Pokémon: Fire Strike Part 1: Liberation From the twisted mind of Uiru, Gym Leader of the Galaxy Gym www.galaxygym.com webmaster@galaxygym.com ========== Disclaimer ========== Unlike many Pokémon fanfics, practically everything in this story is my own work. The characters, locations, and events are all products of my own imagination. Only the Pokémon and most of their attacks are property of Nintendo, Creatures and Game Freak, however, their development and personalities are my work. ==== Note ==== I've never liked .txt's for displaying large text files. I don't know how this will appear on your computer, but I've spent the past three hours formatting it and it looks great in 800x600. If there's still trouble after changing your resolution, go to www.galaxygym.com and read it online there. In addition, this story is VERY large, it may take an hour or two to read. I hope you enjoy it, please email me your comments at the address above. ==================== Pokémon: Fire Strike ==================== Chapter One: Bide Deep in the Turcott Park woods, a boy prepares to make his first Pokémon catch. "Caterpie, you're mine!" he shouted. "Poké Ball, go!" The ball struck the bug Pokémon just as it looked up from it's dinner to see what the noise was. Within seconds the little caterpillar had gone from munching leaves to sitting inside a Poké Ball. "Come on, work," the boy said to the ball as it wobbled back and forth. Soon, though, it was still. Caterpie was his! "YES!!" he shouted. He ran to pick up his new Pokémon. He had been trying for the past week to catch a Paras or a Venonat, but they were too strong for the Poké Balls. Without his own Pokémon to weaken them, they broke free and escaped time after time- except one obnoxious Venonat which had given him a thrashing before running off. One of the trainers at the Turcott Gym suggested trying to find a Caterpie. They were very easy to catch and train. "I've finally got a Pokémon! I have to see it again. Caterpie, come out!" With a flourish he commanded the Poké Ball to release his Caterpie, which appeared on the forest floor next to him. "Hi, Caterpie!" he greeted. "My name's Uiru. I'm your new trainer!" Caterpie took an instant liking to the boy's friendly attitude. It climbed up on his shoulder. "You're a cute one, aren't you Caterpie?" Uiru said. He scratched it's head. He knew that although Caterpies weren't exceptionally strong, they were very easy to get along with. Just the thing to get him some Pokémon to battle with. "All right, now we gotta find something for you to battle," Uiru told it. "Get your power up. Maybe you'll evolve! The guys at the Gym said that some Pokémon evolve after they fight a lot." Caterpie chimed it's agreement. Soon it pointed at something farther down the path. "No, no, you can't fight that," Uiru said. "That's a Pidgey. Pidgey's a bird. You're a bug. It wouldn't work out." Caterpie nodded. A short time later, they came across a Kakuna lying on the ground. It glared up at them as they approached. "Now look, there's something you can fight, if you're really careful," Uiru said to Caterpie. "It's really slow, but can't be defeated easily by normal attacks. It can also poison you if it cuts you." Caterpie nodded again. Uiru set him on the ground. "All right, Caterpie! Get ready!" The Kakuna realized it was being attacked. It tried to stand up on it's claws, but soon gave up and tried to crawl away. Caterpie slammed into it with a Tackle attack! It went flying. The sunshine-yellow Kakuna glowed a brillient white. Caterpie braced itself against an attack... and none came. "Maybe it's just showing off. Hit it again!" Uiru shouted. Caterpie charged at Kakuna again. CLONK! This time it barely wobbled. "Huh? What's the deal?" Uiru asked. "Didn't you hit it hard enough?" The ache in Caterpie's head told it that it had hit Kakuna quite hard enough. "Well then, try String Shot!" Caterpie reared back and fired a string of sticky gloop at Kakuna. Nearly incapable of moving under normal circumstances, it was now completely immobile. Caterpie again charged at Kakuna, aiming for it's tender underbelly. Kakuna had had it. "All right!" Uiru shouted. "Good job Caterpie!" Caterpie did a back flip, and then returned to Uiru's shoulder. A few hours and many Kakuna later, Uiru decided it was time to call it a day. Caterpie was tired and needed a break. Uiru was hungry