirl was on its forehead, but beyond that it looked like a balloon. It looked at the girl, and suddenly came to fearful alertness.

"Iggly! Igglybuff!" the little Pokemon cried to its trainer.

The girl was so frightened and frantic that she couldn’t utter a single command to her Pokemon. Thankfully the Pokemon, apparently named Igglybuff, acted on its own to save its master. It breathed deeply and then began singing.

It was a slow song, and it was only the creature’s name repeated again and again obviously, but somehow it had an intoxicating effect on all who heard it. Nick could feel himself as he listened to it getting very drowsy and disoriented, and without even realizing it he fell to his knees and then all the way to the ground. It was soft as a bed sheet he thought before he lost consciousness, Pichu already out beside him.

Meanwhile the girl went out too. She fell into a silent dream, forgetting the insect that was attacking her. As far as the Beedrill went, it became very sleepy, but it didn’t stick around to take its nap. It quickly tapped the girl’s back with its stinger, and then flew off into the trees. It was having such a hard time flying it looked comical, like it was drunk, or it would have been comical had anyone besides the Igglybuff been up to see it.

Nick had no memory of why he had fallen asleep, or when, but all he knew was that he was resting comfortably on a soft patch of ground, and Pichu was quietly breathing as it slept next to him.

He dreamt of his journey, the path, the trees around them, and somewhere in there was a fleeting image of a Beedrill…

Nick suddenly shot awake as he remembered what had been happening just prior to his snooze. He looked around and saw that he was still in the clearing, but now it was morning. He couldn’t believe that he’d slept the rest of the night in this place.

He saw that the girl was still laying in the grass as well, and the little Igglybuff was sleeping beside her. Nick knew that Pokemon with sleeping attacks couldn’t put themselves out with it, so it must have simply decided to go to sleep beside its master.

Nick stretched and yawned, then he roused Pichu easily. "Rise and shine, Pichu. We slept through the rest of our second day of training. We're into the third now."

Pichu slowly sat up and rubbed its eyes in the bright shower of sunlight and squeaked in exhaustion. Then it saw the girl and cried in concern, "Pi! Pichu!"

Nick knew what it was saying more or less, and went to the girl’s side and gently shook her shoulders. "Hey, wake up. You okay?"

It took a moment, but eventually the girl pulled her head up and looked around in confusion. She yawned and then looked up into Nick’s face.

Without saying a word she groaned and tried to sit up, but she seemed very tired or weak and couldn’t on her own.

"Let me help you," Nick offered. He held her shoulders and helped her get into a sitting position. He noticed as he did that she had a small hole in the back of her shirt, and it was stained with blood.

"Oh, I feel bad," she said, holding her head. She then held her hand over her mouth and added, "And I think I’m going to be sick."

Nick sighed and stared her in the face. "I’m not surprised. You were stung by that Beedrill. You could have Poison Sting in your system."

The girl moaned and held her head. "I think it’s beyond Could Have." Just then the Igglybuff stirred awake and saw that its master was up. With concern it looked up into her face with its huge red eyes and asked in its high squeaky voice, "Iggly? Igglybuff?"

The girl smiled a little and patted its head. "I’m okay, Igglybuff. At least I think I will be. Thanks for your help." She then looked kindly into Nick’s face.

"Thank you too. I think it would have been much worse if you hadn’t done what you had." She stretched out her hand and introduced herself.

"I’m Faith." Nick took her hand and smiled back. "Nick Samuels. Glad to meet you."

Igglybuff and Pichu followed the gesture and introduced themselves to each other with a little handshake and a nice saying of their names.

Nick looked to Faith and asked, "Uh, you want help standing up?"

Holding her head painfully Faith asked, "Would you mind?"

"Not at all," Nick smiled, and held her arms, guiding her onto her feet. But when he tried to leave her on her own to stand, Faith began falling backwards with a short cry. Nick caught her quickly.

"Whoa, steady!" he said. He looked down at her tired face, and she into his, and there was a brief silence that they did not intend. They just looked at each other for a moment, as though taking each other in, until Nick cleared his throat and said, "Well, I guess the best thing to do would be to get you to Margoda. There’s a hospital there, as well as a Pokemon center."

