Ike Ketchum: A New Journey Begins Part 5 Ike stared in disbelief. The realization of what just happened didn’t hit him. He dumbly watched Sasha. The little Pikachu was on all fours, breathing heavily. She was covered in scratches, and her fur was disheveled. Eevee lay on the ground, its eyes a couple of swirled lines. That was how you could tell a Pokémon had fainted. Amelia returned the little red fox, and didn’t say a word. All remained quiet. Until Gary spoke. “What are you two doing? Can’t you see that your Pokémon need to be taken to the Pokémon center now?” Ike looked over at Gary. “What about my badge?” Gary glared at him. “I have it right here. And it’s not just YOUR badge. It’s Sasha’s too.” He handed Ike his Earth Badge, reluctantly. “You got lucky though. I could tell you didn’t have any idea that your Pikachu knew that attack.” Sasha limped over to Ike and nudged his ankle. Ike looked down at his exhausted Pokémon and saw that she was regarding him with expectant, half closed eyes. She had a content grin on her face. Ike rubbed her fur tuft. “I did know,” he lied. “Huh. Really? What was the attack called then?” Gary wondered. “It was called….Quick Jolt?” he guessed incorrectly. “I knew you didn’t know. Sasha was bred with that attack. It’s called Volt Tackle, and she’s known it since she was born. You never would have won if not for that. So you can thank your daddy for your first gym badge.” Ike was seething. He hated that Gary was disregarding everything that happened before Sasha used Volt Tackle. He had knocked out two of Amelia’s other Pokémon with his Mankey and Spearow! What did he have to do to get Gary to recognize him as a true Pokémon Trainer? “Uncle Gary, that’s not fair,” Amelia objected. “Eevee knows Shadow Ball, and for the very same reason. I couldn’t win. Ike got his badge fairly.” Ike was beginning to think that maybe Amelia wasn’t so bad after all. “And we need to get our Pokémon to the Pokémon center now, so stop standing around arguing,” she said. At the Pokémon center, Amelia talked to Ike to pass the time. “Where did you get Sasha, Ike?” she asked. “My father sent her to me. She was my first Pokémon.” “My uncle gave me Eevee as my first Pokémon! That’s interesting…” “Did he give you all those other weird Pokmeon too?” “No, just Eevee and that Rattata. I’m helping Uncle Gary’s and grandpa’s research by collecting strange colored Pokémon.” “Helping their research? How?” Amelia got a strange look on her face. “Well, as you probably already know, there have always been Pokémon that are different from others in color. But that used to be a very rare occurrence. Recently, strange colored Pokémon have been appearing in Kanto in larger numbers. My grandpa and Uncle Gary want to know why. It seems a strange coincidence that your father would send you a Pikachu whose cheeks are colored the same as a Pichu. Because of this, I want to ask you a favor, Ike.” “What is it?” Ike wondered. “Can I come along with you? On your journey, I mean. I won’t get in your way. I’m not interested in getting League Badges. I only want to see if I can find more of these strange Pokémon. And, maybe you and I can find out what’s happening.” Ike thought about this. He didn’t really want anybody tagging along beside him. And he didn’t particularly like Amelia. But she did have his side when Gary was being a jerk to him. And honestly, he didn’t think having some company would be that horrible. But, he wouldn’t SAY that. What he did say was, “You won’t interfere with my training?” “Promise,” Amelia said, looking hopeful. “Then I suppose I could let you come. Until I get tired of you, anyway,” Ike said. Amelia didn’t even notice that Ike said “until I get tired of you”. She was too excited. After she let out a squeal of glee, she ran straight to inform her Uncle. What have I done? Ike thought to himself. After their Pokémon had had sufficient rest, Ike and Amelia set out on the road again. “We should probably head to Viridian Forest. There are many Pokémon there, and it’s the shortest way to Pewter City. There’s a gym there,” Amelia said. “I know where we need to go,” Ike grumbled. “Oh, fine, fine,” Amelia grinned. She wasn’t going to let Mr. Grouchy Pants ruin her high spirits. She had been wanting the chance to explore all of Kanto for a long time. She had a passion for learning, and the idea of solving the mystery of the odd colored Pokémon was thrilling to her. She thought of Ike as a capable trainer, but she wouldn’t say so. She knew that he didn’t need an ego boost; and anyway, he didn’t treat his Pokémon right. Maybe she could fix that though, if she could show him that Pokémon were friends, not just tools to be used. He seemed to treat Sasha as a friend, so maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to show him