“Beeep. Beeep. Beeep.” was the noise of your typical annoying alarm clock. This one was no different.

“Ugh. Why do they have such annoying alarm clocks at these hotels? I mean, can’t they have ones that sound like birds?” mumbled Alex as he climbed out of bed, “It would be sooo much nicer.”

He headed downstairs and left the hotel, thanking the owner as he went. Little did he know ,but the owner had given him a five hundred p discount…

Once he left the hotel, Alex knew he had no money. He’d have to find some trainers to battle, then find the others. He quickly solved the first problem, heading north to route 110 (ceefax itv page 110 is TV guide…) , where he knew he would find some trainers. He let out Treeko straight away.

“Tree eecko?” (where are we going?) enquired Treeko.

“To find some trainers. If we win, we get half the cash on them!” he replied, “And I’m sure you and Sharpedo can take on the world!”

“Treeeeeecko!” (Sure we can!) said Treecko enthusiastically. They started to head north along the north route, but kept hearing noises…

“Guuuulp…. Glup lup… gulpin…” was the kind of noise they heard. They began to walk through the grass when Alex stepped on something soft and… squishy?

“What’s that?” said Alex looking down, “AHHHH!”

“Gulpin!” it said cheerfully, then suddenly looked angry. “GGGGUUUUUULLLLLPPPPPIIIINNNN!!!!” (You made me sick up my lovely lunch! You will die!) it bellowed before leaping at Alex.

“Trrrreeeeccckkkooo!” yelled Treecko, leaping in front of Alex and knocking away the odd-looking Pokemon. Meanwhile, the Pokèdex flipped open, and began to talk.

“Gulpin. A Gulp Pokemon. Gulpin often swallows things that are as big as itself, then rests to get rid of the extra weight.”

“Right. Treecko, leech seed, then use tackle!” Alex ordered. Treecko then began spitting lots of little seeds, which landed on Gulpin, and began sapping its life.

“Gulpin!” it squeaked, surprised. Then Treecko leapt at it, ramming it with his shoulder.

“Yes! A direct hit! Pokeball, go!” yelled Alex in joy. The pokeball hit the Gulpin square on the head, and captured it. The pokeball didn’t even wriggle. However, they had been… a little noisy, and alerted the attention of a nearby trainer.

“Heeeeeyyyy!! Alllleeeexxx!” yelled the trainer, running towards him, “Its me! James! I’ve looked everywhere nearby for you! I figured me and Matthew were the only survivors! Where are the others?”

“Hey? What? The others… I dunno… You said something about Matthew. Where is he? And how’s Magicarp?” Alex replied, bewildered.

“I’m here.” said Matthew from behind Alex. Alex leapt into the air his hair standing on end.

“How are you so quiet?” yelped Alex. He still wasn’t used to the way Matthew crept about everywhere… it was unnerving. However, Matthew and James weren’t the only ones to find him.

“I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!” said a voice. Alex looked around wildly to see who said it, but couldn’t see anyone.
He shrugged. “Must be the wind!” he said.

“No it wasn’t! Down here!” said the same muffled voice, “Come out of the tall grass so I can see you and you can see me!” Alex followed the voice, his friends close in tow.

“Now! Here we are!” said a boy, who looked to be about four feet tall. “I’m Timmy, and I challenge you to a Pokemon battle! Three on three!”

“Challenge accepted, Timmy!” replied Alex confidently, “Time to try out my strength in a Pokemon Battle!” He looked to Treecko, who nodded and stepped forward.

“Heh…” said Timmy, taking a ball from his pocket. “GO! POOCHY!” he yelled, and in a flash of blinding light, Angelo’s fuzzy un evolved form appeared, growling. “Poochy, tackle!” The Pokemon leapt forward, slamming itself into Treecko.

“Hmmm… Treecko! Two can play at that game! What goes around comes around! Tackle it as hard as you can!” yelled Alex. Treecko grinned evilly, and sprinted as fast as it could to his opposition, knocking Poochy to the ground.

“Noooo! Poooochhhyyy!!! Grrr… Go! Aron!” yelled Timmy, returning his Pokemon and sending out another. “Ronny! Dig!”

