Taylor gave us the direct location. "Okay, tell the police that--."
     "We're going," I said, pulling on my shoes.
     Taylor's jaw dropped. "Wha?!" 
     "You heard right," I said. "We're not going to any freaking police. We're 
going to solve this ourselves. 
    "You guys are crazy! Do you know how much trouble you could get in? Besides, 
whoever was doing this is apparently very powerful and intelligent."
     Jamie and I stood up. She looked Taylor straight in the eye. "We didn't get 
this far by being cowards, backing down from those that were 'better,' and 
listening to everything we were told."
     Taylor looked down. "I understand that, but..."
     I shook my head. "We know you understand, but this is personal. Those 
Pokémon singled us out and attacked us! We have a score to settle. And I know 
Rhydon here has some things he needs to get settle too. We're gonna find out who 
did this."
     Taylor sighed. "I assume there is no stopping you in that case. Here are 
the directions."

*                                               *                                              
*
Jamie and I rode on Taylor's bikes once more. Pikachu slept in the basket of my 
bike. I put Pidgeotto and Rhydon's Pokéballs in there also. Jamie put Squirtle's 
ball in her basket. I realized ... we'd been training for over a week. I had 
caught two Pokémon already, but Jamie hadn't caught any. 
     Almost as if on cue, I saw a moving figure near the stream beside us. It 
apparently caught Jamie's eye also. She stopped her bike and pointed. "Look, 
Dimmy! It's a Poliwhirl!"
     "I know," I said. "Catch it! Now's your chance!"
     Jamie hopped off your bike. "You're right. Pokéball go!"
     Poliwhirl turned. It face the ball and used a Water Gun. The ball flew back 
into Jamie's hand. "Hey! What happened?"
     "It's not gonna be that easy to catch a Pokémon," I said. "You've gotta 
weaken it first, remember?"
     Jamie nodded and reached into the bike basket. "I choose you, Squirtle!"
     Squirtle came out of the ball, but was asleep when it came out.
     Jamie's face turned red. "AAAHH, Squirtle!"
     I looked at my watch. It was nearly midnight. "It is pretty late," I told 
Jamie. "It's no wonder."
     By this time, Poliwhirl had aimed a Bubblebeam attack at Jamie. Jamie 
gasped and dodged out of the way. 
     Poliwhirl did a backflip, landing in the stream. I didn't see it anymore 
after that. I sighed, feeling bad since Jamie apparently didn't know as much 
about battling.
     I helped her up to her feet. "You all right?" I asked.
     "Yeah," she muttered. "I can't believe Poliwhirl got away. Oh man..."
     "It's okay," I said. "There will be more Pokémon out there. Right now we've 
gotta worry about finding this radio broadcast place. From these directions, we 
should only be about a mile or so away."
     Jamie nodded. "Squirtle, return."
     Squirtle yawned and then returned to its Pokéball. 
     I was pretty tired also. "Maybe we should just camp out here."
     Jamie shrugged. "What's the point? Listen, you said yourself the sooner we 
find those -- those monsters, the better! And now, seeing I've gotta improve as 
a trainer ... I'm as ready as ever."                 
     I nodded. "Yes, but we also need rest in order to be prepared for them. I 
know every minute we waste, the problem may get worse, but that's all the 
motivation we need to kick their a--"
     "Okay, okay, I got it," Jamie said, interrupting me. "You're right. Let's 
get out our sleeping bags, and sleep for four or five hours. I am pretty tired."
     
TEAM ROCKET HQ.....
Lisa smiled. "So ... I bet we won't be seeing those twerps again, after all of 
those rock Pokémon started a rampage. I say it was our best move ... ever!"
     "Those losers are so weak they make Meeeeeowth look great!" Meowth said, 
filing his claws. They were sharp and gleamed in the light above.
     Luke sighed and shook his head. "Yes, it's cute that the weaklings believed 
they had a chance. Let's see ... they have a Squirtle, a Pidgeotto ... and of 
course that darned Pikachu!"
     A coworker who was walking by stopped and gave the Rockets a grin. "Well, 
wasn't it those same Pokémon and trainers who mopped the floor with you guys and 
sent you flying through the air like a couple of dumb rockets? Hahahaha!"
     The man stood there, laughing so hard that tears were starting to come out 
of his eyes. 
     "It wasn't all that funny," Lisa murmured under her breath.
