*********** Pokemon: (-AD-) Chapter VI Saga II-CrestBadge Saga Chapter I- Big Bug on the loose! *********** A completely urooted tree lay beside their path in the forest trail. "What could've done that?" Tom asked, stopping with Porygon to look at the fallen tree. "Lo-ok," said Porygon, "I-t's ro-o-ts a-re st-i-ll gr-ee-n in-si-de. Th-is tr-ee w-as up-r-oo-t-ed re-cen-t-ly," Porygon said, pointing its nose to the two large indentations on the side of the tree. "Whatever did this must've been pretty powerful," Tom muttered aloud. Just then, Tom heard running footsteps coming towards him from behind. When Tom turned around, he saw that it was Jen who was quickly running up to him. Finally catching up to him, Jen bent down and rested on her knees, breathing heavily. "What do you want?" Tom asked. "A rematch!" Jen snapped quickly. "Now!" Tom and Porygon looked at each other. They knew there was no way out of it. Within moments, both Tom and Jen had opened up a Pokeball each, with Tom releasing Machop and Jen summoning a Totodile. The two Pokemon growled at each other, exchanging threats. "Totodile! Water gun now!" Jen commanded. "Machop! Seismic Toss!" Tom ordered his Pokemon. Just as Totodile was about to blast Machop with his attack, a large blurry shadow shot out from the forest foliage, flattening Totodile in its path and back into the shadows. "Oh my God! Totodile!" Jen gasped as she ran to Totodile's side. "Totodile, are you alright?" Jen worriedly asked. "To, dile," Totodile weakly groaned as Jen held him in her arms and dabbed at the cut on his cheek with the back of her hand. "Machop?" Tom's Machop asked Porygon, confused. "Me ne-i-th-er," replied Porygon. "Quick Tom!" Jen shouted at her rival, "Pull out your Pokedex and see what the hell that was!" Tom quickly grabbed his Pokedex and flashed it into the shrub. "No Pokemon Located," the Pokedex spat out. "Damn," Tom muttered as he put the Pokedex back in his jacket pocket. "I guess whatever that was," Jen said as she zapped Totodile back in his Pokeball "it did that," Jen said pointing at the uprooted tree. "Maybe so," Tom said under his breath, still pondering what that shadow was. "Well, Totodile needs healing. Tom, do you have any super potions with you?" Jen asked. Tom shook his head. "Well, do you know where the next Pokemon center is?" She asked, sighing. "Yeah, there should be one up at Plaiton." Tom said, racking his brain. "Well let's go then, you're heading there too, huh?" "How'd you guess?" "Nevermind. Let's get going." ********* As they walked, the three of four of them kept spotting numerous remains of twisted and fallen trees. "What keeps doing this?" Jen wondered. Porygon took a long glance at one downed tree as they passed. "T-om," said Porygon, "Th-e da-ma-ge mar-ks a-re fo-ur an-d a ha-lf fee-t fr-om th-e ba-se. Wha-t Po-ke-mon is fo-ur-foo-t-s-ix?" Tom pulled out his Pokedex again and scanned the library. "A few of them," he said, "But I think this one looks like it may have done this to the trees," he said, holdig his Pokedex outward so that Porygon, Jen, and Machop could see. "Pinsir, the Stagbeetle Pokemon," said the Pokedex. "Using its gigantic claws on its head, it can lift almost any opponent up with ease, and crush the life out of them. If it cannot do so, it will swing it around, and throw it down hard, a Seismic Toss. "But it usually doesn't have to grip the opponent to fight it. It will sometimes charge an opponent brutally, also known as a Take Down attack." Almost as soon as the Pokedex finished, a rustling in the foilage stepped out onto the trail, As a large Pinsir trudged across their path, Jen released her Clefairy. Clefairy stood beside Machop, glaring at the Pinisr with him. "Machop, if she comes too close, attack it with a Karate Chop," Tom instructed. "Porygon, use a Thunderbolt," "You too, Clefairy, use a Pound attack," Jen added. "Clefairy." "Machop." The Pokemon acknowledged their commands and nodded. The Pinsir trudged closer, Machop and Clefairy braced, ready to attack. The Pinsir never took notice of them as she trudged right by them. "Chop?" "Fairy?" Machop and Clefairy asked, confused. The Pinsir walked up to a tree, faced backwards from the tree and started rubbing her back against the tree. Tom, Jen, Porygon, Machop and Clefairy looked on, confused. "What the heck is she doing?" Jen asked. When the Pinsir had finished rubbing her back, she stood up, letting her pinsers bump up against the tree and tangle in the branches, totally uprooting the tree without a thought. Soon, she went to another tree, rubbed her back, and again carelessly uprooted it. Tom suddenly got an idea. "Hey Tom, where are you going?" Jen asked as Tom walked toward the Pinsir. Tom only shrugged a reply, getting an irritated frown from Jen. As he approached, the Pinsir turned and glared at Tom, trying to stare him off. Tom simply ignored off the Pinsir's glare, hummed, and went to walk behind her, completely unminding to the potential danger he was in. "Tom!" Jen burst out, "What the **** do you think you're doing?" "What else do you do with an itch?" Tom chuckled, a silly smile playing on his face. "What the-?" Jen stammered, "You really are an idiot!" She yelled. Tom casually hummed an odd melody as he carelessly strolled up to the Pinsir. Just as soon as Tom was right before the Pinsir, the Pinsir lowered her head, spread apart her massive horns and charged at Tom. "Oh God! Tom!" Jen cried. Before Tom could even blink, he found himself lifted into the air by Pinsir's massive claws. Tom tried to force the claws apart, but he was slowly losing, and losing quickly. With only seconds before he was crushed to death, slipped out of the Pinsir's grasp and rolled behind her. When Tom's jacket scraped on the Pinsir's back, the Pinsir froze and relaxed. "What?" Jen murmured in surprise. "I thi-nk I kn-ow wha-t ha-pp-en-ed," said Porygon, "I thi-nk th-e Pin-si-r ha-d an it-ch." Jen sighed and grinned slightly as Tom quickly caught on, rubbing the suddenly delighted Pinsir's back. "He's one brave bastard, she sighed. "Crazy, but still brave," she said, breathing a sigh of relief and running over to Tom and Pinsir to help relieve the bug Pokemon of her bothersome itch. When Tom and Jen finished massaging the Pinsir's back, the Pinsir then faced them and gave them both a hug with her long, spindly arms. To Tom, it felt like he was back inside the crushing grip of her claws. "Well, see ya', Tom!" Jen called, walking off down the trail by herself with all her Pokemon back inside their Pokeballs. "I'll be waiting for you in Plaiton!" she smirked giving Tom a knowing hint. Tom gave the Pinsir one last rub before he zapped Machop back into his Pokeball and left with Porygon towards Plaiton. Only after a minute of ontinuing to Plaiton, Tom heard tranpling footsteps running towards him from behind. Tom looked over his shoulder to see the Pinsir trampling down the trail towards him, skidding to a halt in front of him. Tom smiled. "You want to come with us, huh?" Tom asked. Pinsir beamed, and nodded a yes. Tom plucked an empty Pokeball from his waist, enlarged it, and then opened it up. "Come on, Pinsir!" Pinsir leapt into the red Pokeball beam and was zapped inside. Attaching Pinsir's Pokeball onto his belt, Tom continued onward to Plaiton once more. -End **********