that all Pokémon were friends. Amelia was going to have fun challenging herself to complete these two missions, she thought. It didn’t take long to reach the start of the forest; about half an hour. Ike had a lot of experience with this forest. He and his mom had gone there together many times, and she had shown him what kind of Pokémon like to live there. He had learned a lot about bug Pokémon in this way, and for that he was grateful now. Amelia didn’t look so grateful. She was staring at the trees with a look of apprehension. Ike grinned at her with satisfaction. Maybe she was scared. He’d love that. “So, are we going in, or what?” Ike said nonchalantly. “Um, yes of course we are,” she gulped. “Well, what are we waiting for? Are you afraid of bugs or something?” Ike asked. “….No. I have Butterfree, remember?” she replied. “So what’s the problem? We don’t have all day!” “It looks…..dark in there,” Amelia replied lightly. “You said you wouldn’t get in my way. If we’re going to stand around here all day because you’re a little baby who’s scared of the dark, I’m leaving without you!” Ike complained. “Okay, okay. We’re going now,” Amelia replied, looking straight ahead at the forest. The forest was dark, and vast. The sun shone through the tops of the trees in places, leaving little patterns of light on the forest floor. Branches covered the ground, and there were areas that looked hard to go through because they were tangled with thorny greenery. Years ago, many people got lost trying to navigate Viridian Forest, but a path got cleared when Ike was a baby. Now, it was pretty easy to find the way to Pewter City from Viridian City. That is, it was easy to find the way if you didn’t stray from the path. But Ike didn’t plan to stay on course. He wanted to do some training, and also find some Pokémon. He figured if he looked hard enough, he could find a rarely seen Pinsir. They hid very well, and most trainers never saw one here, but it was really strong if he could find one. “Alright, be very quiet,” Ike ordered. “I’m going off the path. You can stay here and wait if you want. But I may be gone for a long time.” Amelia looked horrified. “What? You’re going to leave me here? Why? What if you get lost?” “I won’t get lost. You don’t have to stay there. You can come too. But you have to be quiet,” Ike said. With that, Ike started to silently push his way through the tangled thorns. He didn’t care if he got a little cut up. It was worth it to find a Pinsir. Ike was sneaking along for about two minutes when he heard Amelia crashing through the brush. “Ike, don’t leave me all alone!” she yelled. “Shhhhhh!” Ike hissed. “I’m right here! Stop making so much noise, will ya?” Amelia swallowed hard and took a deep breath. She knew she was acting stupid, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t know why she had such an irrational fear of dark places. She did know that her Pokémon were capable of protecting her from most dangers, though. She knew that there was nothing really to fear. Still her heart pounded in her chest. Ike, annoyed, turned around again. He was ready for the hunt. He crept along, Sasha on the ground beside him, the picture of stealth. Then something moved. Ike heard Amelia catch her breath, and he whirled around. He caught something jumping over a log at the last minute. He nodded at Sasha and Amelia and crawled toward the log, Sasha with him. Amelia hung back, not wanting to scare whatever it was away. Ike peeked over the top of the log, and saw something he didn’t expect. It was a mother Pikachu and two baby Pichus. Sasha’s ears perked up. “PIKA!” she squealed. The mother Pikachu took a fighting stance, and her cheeks sparked. She growled a warning. Sasha looked confused. She took a step toward the mother Pikachu. The babies started crying and the mother growled louder. “Sasha, get back here. Leave them there,” Ike whispered. Sasha looked back at Ike, still confused. One of her little ears twitched. She looked back at the mother and babies. Then she hesitated. “Sasha, you better listen to me. Leave them alone,” Ike whispered urgently. “Pika…” Sasha said quietly. Then she turned around and went back to Ike. Ike let out a held breath. Then, slowly, he backed away from the Pikachu nest. He crept back over to Amelia, who asked what happened. “Nothing,” Ike said. Amelia accepted it, and they started the search again. The whole day passed, and they never saw one Pinsir. They had run into quite a few Caterpie, Weedle, Metapod, and Kakuna, which Ike took care of easily with his Nidoran. He figured this was as good a chance as any to get some training in for his newest addition. When night fell, he told Amelia that they could rest. They found a clearing, and got out a sleeping bag (every trainer carries a compact sleeping