Faith looked pleasantly surprised. "Oh, great! You’re going to Margoda. So am I! I guess we can just travel togeth…" she stopped talking as her eyes suddenly fell heavy, and her head began to swim. "I…oh, I think we should get moving quickly. I might spew if I don't get some treatment. But…I don’t think I could walk there."

She let go of Nick and fell to her knees again, moaning in sickness. The poison was spreading quickly through her body.

Nick looked with concern to her, and then estimated how long it would take to walk to Margoda. It was still at least an hour and a half away, and that was walking at a regular quick pace. With this poor girl the way she was, if Nick had to help her walk, or even carry her, it could take half the day.

But he had to get her there. He didn’t know her, but he had to do something. He looked down at Pichu and the little Igglybuff, which looked at its trainer with fearful concern.

Nick breathed deep and then said to Faith, "Alright then, hop on."

She looked at him with confusion. "Huh? What does that mean?"

Nick went to one knee and motioned for her to get on his back. "I’ll carry you to Margoda, or as far as I can. You’re not in much condition to walk as you said, so I’ll just do it for you. Alright?"

Faith at the moment was too weary and ill to disagree, so she said with a weak voice that was laced with a little humor, "Yeah, okay. And if you happen to find an open grave on the way you can save yourself the trouble."

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hopped on his back. Nick felt like he was giving a rather large girl a piggyback ride, and it would have been funny had it not been so serious.

Nick looked to Pichu and asked, "Do you think you and Igglybuff can keep up on foot, Pichu? I don’t have room to carry you both."

Smartly Pichu picked up Igglybuff’s Pokeball and suggested returning the little creature inside. Nick smiled. "Good thinking, Pichu. Igglybuff, return to your Pokeball and we’ll bring you with us to help your master."

Igglybuff nodded with a compliant "Iggly!" and pushed the button on the ball, returning to energy and disappearing inside. Pichu tossed it to Nick, who stuck it on his own Pokeball belt. Pichu then hopped up onto Nick’s shoulder and then onto Faith’s, where it set down ready to travel.

Nick looked ahead into the forest. He sighed anxiously and wondered if he would be able to get there in time. He didn’t know how bad a poison sting from a bug type could be to humans, but he prayed that it would not be fatal.

Either way he knew he had to be quick. Summoning all of his strength, Nick adapted to the fairly light ( though not light enough ) girl on his back and began jogging back to the path through Entorrin.

It was not long before he began to get winded, but Nick was determined as he had never been to help this girl, and putting his sore muscles out of his thoughts he pressed on, hearing Pichu occasionally chanting him on, giving him encouragement and in its own way pushing him on.

"Pichupi! Pichupi! Pichu Pichu PICHU!!"

Nick smiled and said between pants, "Thanks…Pichu. Just keep…keep me going…"

It was not as far as he had feared out of the forest, and within a half hour they were out of it, and the path led to a larger part of the river, known as the Wendermark River. There was a stone bridge nearby, and away in the distance Nick could already see the taller buildings of Margoda.

He set his cargo down on the soft grass by the bridge as he caught his breath, making ready for the final stretch. Sweat poured down his forehead, and he drank what was left of his cooler.

Pichu looked with concern at Nick, its big black eyes wide with its fear. "Pi?"

"I’m...okay Pichu," Nick answered breathless. " But I sure wish that there was an easier and faster way to do this. Phew. But I don’t have a bigger Pokemon that could carry her like an Arcanine or a Rapidash. Maybe she does, but I doubt it. She seems to be a new trainer like myself."

Pichu’s ears fell down in hopelessness, until suddenly they perked again and it seemed to be listening to something.

"What?" Nick asked. "What’s wrong?" He looked down then at Faith, her eyes closed, her otherwise lovely face shrouded in a dark veil of sickness. Then Pichu cried out and pointed to the bridge, and when it did Nick thought that he could hear what Pichu had.

