I stood at the door of my father's hospital room with tears streaming down my face. He was covered my a sheet and doctors were surrounding him, which made it nearly impossible to see.
"Mom, what's wrong with Daddy?" I asked.
"Laurie ... please come into the waiting room," she said. She also had a tear trickling down her face. She sat me down on the chair and leaned over. "You're only seven years old. You wouldn't understand the fact ... and the state that your father is in."
I glared at her. "What's wrong with him?!"
Mom sighed. "He was drunk and he was in a car crash today. His head went through the windshield and he is--. Your father is..."
"What does drunk mean? What's happening to him?"
Mom kissed me on the cheek. "Drunk is when you drink too much beer and it works against you, making you do stupid things. Your father has lost a lot of blood, sweetie. He's really sick."
"Why don't you give him medicine?"
Mom's face was now covered in tears. "It's not that simple. He will have to be here for a long time."
I knew Mom was hiding something. Daddy was really sick. "Is he dying, Mommie?"
Mom suddenly burst into tears and threw her arms around me. The matter didn't get any better. A nurse came out of the hospital room followed by two men in black suits. She spoke. "I am so sorry ... but Philip didn't make it."
I knew instantly that meant he was not coming back. My Daddy wasn't going to come back to me. He was gone forever...
"DADDY NO!" I yelled through streams of tears. I ran to the hospital door. "DADDY! DADDY! YOU CAN'T!" He was covered in a white sheet. A doctor pulled me away and hugged me. I tried to get out of his grasp. I knew it was no use. My Dad was dead. He wasn't coming back to me.
FOUR YEARS LATER ******************************************
I walked down the street. I was eleven years old. I was finally able to become a Pokemon Trainer. "One more day and I can become a Pokemon trainer. Pokemon master..."
My friend, Andy walked to me. "Hey, Laurie. What's up?"
"Nothing much. I'm on the way to the cemetery. Gonna put some flowers over my dad's grave ... wanna come?"
Andy was my best friend for 2 years, ever since he moved to New Bark Town. We've never fought before and we were in all the same classes in school. I had long, curly blonde hair, blue eyes and tan skin. Andy looked a lot like me. He had curly black hair, blue eyes and tan skin. We were often mistaken for cousins, sometimes even brother and sister.
Andy nodded. "Sure, I'll come."
The cemetery was often covered in mist which gave it an eerie look. I took the flowers. Andy stayed close behind me. I bent down next to Dad's grave and looked at it. Philip Lomes 1970 -- 2010.
I sighed and bent over, wiping some dust away, then dropped the flowers in front of the grave. I then surrounded them with some stones and backed away. Andy put a hand on my shoulder and we walked from the cemetery.
I sat in my kitchen. Andy and I ate a pizza that my mother had ordered. "My Mom gave me money to buy my beginner Pokemon from the Poke'Shop tomorrow," Andy said. "What about you?"
"I'm using the Pichu I got for Christmas," I told him. "It's been 3 months and he's only been out of his ball twice. I think it would be cool for him to get out ... and have some battles."
I walked over to the paper bag on the couch and pulled out a Pokeball. I pressed the button on it and with a white flash, a tiny mouse Pokemon came out of the Pokeball. "Pii," it chirped. Pichu jumped off of the table into my arms. I laughed and gave him a hug.
"Pichu, do you wanna come with Andy and I on our Pokemon journey?" I asked. "We can catch some Pokemon, win badges and you can finally get out of your Pokeball. How about it? Pichu, come with us."
Pichu just smiled and chirped again.
"I guess that's a yes," Andy said with a smile on his face. "Hey ... look at the TV."
We turned to the television screen. "This is a GSTV special report. Team Rocket was recently spotted in Urbaton City earlier today. They were driving a black van with the license plate, TR1188. Five men were spotted from Team Rocket, each one with brown hair and brown eyes. White males about six feet tall in black suits were seen shipping several drugs and cages with Flying Pokemon in trucks. If you have any info on the situation please contact us at 1-888-52-----"
Mom turned off the TV. "Time for bed, you two."