     Without warning, Luke reared back and struck the man hard across the face 
with the back of his hand. 
     The man stopped laughing and held his cheek. Luke then rose up his leg and 
hit him with a knee to the jaw. 
     The man fell backwards, gasping in pain. Several other teenagers gathered 
around. Some people started cheering and whooping, with chants like "get that 
punk, Luke!" as Luke kicked the man in the ribs.
     "HEY! STOP IT!" 
     Luke was grabbed by a large man. He looked down at Luke. "You and me need 
to have a talk."
     He pulled Luke by the arm, outside of the building and tossed him against 
the wall. Luke had no fear in his eyes. The man bent down so they were face to 
face.
     "Luke, this is the third time this month that you've got into a fight here. 
We are supposed to be fighting those who disagree with us."
     Luke stared him dead in the eye. "Well, he did disagree with me. Now don't 
you feel dumb, Francis?"
     Francis glared at him. "I told you, the name Frank C in public!"
     "Right ... Frank C..."
     Frank looked down at him wit hard, unforgiving gray eyes. For several 
moments they said nothing, then Frank sighed and shook his head. "Listen ... 
we're friends. We've been friends for years. And as a friend, I'm telling you if 
you and another Rocket--"
     "He hasn't been made a Rocket yet," Luke said.
     "Right," Frank continued. "If you and another Rocket or a coworker get into 
a fight which you started, I think you'll be fired. Boss is disappointed in you 
and your little group already. He doesn't need you losing all your battles and 
then fighting his workers. He needs you to either steal, or catch some Pokémon 
to build the empire, and show the world what we've got, so Team Rocket will be 
the most dominant force in the whole galaxy." 
     Luke smirked. "You're a bad man."
     Frank laughed and gave a smile. "Yeah, I know. Let's say we go apologize to 
the little punk you hit and get a sandwich?"
     He pulled Luke to his feet, and Luke reluctantly nodded, following Frank 
back into the building. 

We packed up our stuff, continuing on our journey.
     "I feel like I'm being watched," Jamie said in a low voice. The sweet smell 
of pine was floating through the air and the morning sun dawned down. "Something 
just ... isn't right."
     "I think you're paranoid," I said, with an abrupt edge in my voice. "If 
you're thinking about backing down right now, you can put that idea in a safe, 
lock it up and throw it over a cliff, alright?"
     She was taken aback. "Who said anything about backing down? Listen, I'm 
just as involved in this as you are, Dimmy. You said yourself we were in this 
together. Even if the worst happens--."
     "It won't," I said, turning away from her. I climbed onto my bike and put 
Pidgeotto into its Pokéball, then let Pikachu hop into the basket.
     "How do you know?" she demanded. "You've got know way of knowing for sure 
what's going to happen."
     "You need to stop being negative!" I snapped.
     "I'm not being negative," Jamie said, with a look of concern on her face. 
"You keep telling me how I'm acting when you have no idea what I'm feeling right 
now. I think you're the one with a bad attitude."
     I looked away. "Then maybe you shouldn't come along," I said quietly.
     For a moment there was an uncomfortable silence. "You know what, you're 
very immature," Jamie said. "You want to go separate ways. After all this. After 
one argument."
     I remained silent. She was right in some ways. We'd been through a lot 
together. And it was just one argument. 
     "Forget it," I said. "You're right. We're in this together, like you said."
     She smiled and put her head against mine. "Enter together. Get out of it 
together. Period."

The big building came into view. The big black building with an "R" on the 
center. It was hidden by trees, far out away from civilization, but we had the 
exact directions.
     "Hah! We made it," I said, slowing the bike to a stop. "Here, we've gotta 
hide these bikes. Those guys probably have freakin cameras all over the place."
     Pikachu jumped out of the basket and I stuffed the Pokéballs into my 
pockets. 
     We put the bikes in a couple of bushes. I got on my hands and knees and 
crawled slowly towards the building. It enlarged as we got nearer. 
     "How are we going to get in?" Jamie whispered.
     I hadn't thought that far. "We need to cause a distraction," I said. "I 
don't know how, but we can't just go walking in there looking for a fight. We've 
gotta beat them at their own game. Give them a dose of their own medicine. 
Ambush em."
     "Well, even if we do manage to defeat them, how are we going to know how to 
break the radio signals? They may be controlling thousands of Pokémon and have 
it implanted into their minds. They won't be able to stop, because no one was 
there to help."