The sound of a small motor came from the other side, coming from Marogda. It grew louder, and Nick thought that he could see a small cloud kicking up from the vehicle. He looked as it came nearer, and then to his great relief he saw that it was a motorcycle belonging to the police force.

A female police officer was on the bike in her gray uniform and cap, and was speeding over the bridge seemingly having a schedule to keep.

Nick waved his arms frantically to get her attention, and prayed that she wasn’t rushing to an emergency and could stop to help them.

Thankfully she looked at him and pulled up next to the small company. The officer saw Faith on the ground and grew visibly concerned.

"Yes? What seems to be the problem here?" she asked. He hair was a dark shade of raspberry, and her eyes were blue gray, almost blending with her uniform.

Desperately, though trying to keep his cool, Nick explained. "Officer, this girl was attacked by some Beedrill and was stung by their poison attack. I’ve got to get her to Margoda hospital immediately."

The officer nodded and said, "I’ll get her there. Help me get her on my bike."

Together Nick and the officer lifted Faith onto the motorcycle and placed her in the driver’s seat. She moaned in her fitful unconsciousness and hung her head on the steering wheel. The officer then sat behind her and grabbed the wheel, carefully resting Faith’s head on her chest.

"I’ll drive ahead and take her to the hospital. You follow and report to me at the Margoda police station as soon as you get there. Ask for Officer Belle when you get there."

With that Belle revved her bike and with her sick passenger she raced back the way she had come, zipping over the bridge in a cloud of dust.

Nick sighed in relief. He was glad that Faith would be getting at the hospital in much better time now.

He looked to Pichu on his right shoulder and said in appreciation, "That was nice of Officer Belle, wasn’t it?"

Pichu smiled and nodded. "Pichu!"

Nick was relieved that he wouldn’t have to carry her weight anymore, and then he put his hand on his belt. He then felt the extra Pokeball hanging there.

"Oh, shoot!" he cried.

Pichu looked confused. "Pi?"

"Oh," Nick looked flustered, "I forgot to give Faith or the Officer the Igglybuff so that she could get it back. Well, I guess we’ll have to go find Faith later today and give it to her. I suppose that’ll give us a chance to see if she’s okay." He then laughed in irony. "Quite a day it’s been, huh Pichu? This trip just doesn’t quit giving us a hard time, and we’re only three days in."

With an agreeable nod Pichu declared, "Pi, Pichupi."

Nick sat down and began to unwrap their lunch now that they were more at ease, and Nick declared, "Oh, yeah, I’ve got to write out my journal for late yesterday and for today. Sheesh. It’s going to take up three pages alone."

Pichu began digging into a little slice of bologna, enjoying every nibble with pleasant squeaks. Nick then released Nidoran and invited it to join them, which it did in a glad heartbeat.

As the three of them ate together, Nick looked ahead on the road over the river and reflected on all of the events of the last fourteen hours or so. It was always fun to be surprised, but he was finding the surprises on the road of his journey more than he had been prepared for.

He didn’t know what he felt about the encounter with Faith, but he believed that there was more to it than what had just happened. He knew now that he would see her again, at least because of the matter of her Igglybuff, but he wondered if there was some Divine purpose behind that.

Maybe he was meant to meet her and help her, so that they could become friends. It was possible. One never knew the twists of destiny and fate.

But for the moment he concentrated on eating his lunch and regaining his strength before he entered Margoda. He wouldn’t wait too long, but Nick was tired out from his unplanned exercise.

With the sun bright overhead the Pokemon trainer and his two Pokemon had a good meal.

Unknown to them though there was a pair of eyes watching them. Deep in the forest, hidden in the shadows of the trees was a set of glowing blue eyes, bright as stars and they floated motionless in the darkness, never looking away from the young boy and his friends.

They made no movement, and stayed there until Nick stood, returned Nidoran to its ball and walked over the bridge with Pichu on his shoulder. After that the eyes vanished into the forest. But whatever the thing was it soon left the forest without a trace, making its way after the trainer like a spirit on the wind to the town of Margoda.