"What? It's not even 10:00 yet!" I protested.
"You have a big day tomorrow," she said quietly. "You hafta be up at 6:00 to get your Poke'dex. You too, Andy. Your parents said you could spend the night here."
"Thanks," he said. He pulled his backpack up to my room. I followed him and we both went inside.
"Finally we can leave tomorrow," I whispered. I yawned and changed into pajamas.
"We should pack shouldn't we?" Andy suggested.
"We'll wake up extra early and do that. Goodnight."
It seemed like it took hours to fall asleep. I didn't even realize I was sleeping until my alarm clock went off. I yawned and turned to it. 5:00 already. An hour before I had to get to the lab. I opened my blinds. The sun still wasn't up. It was pitch black outside. Andy was already up. He brushed his teeth in the bathroom.
I stuffed outfits, underclothing, a jacket, a hat, some scrunches, Pokeballs, shoes, Pokemon food and some canned foods for ourselves into my backpack. It was finally full. I looked into one of the other compartments. I put in a can of lighter fluid and a pack of matches to start some log fires. I also put in my Red Tent. It was something I got from a Trickmaster. It was a tiny square box that came with a remote. If you pressed 2 buttons it would turn into a huge red tent. The other 2 would change it back to a box.
"Got everything?" Mom asked coming into my room. She handed my a toothbrush and a bottle of toothpaste.
"Mom," I groaned.
"Just because you're going to be on the road, doesn't mean you should let your teeth rot," Mom said. "Andy, here is yours. Both of you have a wash cloth and a towel at the bottom of your backpacks, already put away."
I smiled. "Thanks, Mom." I hugged her. Andy also did and we made our way down the stairs, putting some bags of chips and soda cans into the backpacks, until they couldn't fit much more.
"I guess this is it," Andy muttered. He handed me Pichu's Pokeball. I smiled and put it in my pocket, where I knew I couldn't lose it.
"I guess we'll be able to take showers and brush our teeth whenever we get to Pokemon centers," he asked. "We only have two other outfits, so we'll hafta wash clothes every chance we get. How much money do you have?"
I counted through the money. "Just under $300."
"That's a lot," he said. "I have about $200... and my Pokemon costs $75. We hafta take our laptops so we can get our homework emailed to us. This is a lot of work."
"Yeah," I muttered. "Anything else we might need?"
Andy and I packed our Walkman's, some CD's and a roll of toiler paper (for obvious reasons).
"We hafta spend wisely," I said. "It's time to go."
After getting many hugs and kisses from Mom, we left the house. The sun was rising and a nice breeze went through the town. "What Pokemon are you gonna buy?" I asked.
I didn't get an answer right then. Andy grabbed my arm and pulled me down behind some bushes. "Ssshhh," he whispered as quietly as possible. He then nodded his head to what he was looking at.
I followed his gaze to see a suspicious looking man in a black suit. He put something covered in a wool blanket in the back of a black truck. He then looked around nervously and then hopped into the back-seat of the truck.
It sped away, with some smoke following it. "I think... I think that might have been Team Rocket," Andy told me.
I gulped. "Do you think we should call the police?"
Andy shook his head. "We don't have proof that they were doing anything bad and we don't have their tag number. We don't even know if that was really Team Rocket..."
"But,--"
Just forget it. "If we just pretend we never saw anything, it'd be like we never saw anything, which would confirm to others we didn't see anything. See?"
I laughed. Andy always knew how to brighten the mood. We walked down the road. After around 10 minutes, I could see Professor Elm's Pokemon Lab. We took off in a run. Our feet pounded against the heavy steps. I looked at my watch. About 5:45. Perfect timing. I rattled on the door. Elm was drinking coffee from a mug. He looked somewhat amused to see me.
"Come on in, come on in." Andy pulled open the door and we went inside.
