“Hello and welcome to the wide world of Poke’mon”. Just a little disclaimer here: while Poke’mon, Ruroni Kenshin, and their characters aren’t copyrighted to me, characters such as “Landon” and “Zeru” are. In this story, you’ll join our young hero, Landon, in his epic and unusual journey in the world of Poke’mon. Equipped with a magical bell, he and his friends must stare down the face of evil, win every challenge, make new friends, and claw their way to the top. But can they stop the ultimate evil that threatens their world? There are many twists and surprises, so you have to keep reading if you really want to “Catch ‘em all!” in:
Poke’mon X
The afternoon sun shone on the long black road that ran through the middle of a large crystal lake. The warm summer breeze was gently dying down to a slow halt. Only the sound of our heroes footsteps and the occasional splashes of the lake echoed around the area. Landon gave a wide smile—he was glad to be out on the road again. The more they traveled, the closer he got to his gym match. Toya and Phanpy walked along the side of their trainers. (On such a clear, warm day, there’s no better time to be out on the road once more. Landon and his friends travel down the road without a worry. But should they be more cautious as to where they are going?)
Theme Song: Pocket Monsters X(treme)
Running at
The speed of sound
What adventures can be found?
Traveling the world all around
As fate just spins it upside-down
Little monsters
Everywhere
Find a new one and I’m there
Victory is just for fun
There’s no stoppin’ till I’m number one
Crys-tal,
Clear, and Shadow
Three lights—
That fight the way
Protect those legendary
Is my destiny!
Poke’mon X
(Poke’mon X)
Leading the way
Is my sweet victory
Poke’mon X
(Poke’mon X)
A mystery
Behind each one we see
Poke’—mon X
(Ex—Ex)
This journey I’ll run
Has only begun!!
Episode 21: “Pranks, Tricks, and Prizes”
Zeru clicked around the buttons on his poke’gear. The screen blinked with a map of the Hoenn region. “Yeah! I’m so glad to be back on the road again!” Landon exclaimed, leading the way. “According to the map, we should stick to this road and cut around the mini forest.” Zeru magnified their area with the click of a button. Landon clenched his fists and thrust one into the air. “I can’t wait! This is so exciting!” He shouted and his friends smiled. He felt his adrenaline elevate greatly—the closer to Mauville City he got, the more excited he became. “This should be good for you, Landon. You haven’t caught any new Poke’mon in a while.” Zeru said as they walked on. “Who knows what kind new Poke’mon we’ve never seen before lie out there? That’s what keeps this journey exciting.” Landon smirked. From up ahead, there was a loud splashing sound followed by sparkling drops of water flying into the air. “Huh?” The group averted their attention. Since the entire road was bordered by lake water at east and west, drops fell onto the path easily. A pink creature sluggishly pulled up onto the side of the road. It was pudgy with a light-peach muzzle, dopey eyes, and curly ears. The quadruped Poke’mon sluggishly pulled its white-tipped tail out of the water. “Speaking of new Poke’mon.” A smile spread on Landon’s face. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his Poke’dex. Click-ick! “Slowpoke, the Dopey Poke’mon. Slowpoke is considered the sloth of the Poke’mon world. However, its slowness is made up by the strong mental abilities it possesses. Slowpoke’s specialty is fishing with its tail, which can double as a sweet snack.” The machin stated. “Good, then I’ll capture it.” Landon reached at his belt and pulled off the Poke’ball marked with a gray sticker. His eyes flickered with a flame as he stared into Slowpoke’s dopey pupils. Not one of them dared to blink once. “You ready, Slowpoke? I’m going to battle and capture you—You’re a perfect Poke’mon for me. Tambourine, I choose —” “Go, Totodile!” Suddenly, May jumped up in front of Landon and tossed a poke’ball to the ground. It bounced off of the road and burst open in a flash of light. “Toto-to-todile!” Totodile seemed Chipper to be out of its poke’ball. “Ah!” Landon fell to the ground anime style. “May, what are you doing?” He wailed. “I’m about to capture this Slowpoke.” May’s face went serious. “Are you serious?! I was obviously going to catch it!” Landon shouted. But instead of shouting back, May stayed focus on Slowpoke. “You and Zeru do all the catching around here. It’s my turn to catch a new Poke’mon.” She pointed to her opponent, “Slowpoke, I challenge you to a battle—?!? “Slllloowwwwww,” Slowpoke sluggishly turned around and started to walk away. “Hey! Don’t run away while I’m talking to you!” May waved her arm frantically. “Totodile!” Totodile folded its arms impatiently. “Go on, use your Water Gun attack, Totodile.” May ordered.