too. On the way back to Turcott Park, they came across another beginning Pokémon trainer. "Weedle, you're mine!" the girl shouted. "Poké Ball, go!" Uiru felt Caterpie stiffen at the sight of the Weedle. "What's wrong Caterpie?" Uiru asked. "YEAH! I got it!" The girl grabbed her new Pokémon and called it out. "Hey, who are you?" She finally saw Uiru and Caterpie. "My name's Uiru. I just caught this Caterpie this afternoon. I've been training it." Uiru thought for a minute. "Who are you? I've never seen you before." Ignoring his question, the girl looked at Caterpie. "I know what Caterpies are. They're cute little things, but aren't very strong." Caterpie jumped to the ground and shrilled. "I think it wants to battle," Uiru guessed. "Hey, wanna battle my Caterpie?" "Sure," the girl agreed. "I don't know very much about Pokémon yet, but I do know that Weedles are Poison types. Do you know what that means?" "Yeah, it means they're strong against Bug types... Uh oh." Uiru knelt and whispered to Caterpie. "Are you sure you wanna fight Weedle?" he asked. Caterpie nodded angrily. "Your Caterpie looks really mad," the girl stated. Her new Weedle didn't seem very interested in what was going on. "Well why shouldn't it be? Weedles pick on Caterpies." Uiru knelt again. "Listen, Caterpie. Weedle's got two stingers, on it's head and on it's tail. If you can cover them with String Shot, they'll be useless. Then you just cream it. Okay?" Caterpie looked at Uiru and nodded. It was a good plan. "Weedle, I choose you!" "Caterpie, go!" "Weedle, go for the underside with Poison Sting!" Weedle reared back and dashed at Caterpie, the stinger on it's head shining. Caterpie fired a blot of String Shot but missed, hitting the bug's head instead. It stopped, and whipped around with it's tail. Caterpie braced it's scales against the assault, then rammed Weedle's midsection. "Good shot Caterpie! Use String Shot now!" Caterpie fired it's Shot again, covering it's head stinger with sticky gloop. "Oh no! Wipe it off, quick!" the girl ordered. Weedle began scraping the stinger against the ground. Caterpie gave it a mighty Tackle, followed by a blast of String Shot that tangled Weedle's body. "Call it back, it can't fight in this state!" Uiru shouted. "Oh... um... Weedle, return!" The girl called back Weedle, leaving nothing but a pile of goo in it's wake. "You jerk! I'm going to get you for this." With that, the girl stormed off. Uiru picked up Caterpie. "Great job!" he congradulated. "You really showed her." He looked down the path. "She's headed back to town. I wonder who she is?" Caterpie chirped at him. "No idea, huh? Well, let's get back." Caterpie had something it had to do first. It began shooting String Shot right up in the air! "What are you doing, Caterpie? You're going to get covered if you do that." In a moment, Uiru realized that was exactly what Caterpie wanted. The goop hardened into a protective shell. Caterpie had evolved into Metapod! "Of course! This is how bugs transform. First the baby stage, then a cocoon, then the final form. I wonder what you'll become?" Uiru picked Metapod up. "At any rate, I'm going home!" As soon as he got back to town, Uiru went to the Gym to watch the battles. He carried Metapod with him. The Turcott Park Gym didn't have a Leader- it was just a place where trainers went to practice. There was no specific type of Pokémon the Gym favored either- trainers mainly used the Bug, Ground and occasional Grass type Pokémon found in the area. "Hey Matt!" Uiru shouted when he got to the Gym. "Look what I got!" He looked around. "Huh? Where's Matt?" He couldn't see him anywhere. "He's in a battle," another trainer told him. "Up there!" Matt was battling someone's Diglett with his Bellsprout. Since Grass types like Bellsprout are strong against Ground types like Diglett, Matt quickly overcame his opponent. "Another win," Matt declared. "Isn't there ANYONE here who can beat me?" The Gym laughed. Sometimes Matt acted cocky but it was just that- an act. Two more trainers entered the ring to battle. "Win again?" Uiru asked. "Oh, hey Uiru. Yeah, again. Hey, you got a Metapod!" Matt and Uiru headed outside. Bellsprout plodded after them. "You must have been hiding a Caterpie for the past few days. Where'd you keep it?" "I didn't hide it!" Uiru answered. "I caught a Caterpie right after lunch and we were hunting Kakunas all