"Good morning. May I offer you two a drink? Some juice, coffee, soda, milk...?"
"I'll take a soda," I said.
Andy agreed.
After about 10 minutes, the Prof. had finished his breakfast and we sat at a table. "So, I guess you two are ready to start your journeys as Pokemon Trainers," he said with a smile on his face. "It is a long, hard road to be the best in the Pokemon training, you know. There are many obstacles and challenges."
I nodded. "We know that. That's why we stayed back a year, to rethink our training. We understand the danger..."
Prof. Elm nodded. "You two do know a lot about Pokemon and each other. Will you be getting Pokemon or just the Poke'dex?"
"Just a Poke'dex," I said. "I brought Pichu from home and Andy is gonna buy a Pokemon."
"I see," he said. He smiled at us both. "If you ever run into Professor Oak, please tell him that I am resuming my training to be better than him. Well, ... not better, but as good as him. Well, if he'd consider me as good, but,--,"
"We get it," I said. He handed us both a Poke'dex each. They were the latest model, with all 352 Pokemon in it.
Suddenly, an electronic voice on his computer spoke up. "You've got mail." Prof. Elm bent over to examine the screen on his computer. He sighed and turned to us.
"Um ... would you two mind doing me a quick favor?"
Andy and I looked at each other and nodded. "Sure. What can we do to help?"
Elm typed something onto the computer and then walked over to us. "My friend, Mr. Pokemon's Fearow is sick. He has something he really needs to show me ... it's important. I'll give you each some Pokeballs for free if you do this."
I turned to Andy. "We do need Pokeballs since we really hafta spend our money wisely..."
"And I'll give Andy money to buy his starter Pokemon," Elm added.
Andy smiled. "Throw in a few Potions and you've got a deal."
Elm shook our hands and handed us a digital chip for our Poke'Nav. "That is a digital chip. It contains a map of pretty much every country you're in. You'll need it. Mr. Pokemon lives at the very end of Cherrygrove. I'll expect you guys back here by tomorrow morning. It'll be a long journey from there to here. Please be careful and DON'T hitchhike."
"Okay," Andy and I said in unison.
"Thanks, you two," Elm said.
We stuffed our Poke'dex's in our backpockets and our Poke'Nav's in the front.
"Good thing we have pants with a lot of pockets," I muttered. "We have so much stuff..."
"Here's the Poke `Shop," Andy said after we'd been walking for about half an hour. He pointed to a small blue building with a giant red P on the top. He ran right inside.
I followed him and sighed. "Thanks for waiting up for me."
When I got inside, Andy was already looking at glass cages filled with Pokemon. I saw him completely gushing over a Meowth. It had a silver coin on the top of its head instead of a golden one.
"How much does this cost?" Andy asked the shop owner.
"The regulars cost $50. This cost $100."
Andy looked at the hundred dollar bill Elm had given him, looked at the Meowth and smiled. "I'll take it."
We left the store. Andy held the Pokeball in his hand. "That's pretty rare," he said.
"So, check the Poke'Nav. How much further to Mr. P's house?" I asked.
Andy did some clicking around. "About 8 miles. Should we catch a bus or something?"
"No way," I said. "We hafta get used to walking long distances. When we get to islands, forests and stuff there won't be any buses to take us through there."
Andy put his hand through his hair. "I guess you're right."
I smiled. "I know I am. It's still early. I guess we can stop and get something to eat later."
Suddenly, I was struck from behind. I fell on my elbows and knees with a cry of pain and turned to the attacker. I recognized it. A Ratatta. Without taking the time to check my Poke'dex, I threw Pichu's Pokeball.
"Pichu, I choose you!"
In a flash of white light, the tiny yellow mouse came out. Ratatta focused its attention on Pichu instead and Tackled it easily.
"Laurie, remember Pichu has never been in a battle before!" Andy hissed. "What are you doing?"