     "That may be true," I admitted. "But that's negativity. Think positive, be 
positive, and let's go in there and kick some Rocket a--."
     "I, uh ... get your point," Jamie interrupted. 
     We inched closer and closer to the building.
     "See any cameras?" I asked.
     "Pika," Pikachu said, shaking his head. 
     "I don't either," Jamie said. 
     I nodded and then I shoulder rolled across the side of the building and 
poked my head along the opposite side of the wall, then quickly brought my head 
back.
     "There's two cameras on the side," I whispered. "Jamie, I'm gonna need 
Squirtle."
     Jamie nodded and took his ball out of her pocket. She pressed the button 
and Squirtle popped out. As soon as it did, I took Pidgeotto out of its 
Pokéball. I kneeled down. "Pidgeotto, take Squirtle and zoom him up to the roof. 
Squirtle, when you're on the roof, jump down, using your Bubblebeam attack to 
take out those cameras. Pidgeotto will catch you before you hit the ground."
     "Squirtle, Squirr, Squirt!" Squirtle said with a nod and a thumbs up.
     He held out his arms. Pidgeotto wrapped his talons around Squirtle's arms 
and flew up.

INSIDE TEAM ROCK HQ.....
Luke yawned and set his cola down on the table. "Well, we've currently got over 
80 Pokémon under our belts. Tomorrow night we go into action," he said to Lisa 
and Meowth. "We'll take over the city. Then the state. Then the country. Then 
the continent. Then the world. Then the galaxy. And then my friends, the 
universe."
     "We get your point, needlehead," Meowth said, filing his claws. "It'll take 
a while, but we're all going to be known here. And as God as Meeeeeowth's 
witness, we're going to take over the universe, and be the most dominant force 
ever!"
     Lisa, Luke and Meowth smashed their cola cans in the air against each 
other, sending fizz everywhere.
     "We have a problem here," someone said.
     Lisa, Meowth and Luke all turned.
     "Camera's 7 and 8 are out. Something's wrong."
     "Intruders! Don't just stand there, go! Go!" The big man in the chair 
shouted after all the Rockets. He slammed his cigar down angrily and rose to his 
feet, his face hidden in the ocean of darkness before him.

"You know they're gonna come looking for us," Jamie said. "What do we do now?"
     I kicked at an air vent until it dented and fell backwards. "Everyone in 
here. Thanks for your help Pidgeotto and Squirtle. Pidgeotto, return."
     Pidgeotto glowed red and went back into his Pokéball. 
     Squirtle went into the airvent first. Jamie then got in. I climbed in after 
Jamie. "Hurry, Pikachu," I said.
     "Pika!" Pika chirped. It pulled up the air vent and put it back in place, 
even though it was a bit dented. 
     It scurried along after me. "Let's move," Jamie said, now that we were all 
in. Squirtle crawled forward. After about 30 seconds, I heard a commotion 
outside. We turned around and saw Rockets running around. We were temporarily 
safe, since they couldn't fit into the vents ... but their Pokémon could. I 
prayed they wouldn't find us.
     I poked Jamie. "Go," I whispered as quietly as humanly possible.
     It took her about 3 seconds to figure out what I said, but then she nodded 
and followed Squirtle forward. Eventually we reached a large light. The vent 
curved in 4 different directions.
     "Where do we go?" I asked, finally.
     Jamie was as confused as I was. "Oh, I don't know," she muttered. "I don't 
even know where the hell we are."
     I looked around. "Um..."
     "Pika?" Pikachu asked, pointing.
     I looked, and gasped. "Oh my God!"
     Jamie saw it also. To the left of us, we could see forward, into a dark 
room. There was a harsh smell. Black slime was coming out of the room, leaking 
through the vent. The black slime was lurching forward. It was steaming. It was 
... acid!
     "Move, move, move!" I yelled, not worrying about my voice. I feared Rockets 
had heard me, but I didn't care. Squirtle ran forward and Jamie crawled after 
it. I crawled quickly after Jamie. Pikachu was hot on my tail. I didn't know 
where we were gonna crawl, just far away from the acid!
     "Where did that stuff come from?" Jamie asked. "Out of that room behind the 
vents?"
     "Maybe, I don't know. It looked like it. Keep moving," I said. 