day! Then this psycho girl challenged me with her Weedle and after Caterpie beat it, it evolved!" "You got a Metapod in one day?" Matt asked. Uiru and Metapod laughed. "It must have been a very strong Caterpie. It might evolve again soon." "How will I get it to evolve?" "Hmm..." Matt thought for a while. "Metapod and Kakuna are two very special types of Pokémon. They can't really attack very well but they can after they evolve." "Oh. If it can't attack, how will it evolve?" "Metapod and Kakuna evolve over time. You can battle them to speed up the process but it's hard. Leave it for a few days and it'll evolve." "So, that's how you do it!" Uiru and Matt turned to see the girl who had attacked Uiru before. She was holding a Kakuna. "Weedle evolved after I beat the hell out of a bunch of puny Caterpies. And I know what my Pokémon will become. A Beedrill! And when it does, I'll be back to kick your tail, Uiru." "Beedrill?" Uiru asked. "Whatever Metapod becomes, it has to be better then that. And even if it isn't, my Pokémon will win!" "If that's what you want to believe, go right ahead! I'm going to go get another Pokémon to train while I wait for Kakuna to evolve. See ya!" With a wave, the girl departed. Matt looked from the girl to Uiru several times. "Nice girl. When'd you meet her?" "Just this afternoon. I beat her Weedle and she's mad about it." Uiru jumped up. "I'm not gonna let her beat me! I'm going to get a new Pokémon right now!" "But it's getting late!" Matt replied. "Some dangerous Pokémon come out at night. Spearow, Ekans, Sandshrew, Nidoran. They're fierce Pokémon that aren't easily beaten." "Then I'll catch one of them! That'll show her!" Matt laughed. "You've been at this a day and you've already got a rival. I don't know if you're making progress or not." "Hey... I don't even know her name. Oh well, I'll find out later. I'm going to the caves to find a Sandshrew." "You're nuts! All you've got is a Metapod that just evolved. You'll be defenceless!" Matt shook his head. "But I know you're gonna go anyway. If you wait fifteen minutes for me to get some supper I'll go with you." "Okay, cool!" Uiru's stomach rumbled. "Oh yeah, I forgot. I'm starving!" Twenty minutes later, Uiru and Matt were heading into the caves south of the town. Although it was littered with 'DO NOT ENTER' signs, trainers just happened to not see them. There were good Pokémon in the caves. They flipped their flashlights on. "I think Metapod wants to battle these bat things," Uiru stated after Metapod began wiggling. "Hmm. Zubats are Poison type Pokémon. I don't think it's a good idea." "But Weedle and Kakuna are Poison types and Caterpie had no problem against them!" "All right, try it. But my Bulbasaur will guard it. Bulbasaur, come out!" Matt summoned his best Pokémon, Bulbasaur, to defend Metapod. Uiru put Metapod on the ground. Bulbasaur used it's Vine Whips to disturb a group of Zubat, then kept all but a few of them away while Metapod battled them. Metapod swung it's tail around and clonked a Zubat on the head. Then it crunched down and sprang at another, knocking it out cold. "This Metapod is surprisingly agile," Matt remarked. "It shouldn't be long before it evolves!" Uiru shouted. "Don't shout! You'll wake up all the cranky Pokémon that live here." A loud scuttling on the ground told them it was too late. "Oh, great," Matt groaned. "We're probably going to have to fight our way out. Bellsprout, Paras, come out!" Uiru grabbed Metapod and the two ran, Matt's Pokémon following them. The group of angry Zubat gave chase, but they soon had bigger problems to deal with. Uiru bumped into something. "OW! Watch it Matt! Don't stop like that!" "What? I didn't stop!" Uiru slowly raised his flashlight... right into the face of a Pincir! It snapped it's huge pincir open and shut several times. Uiru wordlessly scrambled away from it. "Matt, tell me your Grass types are strong on this thing." "They aren't," Matt replied. "This thing is a Bug type. Bugs are strong against Grass types!" Pincir charged right at the trio of freaking Pokémon, sending them flying. Bulbasaur countered with it's Leech Seed attack, which could drain Pincir's energy, but it wouldn't slow it down much. Paras opened up with Stun Spore and Bellsprout used Vine Whip. Nothing seemed to work on it! "Use physical attacks!" Matt shouted. "Bulbasaur, Take Down! Paras, Slash! Bellsprout, Double