I ignored him. "Pichu, come on. Hit him with a Spark attack!" I ordered. Pichu's body sparked and then he charged at Ratatta. They both went flying. I caught Pichu in my arms and Ratatta landed hard on the pavement. Pichu shook off the pain and jumped right back after Ratatta. Ratatta was prepared. It came around with an offensive Tail Whip as Pichu jumped at him. Pichu was struck hard in the side of the head and fell to its side in pain.
Andy grabbed my arm. "That is a strong Ratatta. A real trainer would know when to throw the towel in! Pichu can't defeat Ratatta!"
I knew Pichu wasn't ready to give up yet. He hopped back to his feet and charged at Ratatta again. Again Ratatta knocked Pichu to the ground with another Offensive Tail Whip. Ratatta jumped right on top of Pichu and bared his sharp teeth. However, I think thats what Pichu wanted. Pichu grabbed onto Ratatta's neck with his hands and his feet with his own feet.
"Nice work!" I cried. "Thundershock!"
Pichu glowed yellow and a shock of electricity surged through Ratatta's body. Ratatta rolled over, sparking.
"Finish it off with Headbutt!" I commanded.
Pichu Headbutted Ratatta hard to the ground. Ratatta now had a huge cut on its head. It slowly got to its feet. Pichu stood in front of it, ready to keep the fight going, but Ratatta charged away.
Andy scratched his head. "That ... was impressive and pretty smart. Sorry for doubting you two."
I shook my head. "It's okay. We know Meowth can fight. Elm caught it himself, and we just found out how talented Pichu is. It needs to get its level up by battling with other Pokemon."
Andy nodded.
It was about 6:00 at night. The sun had started to go down a bit. Andy and I sat in a burger restaraunt.
"I'll take the double bacon cheeseburger and a large fry," Andy said.
"I'll take the same, no pickles please," I added.
Andy and I sat at a booth and looked outside. "Well, we only have another two or three miles," Andy muttered. "Seems like this Mr. Pokemon dude really wants to give Elm this ..."
"What do you think it is?" I asked.
Andy shrugged. "I'm not sure. Could be lotsa things ... a new invention, medicine, a Pokemon egg. Could be anything actually."
I nodded. The waitress came to our table. "Two bowls of Pokemon food, and two bacon double cheeseburgers with fries, one without pickles. Here ya go."
She handed us the baskets of food and then walked down the aisle. Pichu and Meowth dug into the bowls of Pokemon food. "We'll spend the night at Mr. Pokemon's house and then leave early so we can get whatever Elm needs back to him, and then we'll be back on the road tomorrow night," I said doing the math in my head.
"Sounds like a plan," Andy muttered. "I was thinking ... don't you think that we should increase our force?"
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
Andy scratched his head. "I mean, shouldn't we get some more Pokemon, so we can protect ourselves and stuff? I mean, if we come across Team Rocket or something, I don't think we can take all of them on with a Pichu and a baby Meowth."
"When the time comes, we will catch Pokemon. But not to protect ourselves because we're afraid of what someone might do to us."
"But if it happens, we need some Pokemon to back us up. Don't get me wrong, I'm not using them or anything, but we really do need to make our force stronger ... getting more Pokemon is the way to do it."
I stopped chewing on my fry and thought about it. "Andy, listen. I'm not catching Pokemon to protect myself. You can do that if you want. But if I see a Pokemon and I feel it's the right time to catch it. I will."
Andy smiled. "You're a good Pokemon Trainer." He took a bite into his burger. "But you're right. Right now what we hafta worry about is getting to Mr. Pokemon's house. If we don't get there soon, we'll be caught in the pitch black. So, everyone hurry up and eat."
Pichu, Meowth and I ate our burgers a little quicker.
I was tapped on the shoulder. I turned to who was tapping me and saw a tall young girl. She had braces and long black hair. "Hi. My name is Gail ... and I saw your battle with that Ratatta earlier. My Caterpie and I were in the bushes, trying to catch a Kakuna when we saw you. I think you and Pichu make a good team. No ... a great team."