bag). Pikachu found a soft spot on the ground to sleep on, and they were all set. “Are going to sleep now?” Amelia asked. “What do you think I’m doing?” Ike said sarcastically. “I’m scared, Ike.” “I know you are, crybaby,” Ike replied meanly. Then Ike rolled over and fell asleep. Ike woke up the next morning with a bug on his face. In a disgusted reflex, he smacked it off with his free hand. The offended Paras let out defensive Spores, and the next thing Ike knew, he was coughing violently. This woke up Sasha and Amelia, and they rushed to Ike’s side to see what was the matter. “Can’t…..cough…..breathe,” Ike gasped. “Pikaaa!” Sasha yelled. “Ike, try to tell me what happened,” Amelia said calmly. “…cough…a bug….Paras…cough….spores…” Ike wheezed. “Oh, no! You breathed in Poisonpowder!” Amelia exclaimed. “We have to get you to a doctor!” What doctor? Ike thought. They were in the middle of the woods! “….cough……” Ike said. Then he passed out. Everything went black. The whole world disappeared into nothing. Ike knew nothing that went on, and he didn’t dream. But he did hear something. It was a voice, vague and far away. It was telling him something very important, but Ike knew not what. He was calm, because the voice was calm. He wasn’t going to die. He knew he wasn’t meant to die just yet. The voice kept on droning on, somewhere far away. He was alright. He knew he was alright. He woke up a day later, not knowing where he was. He felt like he had been sweating, but he was dry now. He realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt, and he was lying in a cot. He sat up. The place he was in appeared to be a one-room hut. There were various herbs around, and there was a very strong smell. He also saw some strange powders and things on a long table. He figured he was in an herb doctor’s hut. How did he get here? “Parrras?” a curious voice said. Ike looked down and saw the little red bug with the small mushrooms on his back, Paras. “AUGHHHHHH!” Ike screamed in terror. “What is happening?” a woman’s voice said. Then a woman with brown hair came rushing in, with Amelia and Sasha behind her. “You’re awake!” Amelia beamed. Then, to the woman, “He must have been scared by Paras.” “I was not scared,” Ike objected, “only startled.” “Yep, he’s okay,” Amelia commented, handing Ike his shirt. The woman touched Ike’s forehead. “The fever has gone,” she agreed. “You should be more careful in the future.” Ike scowled. “It wasn’t really my fault,” he said as he put his shirt back on. Amelia looked happy. “Aren’t you gonna ask how we got here?” “You knew about this doctor, didn’t you?” Ike replied. Amelia looked startled. Ike was way smarter than she guessed. She didn’t really like it. He looked so satisfied that she almost hit him. “Yes, she did. I’m a friend of her family’s,” the woman replied. The pretty woman, Ike noted. “My name is Julia. I use Pokémon and herbs to help sick people,” she said. “And if you hadn’t let me come, you might have died of poison,” Amelia pointed out. “You should really stay on the path. Being out in the forest unprepared is dangerous,” Julia said. “I can’t stay on the path,” Ike argued. “I’m trying to train my Pokémon.” “If I cannot convince you, at least take this,” Julia said, holding out some small jars. “It’s herbal medicine. It’s good to have if something like this happens again.” Ike took the medicine gladly, putting it into his bag. “It works on Pokémon too,” Julia said. “Just for your information.” “Will it be okay for Ike and I to go out now? Will Ike be alright?” Amelia asked. “Yes, I believe so,” Julia said. “Be careful.” “Thank you Julia,” Amelia said. With that, the party headed out again. Amelia looked at Ike, grinning again. “I almost got lost trying to find Julia,” she said. “Aren’t you going to thank me?” Ike rolled his eyes. “Listen, we lost valuable time. I may not get that Pinsir now, thanks to that stupid Pokémon. I’m not in the mood to listen to all your annoying prattle.” Amelia was not happy with this reply. “Listen you, there is no such thing as a ‘stupid Pokémon’. And as far as I’m concerned, you’re the annoying one!” “Whatever,” Ike said. He noticed a Kakuna in front of him, and he glanced at Amelia. “Stupid Pokémon,” he repeated. With that, he gave it a swift kick. It went flying and hit a tree. Ike grinned at Amelia. “Oops.” “You shouldn’t have done that,” Amelia said tensely. “Why, are you going to do something about it?” “No,” she said, “but they will.” She pointed at the tree the Kakuna had hit, and there Ike saw a swarm of Beedrill forming around it. Beedrill was a black and yellow bee Pokémon with three giant stingers. They often formed in swarms when they felt threatened. And it appeared they felt threatened now. All they could do was run, and hope that they could run fast.