“Treecko! Good! Return!” yelled Alex, and Treecko stepped back. “Now! Sharpedo! Go!”

“Sharrpedo!” (Yeah! My first battle! Well, apart from against that battle cruiser…: -) yelled Sharpedo, popping out of it’s Pokeball.

“Sharpedo! Oh no!” squealed Timmy, “Well, at least you’re underground, Ronny!”

“Sharpedo! Bite attack, and don’t let go! That is, once it comes up.” said Alex calmly. Suddenly, there was a great THUD as “Ronny” collided with Sharpedo’s underbelly. Sharpedo, while the Aron was still in the air, shot forward, grabbed Aron with its teeth, and dove into the hole Aron had made. Soon after, Sharpedo returned, carrying Aron, which was slumped limply, gently with its mouth.

“Ronny! Ohhh, you’ll pay for this! Go, Electrike!” sobbed Timmy, letting out Electrike.

“Okay! That was great, Sharpedo! Now, take a rest. Go, Gulpin!” The Fat thing landed in front of Electrike, causing Electrike to hop backwards. “Okay, poison gas, now!” yelled Alex, now confident victory was at hand.

“Guuuuul…piin!” As gulpin said “gul” it inhaled air. Then, it released the air on “piiin”, the air now poisoned. Electrike fell to the floor, knocked out by the poison.

“Grrr... You win. Here’s half my money, now go away!” Timmy yelled, then ran off to Slateport Pokemon Centre.

“Yes! And, we earned a little cash! Two hundred and twenty four, to be exact.”

“Tree…cko?” (Why do you make a point of being exact?) grumbled Treeck, “Tree ek co!” (and I need a Pokemon centre!)

“Shar shar! Sha Pedo!” (Me too! The aron hit me in the stomach, and when I attacked it underground it didn’t go quietly!)

“Gulpin!” (I want a nickname)

“Hey, Hey! One at a time!” said Alex cheerfully, “Matthew, James and I are hungry, too!”

“I think there’s a restaurant in Slateport somewhere… free Pokemon healing, too, according to that sign… We could eat while Sharpedo and Treecko rest up.” suggested Matthew, pointing to a sign.

“Gul!” (But!) interrupted Gulpin, “Gulpi pug! Gulp pipi!” (I want a nickname! The name rater lives here!)

“Hm? Oh, yeah! Nicknames! I was so excited about becoming a trainer I forgot about nicknames! But let‘s have lunch first.” exclaimed Alex. They all headed back to Slateport, and entered the restaurant, called Burger Prince.

“How may I *squelch* help *squelch* You? *squelch* asked the cashier, who was clearly chewing gum.

“Um, our Pokemon need healing and we’re hungry.” said Alex uncertainly.

“I’ll have a burger.” said James, who loves anything burgerish.

“Same here.” said Alex.

“Me too.” piped in Joe.

“Just a *squelch* second, please. Take your Pokemon over *squelch* there. *squelch*“ answered the gum-chewing menace, pointing to a desk in the wall.

“Thanks.” replied Alex. They carried their Pokemon to the desk, and the Pokemon were quickly healed. Then they picked up their food, ate, and left the restaurant.

“Gulp pin pin!” (Don’t forget the nicknames!) squealed gulpin, pointing to the name rater’s house.

“Of course!” laughed Alex. They all headed to the name rater’s house and went inside.

“Hello.” said a creaky old man in the corner, “I’m the Name Rater.”

“Um, Hi. My Pokemon need their nicknames changing. I’ve already got some ideas.” replied Alex.

“Hmmmm… Which Pokemon is first?” asked the name rater.

“Treecko!” replied Alex, “I’ll call him… Chameleon!”

“Treecko! Treecko Treecko Treecko!” yelled Treecko happily.

“Any others?” enquired the rater.

“Yeah, my Gulpin and Sharpedo! Sharpedo’ll be… Pedosha! And Gulpin’ll be… Pignut!”

“Very… nice…” murmured The Name Rater. “Anyone else?”

“Nope,” said James and Matthew in unison. They said goodbye, and left the house. They headed north again, this time to get to Mauville and challenge Wattson.