Redstreak Orphan Part 11: by Pitriboy       OT        "Us Against the World"

My friends and I walked through the Beige Forest. After what had happened with Lizzie, the bug Pokemon, and I about 2 months ago, Lizzie refused to camp out in the forest. We ended up walking for about 3 straight hours. Lizzie led us as walked through the forest.
     "Can we stop now?" Willis demanded. "It's nearly midnight and my legs hurt."
     Lizzie slowed down, but did not stop. "We are not sleeping in the woods. At least I'm not. I almost got killed last time I slept in the woods."
     Willis groaned and Lizzie approached an open field. "Here. Just keep walking about another block so we don't even hafta sleep close to the forest."
     We eventually came to a spot where Lizzie was willing to camp out. Willis didn't know how to use Camper Cube. I showed him how to use it. I took the small cube from my backpack and pressed a button on the bottom. I then tossed it a few feet ahead of me and a tent slowly rose out. The tent was big enough to fit about 10 kids. Pikachu and Willis quickly climbed into it and went to sleep. I sat next to a lake. I took off my sneakers and stuck my feet in. I smiled. The water wasn't too cold. It was just the right temperature. I relaxed and soaked my feet. Lizzie came over to me and did the same.
     "Hey, Lizzie," I said.
     Lizzie moved her feet around. "Do you think that Julius and Kio are gone for good?" she asked.
     I shrugged. "They were arrested. I'm gonna hope so."
     "The thing that really bothers me is that -- Julius killed our parents. He never even apologized or attempted to be nice to us. And now he's right where he belongs. Put away and locked up in prison. And Kio is just as well a murderer for he killed Kira -- even though Kira was a really bad person..."
     Lizzie nodded. A tear trickled down her face. I put my arm around her to comfort her. I knew that I shouldn't have brought up all the killing. Violence really upset Lizzie. But I knew that if Lizzie couldn't take violence -- how was she gonna make it as a trainer?

Willis awoke us with the sweet smell of his Super Secret Breakfast. He didn't tell any of us what the ingredients or the recipe was. All we knew is that it smelled like oatmeal and I can't explain the taste. The taste was just great!
     "Oh, you're SSB is ready?" I asked Willis. "Heh Heh. Well, you never let us down with your cooking."
     "Yeah. I think after I fulfill my dream of being the world's greatest grass Pokemon trainer, I'm going to become a chef. Hey, look out!"
     I ducked as a vine lashed out at me. It hit one of the bowls on the picnic table and the bowl fell to the ground, leaving a crack right down the middle.
     Willis jumped over the table and faced the Pokemon. I realized instantly that it was an angry Weepinbell. Willis took Gloom's Pokeball from his pocket and tossed it. "C'mon Gloom! Show this Weepinbell what you've got."
     Gloom came out of the ball. Lizzie stuck her head out of the tent -- barely awoken. I didn't know if she woke up from Willis's SSB or all of the yelling.
     "Gloom, use your Tackle attack on Weepinbell and take it out!" Willis commanded. Willis's Gloom jumped off of the table and flipped right onto Weepinbell. Weepinbell got up quickly, though. It turned around and used Razor Leaf. Gloom was knocked backwards into the table. The SSB shook. I looked at Pikachu and nodded.
     Pikachu used Thunder Wave on Weepinbell. Weepinbell had prepared for another Razor Leaf, but the impact of the Thunder Wave paralyzed it. Weepinbell shook painfully. This gave Gloom time to recover. Gloom used Foul Odor. The odor knocked out Weepinbell.
     "Whoah, is everyone alright?" Lizzie demanded, coming out of the tent. Willis nodded. He walked over to the unconscious Weepinbell.
     "This Weepinbell looks like it isn't very experienced since it didn't put up a fight much at all. Must be wild." He took a Pokeball out of his backpack which was lying on the table. He then threw the Pokeball at Weepinbell. Weepinbell was sucked inside. The ball only shook twice before Weepinbell was caught. In the midst of all that, Willis didn't seem like he was surprised or anything. "Let's eat," he said.