“Toto!” Totodile jumped up into the air and made a gurgling sound as it hurled a blast of water from its jaws. Slowpoke turned its head slowly. SPLAAASHHHEEE! It staggered a bit from the force before flying onto its side with a thud. “It…didn’t even try to defend.” May gave a puzzled look. She couldn’t help, but feel that Slowpoke wasn’t really taking her seriously. Totodile landed softly on the ground and folded its arms. “Fine then; you just make it that much easier!” May shouted. “Man, she seriously wants to catch that Slowpoke.” “I wanted to catch it.” Landon mumbled, frowning at Zeru. “Okay, Totodile, go for a scratch attack!” “Heh-heh!” Totodile let the sun glare off of its shiny claws. Slowpoke rose to its feet droopily, letting out a yawn. “Toto—!” Totodile ran up to it with its claws drawn, “Dile-dile-dile-dile-dile-ha!” It repeatedly clawed at it swiftly, but not quick enough to become a Fury Swipes attack. Slowpoke winced at the pain, but still did nothing to prevent it. It just stood there and took the attack. “Now finish this up with your headbutt!” May exclaimed. Totodile jumped back to create distance between itself and its opponent. It stamped the ground with its foot and rushed towards Slowpoke with its head lowered. The sound of rushing wind jetted through the air from the swirl of speed. DATHUMPP! Totodile rammed its head into slowpoke’s side. “Slowwwww!” Slowpoke slid across the black road. “Man, Slowpoke isn’t even putting up a fight.” Zeru said. Landon clinched his fist and grinned, “Oh, it’s putting up a fight-a bigger one than May might think.” He told him. “Slowpoke,” Slowpoke got back to its feet, but this time, with a more firm attitude. It’s eyes turned serious as it stared directly at Totodile. “Slooowwwwww—” Suddenly, Slowpoke’s body lit up with a luminous light. Several spheres of lustrous energy started to circle around it furiously. “Slowpoke’s Hidden Power!” Landon and Zeru exclaimed. “Hidden—what?” May sweated anime style. “Popppleee!” The spheres bolted away from Slowpoke in a circular motion; Totodile was struck harshly and sent flying through the air. “Diiileeee!” “No way!” May blinked. Totodile landed into the water with a giant splash that sent water raining from the sky. Toya clapped at the sprinkle and started drizzling a fountain of her own—and all over Landon. “Toya, cut it out! I’m getting all wet!” “Slowpoke,” Slowpoke let out a yawn and curled up in the middle of the road. It closed its eyes and was soon fast asleep. “Hey!! Ou can’t just sleep in the middle of a fight!” May shouted, her temple beating anime style. Totodile came crawling out of the water and shook itself dry. “….Pooooke!” Slowpoke’s body suddenly started to vibrate. It’s snores became heavier and heavier each time it breathed. The sound wave traveled along the ground, literally crashing into May’s Poke’mon. “Totodile! Toto-toto!” Totodile fell backwards onto the road. May felt the ground tremble underneath her from the intensity of the attack. “Wow; that was a Snore attack…..?” She blinked at first, then grinned. Just the thought of an attack like that made her want to catch Slowpoke even more. Not for its sheer power, but because of how surprising its attacks came. “Totodile, are you okay? Can you keep going?” May asked her Poke’mon. Totodile jumped up to its feet energetically and flashed a thumbs-up. “Good! Use Bite attack!” “Totodile!” Totodile opened up its wide jaws, revealing its rows of sharp teeth. Slowpoke rolled over in its sleep, revealing its backside. Totodile’s jaws clamped around Slowpoke’s tail in an unbreakable vice-like grip. “Slow!” Slowpoke’s eyes suddenly shot open, pain surging through its ultra-sensative tail. It stood up abruptly and started repeatedly shaking its tail wildly. Totodile’s grip was practically unshakeable—it wasn’t about to let go for anything. “Slowpoke-slowpoke-slowpoke-slowpoke!” “Good job, Totodile; keep it up!” May cheered. Slowpoke closed its eyes and launched off its lustrous Hidden Power technique. One of the spheres pelted Totodile in the stomach, causing its mouth to open in its cough. “Retaliate with Water Gun!” “Totodile!” Totodile let out a blast of water that forced Slowpoke off its feet; it soared through the air and crash-landed on the ground. “That was a nice one, Totodile.” May reached into her bag and pulled out an empty Poke’ball, “Go, Poke’ball!”