     After a minute I turned around. The slime was -- following us! This time, I 
pushed Jamie forwards. She rolled across the vent and then crashed into 
Squirtle, knocking them ahead of me. "Are you crazy?" Jamie asked. "Are you 
trying to get us killed?"
     "No! It's like, 10 feet behind us. GO, darn it!"
     Jamie was frozen in place. "We can't."
     "And WHY not?" I asked, angrily.
     "Dead end," Jamie said quietly. "We ... we should have turned right."
     I looked down. The vent led to an empty room. I then looked back at the 
slime. About eight feet behind us. We could get eaten alive by the slime, or 
risk a 10 foot drop to the ground. Tough decision. I pick 10 foot drop.
     "We're gonna wait for the slime to get near us," I said, now getting on my 
knees, focusing my weight on the vent. "Or acid, whatever it is. When it does, 
you all jump on my back."
     "O-okay," Jamie said. She had no room to protest. She was terrified. 
     It was less than a foot away and I could feel the heat, hear the hiss and 
cringed from the steam.
     "NOW!" I cried.
     Pikachu jumped on my head. Jamie threw herself on my back and Squirtle 
jumped on Jamie's.
     The slime was so close, I had to move my hands to keep from getting burned. 
Now, it was close enough. It touched the top of the vent and the vent quickly 
gave out. The bar snapped and we went flying towards the ground.
     I hit the ground first. Pikachu landed next to me. Then Jamie, and lastly, 
Squirtle fell in front of me. He pulled Pikachu to its feet and I hopped up. 
"Come on. The slime is gonna fall down here. Move!"
     Jamie scrambled to her feet. She threw herself against a door. It quickly 
shot open. I ran in after her. Once everyone was in, I slammed the door shut and 
then ran forward. However Squirtle and Pikachu grabbed my legs.
     I fell to my knees and Jamie cupped a hand over my mouth. "Are you crazy?" 
she hissed. "You can't just slam through every door like that. There are 
probably dozens of cameras in that room in front of us."
     I pushed her hand away and kneeled. "What makes you think that?"
     "Notice, no one ever comes into these rooms. And look up there, the sign on 
the door."
     I glanced up. <b> Control Room </b>
     "Squirtle, Squirt," Squirtle said. 
     "Hey, did you hear somethin?!" The voice came from the control room. 
     "Yeah, I did! Sounded like a Pokémon or somethin," the other voice said. 
     I heard steady walking towards the door. Jamie and I exchanged worried 
glances. Now we were able to see the shadows of the people behind the door. Each 
step they took were slow and menacing. I could make out the shape of a woman and 
a man.  
     The man wrapped his hand around the cold doorknob and twisted it, so it 
cracked open. He then pulled the door open towards him and stepped into the 
room. 
     The room was empty. The woman stepped in after the man and looked around. 
"Hah. I knew you were going crazy."
     The male turned to her. "Yeah right. You said you heard it too. Stop being 
such a-- OOF!"
     I jumped out of my hiding place hanging from the fan and onto the man. He 
was thrown against the wall and I aimed a kick to his stomach.
     The woman reached for me and tried to grab my neck. I ducked out of the 
way. Jamie leaped out of the closet. Pikachu and Squirtle followed behind. The 
three tackled the woman to the ground and she slid across the floor.
     "Pikachu, Thunder Wave!" I ordered.
     Pikachu sparked with static electricity. It hovered around his cheeks. 
Pikachu then glowed yellow and growled as the charge of static flew from its 
body and hit the two Rockets.
     They shook violently and then both collapsed.
     "What do we do now?" Jamie asked quickly. "They could wake up in only a few 
minutes!"
     I looked around in the closet. After about a minute I sighed in relief. 
"Yes! They have ropes here. Jamie, hold it."
     Jamie held the rope. I peeled off my shirt and stripped off the clothes 
from the male Rocket. I put his shirt on. I then switched my jean pants and 
threw them to the side, putting on the Rocket's pants. I reached down for his 
black hat last, and took it. I placed it on. 
     "Great idea," Jamie said with a smile. She too, took off her street clothes 
and took the female Rocket's clothes and hat. After we were fully changed, 
Pikachu and Squirtle tied the two Rockets back to back. Jamie and I helped lift 
them up and Squirtle opened the closet door. We tossed them inside.
     "Wait, there might be some stuff in here that we can use," Jamie said, 
before I could lock the door shut. 