We ate breakfast and then walked to a small village. And when I said small, I meant it. There was a Pokemon Center, a doctor's office, a small store, a small school, a church, and about 15 houses. We jogged to the Pokemon Center. "Hello there," Nurse Joy said. "You're up early. How may I help you?"
     "We would like you to heal our Pokemon, please," I said. Nurse Joy smiled and gave us a nod. We each put our Pokeballs on a tray. Nurse Joy placed them on an old fashioned type healing machine. She put it under a light and turned a power generator on under the trays.
     We all sat down. Lizzie popped some gum in her mouth and read a "Teen Power" magazine. Willis had a soda and read an article in the newspaper. I took out my CD player. Before I could slip the headphones on, a kid about my age who was wearing a leather jacket and baggy black jeans came into the center. He had spiky brown hair and wore sunglasses. He looked strangely familiar...
     The boy cleared his throat. "Erm--can I get my Pokemon healed?" he demanded.
     Nurse Joy smiled. "Sure. Hand me your Pokeballs please." The boy took 4 Pokeballs out of his jacket pocket and placed them in Nurse Joy's hands. Nurse Joy placed them on a tray and put them on the generator.
     "Okay, your Pokemon are being healed as we speak."
     The boy looked at us and smiled. "Hey! Lizzie and Woody."
     He took off his sunglasses and I saw it was... JT! (We met JT in the third story.)
     JT walked over to me with a huge smile on his face. I smiled and gave him a high five and he gave Lizzie a hug and a peck on the cheek.
     "Nice to see you man," I said. "Looks like you got another Pokemon."
     JT nodded. "Actually, I had to release one. He was starting to get violent and the police took him... I still have Haunter and Spearow, though. I also caught a Goldeen and a Magby.
     He glanced at Willis. "Oh, this is Willis," Lizzie said. "He's a gym leader and he joined along with us. Willis, this is JT."
     Willis shook his hand. JT looked pretty curious when he saw Lizzie. "Wow, Lizzie. It's been about 3 months since I've seen you. You're really cute. You can't get much more prettier."
     Lizzie blushed. I could tell that she and JT really liked each other.
     "All of your Pokemon are ready," Nurse Joy said.
     We all left the Pokemon Center and sat down on a bench just outside. "So, Woody. Are you still undefeated?"
     I shook my head. "23 wins and 2 losses," I replied. "I just got my third badge about two weeks ago." I left out the part about Kira being killed and the bombing. 
     "So, Woody man," JT said. "What do you say? How about another match."

Lizzie agreed to be the ref. "Okay, a 2 on 2 Pokemon match. The first to defeat both of their opponent's Pokemon will be the winner."
     JT wasted no time. Magby popped out of his first Pokeball. I knew who I would use. "Quilava, I choose you!" I cried. I threw my Pokeball and Quilava, the lava mouse Pokemon came out.
     Magby quickly jumped on top of Quilava and used Spitfire. Spitfire is when a Pokemon shoots a small stream of fire at another. Quilava was hit right in the face before having to back up and then Magby used Quick Attack.
     "Quilava, use Sand Attack to buy some time!" I cried. Quilava shot a blast of fire at the ground and a small sand tornado engulfed Magby. Magby spun around and then coughed. "Quick Attack!" I cried.
     Quilava charged into Magby and sent it flying right over JT's head. JT ran near Magby a few yards back in the field. "Come on, Magby! You hafta get up!"
     Magby climbed to its feet. "Magby, Flamethrower," JT ordered.
     The attack barely missed Quilava. Quilava ducked down and used a Flamethrower of his own. This attack literally nailed Magby so hard, he couldn't move for about 5 seconds.
     "Magby, come on! Don't give up," JT encouraged his Pokemon. Magby punched Quilava in the face out of desperation. Quilava stumbled and Magby finally hit a perfect Flamethrower. The whole flame hit Quilava.
     "Now, Magby, finish Quilava off with a Fire Punch!" JT commanded.
     Magby hit a pretty nice Fire Punch, but of course it didn't finish Quilava off -- which made JT look pretty stupid. JT blushed.
     Quilava seemed to be trying to gain back some energy. "Quilava, Swirl Flame!" I commanded. Quilava's Swirl Flame was so powerful, no Pokemon had ever continued the match when they were hit with it. The problem is -- the Swirl Flame also hurts Quilava.
     Quilava shot a burst of flames at Magby. The flame swirled around until it trapped Magby. The fire turned into the shape of a triangle and Magby was trapped inside.
     I smiled. I knew what was coming next. The triangular shape of fire exploded and Magby went soaring through the air.
     "Aw, man," JT muttered in disappointment. *Sigh*. "Magby, return."
     Magby was lying on the grass with his eyes closed. A puff of smoke rose quickly out of his mouth. He then glowed red and was zapped back into his ball.
     I sat down. "Okay," I whispered to Quilava. "I know you're tired, but as soon as he sends out his next Pokemon, use your Swirl Flame."
     Lizzie went completely googoo over JT. Ah. He looks sooo cute just searching through his jacket for a Pokemon he can use. Aw, I don't know who to root for. I really like JT. I wonder if I should ask him out. But that might mean having to leave Willis and Woody -- or JT joining us and 4 is really a crowd. Oh, what should I do? My crush and my 2 best friends. Oh well, my friends will support me either way. I have another whole day to think about. *Sigh.* It's me ... against the world. No one knows who I really am. Not even Willis. Woody is the only one who knows my past.