She expanded it before hurling it through the air. The spinning ball bounced slightly against Slowpoke before sucking it up in a red light. May watched as the poke’ball wiggled on the road in silence. If it wasn’t weak enough, Slowpoke could come bursting out. The flashing button in the middle simmered down its furious blinking to halt. A smile spread across May’s face and she ran to claim her catch. “Oh, yeah! I caught Slowpoke!” She exclaimed. Landon frowned, sweating anime style. “That Slowpoke could’ve been mine.”
The group continued to travel down the road. May was busy admiring the Poke’ball concealing her newest Poke’mon with a grin. The further they traveled down the road, the sooner the lake ended and closer the mini forest drew to them. A fork in the road, whereas the black road turned to the right and a dirt road kept going straight, lay ahead. They came to a stop right in the middle of it. “So, which way do we go?” Landon asked. Zeru pointed to the path along the right. “That way is where we should go. We could risk getting lost in the forest, but that could take longer than simply taking the known long way.” “What’s that over there?” May started towards a tree at the mouth of the forrest. Sticking out of the shrubbery was a white pole with some sort of sign on it. “May, we don’t have time to read some dumb sign.” Zeru said, but May just ignored him. Instead, her eyes scrolled across the black wording. “Beat the challenge, win a prize….what do they mean?” At this, Landon’s interest was grabbed immediately. Zeru let out a disapproving snort and folded his arms. Phanpy clambered up to his shoulder and imitated her trainer. “I see you plan on taking ‘the challenge’.” A voice suddenly sounded behind them. “Dah!” The group jumped a little and turned around. Standing before them was a tall old man with long gray hair. His face was nearly covered by a basket hat and his body was hidden behind a gray cloak. At first, Landon thought he worked with Team Darkhorn, but the colors weren’t right. Zeru, on the other hand, was more concerned on how the man got there. “Don’t get your hopes up, kids; no one has ever passed ‘the challenge’ before. Grown men have tried and failed.” The old man said. “Well, I bet I could if I knew what it was.” Landon clenched his fists in determination. The old man gave a dry chuckle, “You’ve got spunk, kid, but I don’t think you have what it takes.” “I wouldn’t bet on that.” Landon’s eyes flickered. The old Man seemed to be intrigued by his determination and confidence. He slapped Landon on the back (who coughed) and grinned. “Okay, then! If you want to take the challenge, just go through the forest. Keep going straight—you can’t miss it.” He pointed to the forest trail ahead. Zeru rubbed his chin, frowning. Something about that man just didn’t measure up. “Well, let’s take it then. There’s nothing like a challenge.” Landon started towards the trail when Zeru called out, “Hey, wait!” “What’s the big idea?” May asked. “Landon, weren’t you the one complaining about getting to Mauville City as fast as you could?” “And aren’t you the one who said the forest route would be quicker—” “—and trickier—” “Zeru, this’ll be good practice for my gym battle.” Landon said in a “No worries” kind of voice. Zeru frowned as his two friends ventured in first. He followed them with an air of reluctance. The old man just stood there for a while. And as he watched them enter the forest, he grinned.