     She dug in there and tossed some things to me. A steel chain, a few smoke 
bombs and goggles.
     "What are the goggles for?" I asked.
     Jamie made sure there was just enough air for the Rockets to breathe. She 
then locked the storage closet. "Here, I'm sure they're experts at picking 
locks," I said. I took a chair that had been sitting in the corner. I walked it 
over to the door and placed it under the knob. This way, the knob would not 
move, therefore, the door wouldn't open.
     "Ready?" I asked. Jamie nodded. We opened the door and walked in casually.
     Squirtle was back in his Pokéball and Pikachu walked beside me, as if just 
one of the Rocket Pokémon. 
     "Hey," a hand clamped down on my shoulder. Jamie's eyes got big and I had 
to bite my tongue to keep from gasping out loud.
     Lisa had her hand on my shoulder. "Are you one of the new Rockets that Boss 
brought in here?" she asked. 
     I knew she'd recognize my voice. I disguised it, trying to sound deeper. 
"Y-yeah," I squealed.
     The voice came out as more of a squeak. Lisa nodded. "Right. Well, welcome 
to the headquarters. If you do everything Boss says and don't screw up, you'll 
fit in just fine."
     I nodded. "Yeah, um ... thank you. I'll k-keep that in m-mind."     
     "Ya should. Just remember it," she said. With a quick flick of her hand, 
her form a wave she was gone down the hall. 
     When I was sure we weren't being filmed I pulled Jamie aside. "Okay, how do 
we find the controls? They're somewhere in that room."
     Jamie glared at me. "Huh? How am I supposed to know that? You're the brains 
of the operation, remember? I thought you had everything under control!"
     I sighed. "Well, I don't. I didn't know how hard it would be to slip past 
the Rockets. They're popping up everywhere."
     We made our way over to the controls. Jamie purposely stood in front of the 
camera that could show what I was doing, pretending that she was fixing her 
hair.
     Pikachu sat on top of another camera, putting its tail in the way of the 
lens, so it couldn't see me either. I flipped through papers quickly.
     "Radio controls, radio controls ... jeez, why don't they put anything in 
alphabetical order?!" I hissed.
     Then my finger slid across one page. "Radio control waves! Here it is!"
     "Read it quick!" Jamie ordered, trying to keep her voice quiet and deep, 
pretending it wasn't herself.
     I read the whole page. They talked about Pokémon blood atoms in their 
brains being affected by the supersonic waves, but NOTHING about where the 
controls were or how to stop it!
     I turned to Jamie frantically. She bit her lower lip and closed her eyes, 
as if she knew we were doomed. Not only could we get caught, but if we didn't 
save those Pokémon, everybody was in danger.
     I looked again and in frustration slammed my hand down in the desk. The 
page bounced up into the air and flipped around ... there was a back to the 
page!
     A sigh of relief escaped my lips. I read down the page. By the last 
paragraph, I thought there was no hope. But then in bold capitals, I saw it. 
<b>TO SHUT OFF RADIO CONTROLS.</b>
     "Yes," I whispered under my breath. It said to enter the numeral code into 
the huge control panel under the mist system. Mist system?
     I looked up around me. I quickly noticed a blue picture-looking thing that 
showed an ocean with crashing waves. Instinctively, I touched it. Mist shot out 
of it, leaving my face damp, but refreshed.
     I regained composure and looked down below it and saw the huge screen with 
the numbers and letters on it. I looked down at the paper. 
A6HDK998DHFRADI0C0NTROL. 
     "Wow, that's long," I muttered.
     "Hurry," I heard Jamie cough.
     I turned to her and nodded. I then reached up and started typing in the 
code. A6HDK998DHFRADI0--
     I felt a clammy hand clamp down on my shoulder. Then a gloved hand over my 
mouth. I heard Jamie scream and Pikachu yelp. I was lifted out of the chair and 
the paper fell from my hands, landing on the ground. 
     A large masked man wearing rubber gloves had a hold of Pikachu.
     "PIKAACHUU!" Pikachu cried. It tried to hit him with a Thundershock, but it 
all went to the man's rubber gloves and he felt nothing. I heard a muffled laugh 
come out of his mouth. Jamie was being held by a rather masculine woman with 
huge muscles, blonde hair, several tattoos and dark sunglasses, covering her 
eyes. She had her arm wrapped around Jamie's neck. I saw Jamie's eyes fading. 