Julius and Kio sat in a jail cel together. Kio was lying on his bed, reading a magazine. Julius was typing on his laptop. They both wore blue uniforms with numbers stamped on the backs.
     "Man," Kio said.
     "What?" Julius asked.
     "These uniforms. They really itch. And these things have brown spots. I can tell that we aren't the first people to use them. What are you looking at on the laptop, anyway?"
     "I have some dirt on Woody and his two stupid friends," Julius said. "I was going on the official super secret Team Rocket website."
     "The one that no one knows about?" Kio asked.
     "That's the one," Julius said. "Anyway, according to this, their friend Lizzie has done some bad things when she was in the orphanage. When she was eight, she snuck out of the building and shot a lady. She then stole her purse and ran off. It turns out the Woody and Lizzie had planned the whole thing out."
     "Wait a second," Kio muttered. "I thought that the lady shot Lizzie and Lizzie grabbed at her in desperation and then ran away. I thought it was an accident that she grabbed her purse."
     "I know, I know," Julius said. "But I have a way of turning everything around. I'm going to get out of here, and then I'm gonna tell everyone that Lizzie was the bad guy."
     "But, Lizzie was the good guy," Kio pointed out. "That would be a lie. That would be wrong."
     "When has that ever stopped us?" Julius demanded, with a sick smile on his face.

JT had sent out Haunter. Haunter had used Night Shade and knocked out my Quilava. I was now using Pikachu. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" I cried.
     Pikachu summoned up a little more of his energy and zapped Haunter. I could tell it would only be about one more move before Haunter was out.
     "Wait!" a voice cried, running towards us. "This match has to stop. Right now."
     I looked at the direction the voice had come from. A lady was running towards us. She looked like she was about 20 or 21 years old. She had blonde hair and was wearing a black jogging outfit.
     "You have to stop your match and leave. There are a bunch of Tauros running towards here. And if you don't move at least 100 yards, you'll be trampled and flattened like a pancake!"
     We took her advice and ran off the trail. Sure enough, after about 30 seconds, I heard trampling and roaring. Looking past the trees, I could see a bunch of Tauros.
     At least 50 of them ran right by. Dust flew up. Haunter and Pikachu stared as they ran by.
     "What was that all about?" Willis asked out loud.
     "Someone was attacking the area that the Tauros stay in," the woman said. "Where are my manners? My name is Nira. I own the Nira Center workout gym. It's for both Pokemon and humans."
     "Cool," Willis said.
     "Who was attacking the Tauros nesting area?" JT asked.
     "It was actually a Pokemon. It looked like a Sneasel. Only this Sneasel was unusually strong."
     I looked at Lizzie and Willis. They were thinking the same thing I was. "Uh, ma'am, did this Sneasel have burn marks on its body?" I asked.
     Nira had to think about it. "Why, yes it did. This Sneasel had burns on its face. I think it was wearing a bandana around its forehead and gloves. Maybe a trainer put it on to cover some of the burns.
     "We think we know who that Sneasel belonged to," Lizzie said.