Edge!" Physical attacks had a better effect on Pincir, but it wasn't beat yet. Pincir Tackled Paras, sending it flying, and then flung Bellsprout into the wall. Then it grabbed Bulbasaur! "Oh no! Bulbasaur, Vine Whip!" Bulbasaur tried to use Vine Whip but Pincir's pincir prevented it from working properly. "Damn! It's gonna crush Bulbasaur!" Matt shouted. Bulbasaur began focusing on the Leech Seed power, and began draining it's life! Although it wasn't squeezing it any more, Pincir still had a good grip on Bulbasaur. Uiru suddenly knew what to do. "Metapod, go!" "Huh? What are you doing?" Matt asked. "Metapod, Tackle attack!" Uiru ordered. Metapod geared up and nailed Pincir right in the stomach. It dropped Bulbasaur. "Return!" Matt shouted. Pincir grabbed Metapod with it's pincir and began putting the squeeze on it! "Metapod, Harden!" Uiru shouted. Pincir soon found itself holding an extremely hard piece of Pokémon. It tried again and again to crush Metapod but it wasn't working! Bellsprout and Paras recovered and charged Pincir again. "Metapod, use the Bide power!" Uiru ordered. "Bide? What's that?" Matt asked. "It's a very special power. Watch!" Uiru replied. Pincir tried to crush Metapod a few more times, then gave up and swung it around at the wall. Metapod began to vibrate and then flung itself full force at Pincir! Catching it straight between the eyes, Pincir was knocked out cold! "All right! Poké Ball, go!" Uiru shouted. The Poké Ball flew... and bounced off Pincir. "What the?! Why didn't it work?" Uiru asked. "Pincir is knocked completely unconscious. You can't capture an unconscious Pokémon. Whatever that Bide attack is, it's very strong." Matt recalled Paras and Bellsprout. "Nuts. Pincir would show that little witch who's the better trainer!" Uiru kicked the ground. "Would have made a great new Pokémon too." Matt laughed. "What's so funny?" Uiru asked. "Pincir is way too ferocious for young trainers like you. But you ARE going to have a new Pokémon..." "What do you mean?" Uiru looked around. "I don't see any new Pokémon..." A loud cracking sound caused Uiru to turn to Metapod. "What? What's happening?! Metapod is breaking apart!" "No it's not, Uiru," Matt replied. "It's evolving!" The shell cracked, and from it rose a butterfly! Metapod had evolved into Butterfree! "YES!! It'll be a week before that girl's Kakuna evolves! I'm way ahead of her already!" Butterfree landed on his shoulder. "How are you, Butterfree? You're just as cute as Caterpie and Metapod were!" "We'd better get out of here," Matt warned. "My Pokémon are weakened, and Butterfree might not be up to battling yet." Uiru agreed, and they started heading out of the cave. Uiru heard something plodding after them. "What's that noise?" He shone his flashlight on the creature that was following them- a Sandshrew! "It's a Sandshrew," Matt declared. "Normally, they're tricky to catch, but your Butterfree should have no problems." "Why not?" "There's two reasons. First of all, Bug types like Butterfree are strong against Ground types like Sandshrew. And second, Butterfree is also a Flying type. Sandshrew's Ground attacks shouldn't hit it at all. If Butterfree is fast, it should be able to weaken Sandshrew without getting hit." "Okay! I said I was gonna get a Sandshrew and this one'll be it! Butterfree, I choose you!" Uiru shouted. "Tackle attack, now!" Butterfree charged Sandshrew, sending it flying. It got up and used it's Scratch attack, nailing Butterfree with it's claws. "Tackle it again!" Butterfree hit Sandshrew. "Now use String Shot to slow it down!" Butterfree fired String Shot at it, but missed. Sandshrew had a few surprises in store, however. It spun around and sent a cloud of sand at Butterfree! "This is it's Sand Attack," Matt announced. "It'll lower Butterfree's accuracy, and make it easier to hit." Sandshrew attacked from behind, Tackling Butterfree. Butterfree spun and charged at Sandshrew, but Sandshrew stepped aside. Butterfree finally nailed it with String Shot, and gave it a mighty Tackle. "That should do it! Poké Ball, go!" It hit Sandshrew right on the nose, and sucked it in! The ball wobbled... and wobbled... and wobbled... and was still. Uiru had caught Sandshrew! "YES!!" Uiru shouted again. "Is that the word of the day or something? Keep it down, will you?" Matt laughed. "The Pokémon Center awaits. I hope they're still open!"