"Thank you," I said, smiling. "What Pokemon do you have?"
"Kakuna, Caterpie and Venonat."
"You're a bug Pokemon trainer? That's nice. This is my Pichu and this over here is my friend Andy. That's his Meowth right here."
Gail said "hi" to all of us. "Well, it was nice meeting you," she said. "I guess I should be getting on the road now. I'm meeting my cousin. We're camping in the woods tonight and I'd hate to leave her there all alone in the forest for a long time. She's only nine. I hope I'll see you guys again sometimes."
"Same here," I said.
"Nice meeting you. Bye," Andy said, waving.
I put the last bit of my burger into my mouth. "We all ready to go? Let's pay the check and head to Mr. Pokemon's house."
The sun was now down and steetlights glowed against the ground. "Only another mile," Andy muttered. "It feels like we've been walking for days!"
"Yeah. It's been a while. But we can't take a break. We're nearly there."
My feet started to hurt and it felt like someone had stuck nails in my legs. "Hey! See that light?" Andy called, running towards a house. "We're here! Finally!"
Pichu and I ran after him. "Pii!" Pichu chirped. We had gotten inches from the door. It was in my grasp when suddenly a hand clapped over my mouth and another hand under my arm. I was hoisted into the air and thrown into a pit of some sort. I gasped as I fell deeper and deeper into the hole. I landed hard on something with a THUD! Pichu fell on top of my stomach seconds later. I rolled over and screamed as I fell another 20 feet. I landed on my elbows and knees and gasped in pain.
Pichu once again fell on me. He hit the back of my head and I hit the ground hard.
Pichu crawled off of me. Wherver I was it was pitch black. I gasped as once again a hand clamped over my mouth and I was lifted into the air. I expected to be tossed into another hole. I struggled to pry the cold, clammy hands from my mouth, but whoever it was held on tight. I didn't hafta struggle much longer.
Without any command, Pichu used a Thunder Jolt attack. A sharp bolt of electricity nailed my attacker in the back. He gasped in pain. He didn't fall, but he let go of me which gave me some time to get away from him. A light flashed on and I turned around.
The person who grabbed me was wearing a mask of some sort. It looked like a mummy, but instead of bandages there were black leather straps around his head. He was huge. I screamed again. He had Pichu in one hand. Pichu struggled to be set free.
He pulled something out of his pocket. A knife. I backed away from him until my back was against the wall. The man walked closer to me. He was close enough, I could smell his hot, sour breath. I tried to turn my head, but he grabbed my head and pulled me close to him.
"Let go!" I cried.
He let go, but then he rose the knife up. Suddenly, the hand he was holding Pichu in, glowed yellow. The man gasped in pain and dropped Pichu. Pichu landed on his feet. Pichu had used a Spark attack while the man was holding him.
While he shook his hand, I nodded to Pichu. "Thundershock!"
The man looked up, but it was too late. Pichu hit a huge Thundershock. The man shook violently and then collapsed to the ground. He gasped for air and banged his fist on the ground. I reached down and pulled off his mask. He felt his head and then turned to me, looking up.
His face was kind of chubby and his nose was swolen. It looked like he had been cut in the face or something, since a huge scar was on his left cheek. His eyes burned with fury, but he still remained on the ground.
"Laurie!" a voice hissed.
I turned and saw Andy standing on the other side of the room.
I quickly ran over to him with Pichu following close behind. He grabbed my hand and Pichu jumped onto my shoulder. He pulled me into a dimly lit hallway, and then into another door which led, yet into another hallway.
"Where are we going?" I demanded.
"There's a way to get out of here, but there are about five guards we hafta get through..."
He grabbed my hand again and pulled me into one more room. This time he pulled out a Pokeball. "And we're going to have to fight them."
TO BE CONTINUED
Next time: Andy and Laurie hafta fight off many huge guards, but then when they start to find a way out, they find an amazing discovery. Find out what it is in the next episode!!!