We ran towards the nesting area. "It was over here!" Nira said, pointing. We looked.
     At the area she pointed to, I saw a dark figure. I realized right away that it was a Pokemon. I didn't know if it was Sneasel, though.
     Willis let out his Weepinbell and I motioned for Pikachu to get ready. "Now," Willis whispered. Both Pokemon jumped up. Weepinbell used Razor Leaf. Pikachu used Thundershock. The attacks hit the Pokemon.
     The Pokemon jumped out of the shadows and we saw that it was defiantly Sneasel.
     "Oh, look," Lizzie muttered. "Sneasel the little weasel. I thought we saw the last of you last month when we sent you flying with that Fire Spin!"
     Sneasel shook his head and charged at Pikachu. Pikachu and Sneasel have always disliked each other. Sneasel caught Pikachu's head with the Tackle.
     "Pikachu, don't give up! Nail that idiot with a Quick Attack!"
     The Quick Attack pinned Sneasel against the tree. "Weepinbell, use Vine Whip and tie Sneasel up," Willis said. Sneasel was wrapped around the tree with the Vine Whip. Pikachu jumped into the air and tried to use a falling Bite, but Sneasel used Faint Attack and disappeared into thin air!
     "Pika, Pi, Pikachu?" Pikachu asked. (Whoah! What happened to Sneasel? Where'd he go?)
     "He's behind you," I replied.
     Pikachu ducked down and Sneasel missed with the Slash attack he was preparing to use. Sneasel was caught by surprise. Pikachu hit Thunder Jolt and Sneasel was totally taken out by the sudden impact.
     Sneasel collapsed to the ground. "Now put Sneasel to sleep with a Sleep Powder attack," Willis told Weepinbell.
     Blue spores dropped onto Sneasel, and he was snoring faster than a Honda moves.
     All of a sudden, a bomb dropped from the sky. It exploded with smoke. We all coughed as the smoke cleared away and then two people were standing there. I realized instantly that they were Julius and Kio.
     "Hey, I thought you were in jail!" Lizzie cried. She lunged at them, but Pikachu and Willis had to hold her back.
     "The Man bailed us out," Julius said with a laugh.
     I didn't know who "The Man" was, but I was assuming he was the leader of Team Rocket.
     "So he signed a million dollar contract with the police. We cannot be arrested unless we attempt a murder or murder someone. Which means that we will be out here for a long time," Kio said.
     Nira (pronounced: Noi-rah) just so you don't confuse it with Kira-- looked at TR.
     "Are these the two guys that the Sneasel belong to?" she asked.
     "Yep," Julius said. "And let us just tell you. We are two evil, bad motherfu,--"
     "Shut your mouth!" Kio whispered, loudly towards Julius.
     "Erm-- yeah," julius muttered. "Anyway, we even came up with a new motto for our appearence."
     "To inflict the world with devestation," Julius started.
     "To ignite the people in every nation," Kio said.
     "To denounce the goods of truth and love."
     "To destroy their reach to the stars above."
     "Julius."
     "Kio."
     "Team Rocket, blasting off every day and night."
     "Surrender now or prepare to lose a fight."
     "You heard us right," they said in unison.
     By this time, Sneasel climbed to his feet. He flew up and tackled Pikachu right off my head!
     Pikachu flipped over and landed on his feet, however. "Geodude, go!" Kio cried.
     "Come on out, Zubat and Grimer," Julius said. The 4 Pokemon faced off against Pikachu and Weepinbell.
     "Let us join in," Lizzie said. "Marill, let's do it!"
     Nira took a Safari Ball from her belt loop. "Let's go, Growlithe."
     The 4 Pokemon tore each other apart. Marill and Grimer had quite a battle. Pikachu put up a heck of a fight with Sneasel. Weepinbell battled Geodude and Growlithe faced off with Zubat.
     It looked like Team Rocket was about to win when Sneasel literally took out all of our Pokemon with just one Night Shade attack.
     "Come on, Pikachu. Get up," I encouraged.
     "Sneasel, finish it off with Faint Attack!" Julius commanded.
     Before Sneasel could do it, a herd of Tauros charged back towards the nesting area. TR gasped. I turned around and yelled. I thought I would be trampled, until I found myself moving out of the way. I covered my head.
     When the running was over, I looked up and saw Team Rocket, along with their Pokemon, flipping through the air. "We're blasting off!" they cried.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Nira," I said. "Hopefully we'll see you again."
     "Oh, you too," Nira said. She hugged us all and waved as we walked off.
     I didn't realize that our biggest adventure was yet to come.


                                  TO BE CONTINUED...