     I tried to yell out, but my mouth was dry. No sound came out. The man 
holding onto me did the same. I struggled to squirm away. He had a good hold on 
me. I was slowly fading...
     In a desperate attempt, I reached up my knee and brought it back, kicking 
him in the groin.
     "AAAAHH!" he yelled. He let go of me and I turned around to face him. He 
was bald with a short beard. He had silver, devilish eyes. His muscles were 
incredibly large and he was about 6 and a half feet tall.
     I kicked him in the shins. He bent over. I then rose up my knee, hitting 
him in the face, then punched him in the jaw.
     He was knocked off his feet finally. I took off without a second thought. 
     The woman who had Jamie looked on helplessly and the man with Pikachu held 
him under his arm and bent down to check on the man I had taken down.
     I looked over my shoulder as I ran, but I suddenly stopped and turned. 
Making its way towards me was the slime. The dark slimy muck that burnt 
everything in its path.
     I looked at the slime then back at the room. The woman was running towards 
me. 
     The slime ... the woman ... the slime ...
     I backed up towards the slime. The woman didn't see it. Maybe I could find 
a way out of this!
     She was about two feet away from me. "COME HERE, YA LITTLE JERK!" She 
jumped towards me. I closed my eyes and moved out of the way. She crashed to the 
floor, on top of the slime. She screamed in pain.
     The slime wasn't melting her or burning her. It was ... constricting her.
     My eyes widened as it wrapped around her body. 
     After about a minute her whole body was wrapped in the purple muck. It 
slowly made her way up to her mouth and wrapped around her head, making a 
slurping sound as it did so. My mouth opened and closed. I was terrified at what 
I saw.
     After another few seconds, it had reached the top of her head. Then ... she 
stopped moving. 
     The squirming, the yelling, the pushing, it was all over. No ... it wasn't.
     The purple muck started shaking. It expanded. I watches as the muck started 
growing, upwards. It looked like a big purple beach ball. Then it started to 
grow arms ... and a mouth. The large dark mouth that let out a roar. It was 
huge, purple, and still growing.
     I took a step back and looked up at it, wide-eyed. It was now about an inch 
taller than I was. Its arms grew hands, and then fingers. Then I saw one eye. 
Then another.
     It stopped growing and looked up at the ceiling with a roar.
     "It's ... it's ... a Muk!"
     Muk reached up its large arm and brought it down at me. I rolled backwards, 
out of the way. There was a crack in the floor where I had been.
     I turned back around and ran back towards the room. But the large man with 
Pikachu shut the door in my face and I heard him on the inside trying to lock 
it. Then he succeeded. The door was locked.
     I turned back towards the Muk. It was slowly sliding towards me, coming out 
of the darkness. The lights flickered as it moved, and I saw its furious eyes. 
     "Ohhh man."
     I turned back towards the door and banged on it. "LET ME IN! LET ME IN 
HERE!"
     But they didn't. No reply at all. I knew I had no choice. I was going to 
have to fight Muk.
     I took a Pokéball from my pocket. "Pidgeotto, I choose you!"
     The bird Pokémon flew out of its Pokéball and hovered in front of me. I 
stood against the door just to be safe. "Pidgeotto, hit Muk with your best Gust 
attack!"
     Pidgeotto flew up into the air and towards Muk. It flapped its wings hard. 
White streaks of light flew down and hit Muk with great impact. Muk slid 
backwards a few inches, but I could tell it was nowhere close to being defeated.
     "Try Double-Edge attack!"
     Pidgeotto glowed a green color and glided down towards Muk. Muk was knocked 
to its side, while Pidgeotto bounced back in the air.
     "Good job!" I cried. "Go for it again!"
     Pidgeotto rammed itself into Muk again. This time Muk looked injured a 
little bit. Pidgeotto flew backwards and went for another Gust, but Muk reached 
up and grabbed Pidgeotto by the wing. Muk held Pidgeotto above its head and then 
threw it into the air.
     Pidgeotto crashed into the ceiling, and as it was falling, Muk hit 
Pidgeotto with a Sludge Attack, right to the stomach.
     Pidgeotto fell down to the ground, shaking.
     Muk rose up into the air and jumped up. It was going for a Body Slam! "LOOK 
OUT!" I yelled.