Even though he was the one who insisted on going, Landon hung back behind the others. He hoped that he would be able to spot some new Poke’mon since May caught that Slowpoke. Toya trotted right beside his feet, helping him search. “What do you think this challenge is?” May asked. “Probably something stupid or a wild goose chase.” Zeru folded his arms. “Oh, Zeru; do you have to make every situation seem like a bad thing?” The ground beneath the two shook a little weakly under their footsteps for a quick second. They obviously didn’t notice since continued talking. “Because eight out of ten times, I’m right.” Zeru said. “Oh-what-ever!” “There they go again.” Landon mumbled as the two struck up an argument. He and Toya sweated anime style and let out an annoyed sigh. The way those two fought, they could’ve been an old married couple. Suddenly, the ground beneath Landon’s feet started to tremble unstably. He and Toya came to an abrupt stop and glanced at each other. “Did you feel that, Toya?” He asked and she nodded. SPURRRRCHHHHH! The sound of breaking twigs and fallen leaves sounded beneath them. Toya and Landon took a vervous gulp and dared to look down. The very floor they once stood on had vanished into a black pit. “The floor is GONE!” The two embraced each other as they went falling down inside. May and Zeru, however, were too busy arguing to notice. Instead, they kept on going along the trail obliviously. “Fine!” “Me too!” May and Zeru folded their arms and turned away from each other. Zeru’s temple beat anime style; May had ticked him off before, but not like this. And, to tell the truth, he actually felt pretty bad for ticking her off too. He wanted to apologize, but his pride wouldn’t allow him the pleasure. He glanced back at her, but then noticed the dead silence behind him. “Hey, Landon, are you and Toya okay back there…?” But there was no answer. Zeru turned completely around this time to see that his two friends were missing. “May, where’s Landon and Toya?” He asked. “I don’t know; weren’t they behind us?” May said, turning around. The long silent of their two missing friends gave their stomachs a pit-like feeling. The mini forest wasn’t that small—it was still easy to get lost. A worried look spread across their faces as their walking sped up a bit. “Maybe he went off to find some wild Poke’mon.” “Yeah, that’s it.” They tried to convince themselves and walked on. However, that idea didn’t last long and a wave of panic filled them. “Who are we kidding? Landon could be lost and hurt!” May said. “Let’s start looking for him, okay?” Zeru turned to her and she nodded. “’kay!” “Phanpy, use your nose to try and sniff out Landon for us.” “Phanpy-anpy!” Phanpy saluted her trainer with her trunk. Then, she put it to the ground and started sniffing around. Her trunk prodded the grass with each hiff. “Landon!” Landon Himura!” May’s voice rang out. “How about this,” Zeru cupped his hands around his mouth, “Koryushima! I know you hate your real name, so come on out if you don’t want it all over the forest!” Even at that threat, Landon still didn’t reply to them. May glanced at the ground. Phanpy scurried around her feet before moving back near her trainer. “I hope nothing bad has happened to him…” She thought to herself.