     Pidgeotto opened one eye and then scrambled out of the way before Muk could 
jump on top of it. Muk hit the ground and I saw this was a good opening.
     "Pidgeotto, hit Muk with Quick Attack!"
     Pidgeotto glowed white and used Quick Attack on Muk. Muk was forced back to 
the floor. We had to keep it down, but Pidgeotto was getting tired. I knew what 
was happening, instantly. How could I have been so stupid?
     Muk's body absorbed physical blows by Pokémon smaller than it. And whenever 
Pidgeotto attacked him, Muk absorbed the blow. It was waiting for Pidgeotto to 
get worn out. Then once it did, Muk would deliver a powerful blow, then make its 
way towards us. We would all be doomed. Muk was too powerful for Pikachu or 
Squirtle and I wasn't sure if Rhydon would obey me, since I had no idea of 
knowing if it was still being radio controlled...
     Pidgeotto could come through. I knew it could. I had a backup plan.
     "Pidgeotto, stop! Don't attack Muk anymore."
     Pidgeotto looked at me curiously, but obeyed. It flew backwards a few feet 
and stood there. After a few seconds Muk rose back up and looked down the bird 
Pokémon. 
     The two were staring down each other. I could feel the tension rising. Both 
Pokémon were putting up an incredible battle. Neither one of them could defeat 
the other, and neither one had the word "backdown" in their dictionary.
     The never say die attitude of Pidgeotto and the ruthless aggression of Muk 
was almost chilling. I wasn't sure how far these two would go. It could end in 
one of them even-- dying...
     After several moments, I was sweating bullets. 
     Then Muk lost patience. He lunged towards Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto flew into 
the air, inches above Muk and let him fall to the ground.
     Muk aimed a Sludge Bomb at Pidgeotto, but Pidgeotto just backflipped in the 
air. I could tell Muk had a short temper, and it was becoming frustrated.
     Muk aimed Sludge Bomb after Sludge Bomb at Pidgeotto, but Pidgeotto kept 
moving out of the way, ever so gracefully.
     I smiled for now I saw Muk was the one getting tired. I was disappointed 
that it was so easily outsmarted ... or was it?
     Muk aimed a punch at Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto jumped onto Muk's arm as Muk's 
fist went through the wall, and got stuck in the hole it had made!
     I gave a small laugh. "Good Pidgeotto, close range Take Down!"
     Pidgeotto flew up into the air and reared its head back. Then it started to 
fly down and knock Muk out, but Muk pulled its hand out of the wall and Mega 
Punched Pidgeotto in the head.
     We were the ones outsmarted?!
     I watched helplessly as Muk slowly inched towards Pidgeotto. Muk started to 
shrink ... it was turning into the muck liquid again-- it was going to consume 
Pidgeotto alive!
     I winced as Muk made a slurping sound as it wrapped itself over Pidgeotto. 
But to my surprise, Muk stopped. Within seconds I heard what seemed like a cry 
escape Muk's mouth. It started to spin around slowly. Then faster and faster...
     "What's going on?" I asked myself. I watched as Muk spun wildly and then 
collapsed on its side. And below it was my very exhausted Pidgeotto. I saw it 
breathing heavily, waiting for Muk to get up. Pidgeotto was never gonna quit.
     Muk got up and turned to Pidgeotto. Before anyone could react, Pidgeotto 
was back behind Muk. Muk was taken down with a Tackle to the back. It stumbled 
forwards. I then saw Pidgeotto's beak glow white. It flew above Muk's head and 
spun around, then came down on Muk with a Drill Peck! 
     For a second, nobody moved. 
     It was like everything was in slow motion. I took a step back. Pidgeotto 
hovered down to the floor beside Muk.
     Muk's eyes were angry with rage. It slowly turned towards Pidgeotto and 
reared its head back. It was preparing for a Smog attack. The smoke formed in 
its mouth ... but Muk's eyes became weary and they rolled in the back of his 
head. Muk's mouth closed and it fell forward. 
     Muk was unconscious!
     I breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down to the floor. 
     But I spoke too soon! Muk rose back up and roared. I closed my eyes, 
expecting to get hit with acid or sludge, but nothing came. I opened one eye a 
little bit and saw Muk fall to the ground again. 
     After a couple of seconds, Muk turned back into its liquid form. It slid 
across the floor and into the air vent. 

     TO BE CONTINUED...