By now, the sun had completely vanished behind the horizon. The breeze of the day, however, kept its presence known by pushing against the tree leaves. May and Zeru treaded cautiously through the dark forest. Phanpy had clambered up Zeru and rested on his head with a defeated look. They were lost; plain and simple. Not even the map would help since they didn’t know where they were. All they could do was walk and hope for the best. “Phanpy,” Phanpy let out sigh. “Relax, Phanpy, it’s not your fault. You did your best to find Lan.” Zeru patted her on the head. May trembled a bit as she walked through. Her eyes darted around and in between the trees, as if she half-expected something to jump at her. At a light whimper, Zeru glanced at her. “Are you scared?” He asked. “…Maybe just a little.” May said lowly. Zeru closed his eyes and let his hand slowly drift back to her; he grasped her palm firmly, but gently and she began blushing slightly. “Don’t worry; I won’t let anything happen to you.” “Why isn’t that a comfort?” May sweated anime style, “Though, it is kinda’ sweet…” “If I let anything happen to you, I’d have no one else to poke fun at all the time.” Zeru grinned and Phanpy started laughing. May growled and clenched her fists. Her temple beat against her forehead show how angry she was. WHOOSH-CLACK-ACK! Phanpy and Zeru staggered dizzily after May’s Japanese fan beat them in the head. “That’ll teach you to make fun of me!” She raged. Howwrrrllll! Suddenly, a shrill howl echoed through the air. “Whaaaa!” may shrieked and dashed behind Zeru and Phanpy. “May, it was probably just a Poochyenna.” Zeru said. But when his ears gave a dangerous twitch, his face went serious. There was a sharp swish and something hit the tree nearest to them with a thud. He glanced up at it to see a something silver glaring in the moonlight. “It’s a shuriken!” He pointed at the ninja star. May and Phanpy let out a gasp. Zeru searched around their area in hopes of finding their attacker. SPWEE-SPWWEE! “Wha!” May jumped at a few that darted at her feet. Zeru felt Phanpy trembling slightly on his head. “There’s only one thing to do, then.” He grasped May by the arm, “Let’s run!!” They shouted and burst down through the trees and shrubbery. From the air, a whiz of shurikens spun madly at their heals. Some drilled so hard that pieces of dirt were shot into the air. Zeru held Phanpy under his arm; it was a lot safer than being out in the open. They turned around corners and zig-zagged across the grass. The shurikens pelted the trees around harshly. May and Zeru turned around the corner and slid to a screeching halt. “Oh-no!” May exclaimed. Their entire way was blocked off by thick shrubs and leaves. The shurikens struck the grass before them, inching closer to them. “What do we do?” May panicked. Zeru’s face went serious as he pulled a Poke’ball from his belt. “Treecko, I choose you!” He threw it and it burst open in a flash of light. “Ko, Treecko,” It scratched its face with its foot. “Treecko, can you cut us a path?” Zeru asked. Treecko stood up and nodded. “Treecko,” Its tail wagged a little. “Treeeeckoooo!” Treecko jumped up into the air and spun its body like a spinning top; its tail severed the shrubs and leaves wildly like a buzz saw. The barricade dropped to the ground to reveal a purple door with a mirror placed in its middle. May, Zeru, and Treecko gave each other a puzzled look. “What’s a door doing out in the middle of forest?” May asked. SWEEE-PFTH! A shuriken pinned its pointy side in the dirt near her foot. “NO time; let’s get out of here!” Zeru pulled open the door with all his might and allowed his friends to go in first. Just as he slammed the door behind himself, a barrage of ninja throwing stars pelted it. “Whew!” May, Zeru, Phanpy, and Treecko sat on the cold hard floor. Their pants echoed slightly and horribly out of rhythm. “I don’t like this game anymore.” May huffed. “Yeah, let’s find Lan and get out of here.” “Treecko,” “Phan-py,” The others said breathlessly. May looked up. The place they were in was bright yellow with tons of orange mirrors for walls. She looked around the corner; tons more paths with mirror walls stood before her. “Oh-no! We’re in a maze!”
“Yoshi, I’m tired and hungry. Can’t we set up camp for now?” Team Darkhorn walked through the mini forest trail. While Yoshimari walked without care, Tsubimi trudged lazily. “We’ve been at this for hours—we’re lost and hungry!” Tsubimi continued. “Not until we catch up with those kids. We would’ve had them if you didn’t decide to vacation in Slateport.” Yoshimari said. The two had no idea where they were going—just walking on a gut feeling. SWEEE-Pfth! “Dah!” Tsubimi jumped onto her brother’s shoulders from a stray shuriken. “Save me from the star, bro!” “Get OFF me!” Yoshimari tried to shake her off. Pfth! Another shuriken hit the dirt near them and he sweat anime style. “On second thought, RUN!!” The two dashed into the forest like crazy.
Fast Fact Quiz: What is the problem with Landon’s Pikachu? If you can’t guess, find out at the end of this Chapter!
THIS IS THE END OF EPISODE 21, PART 1