//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Natural Mazes and Pocket Monsters Part 1 // Story: The Mane Six's Pokemon Journey // by Cheesecake404 //------------------------------// Natural Mazes and Pocket Monsters Part 1 It didn't take long for the girls to catch up to Zander. Once they did they left the city and headed for the forest. After an hour of walking they made it to the entrance of the Viridian Forest. As the group went deeper into the brush the girls noticed it was getting darker. “Zander?” “Twilight?” “Is it always this dark around noon?” “Yes it is as a mater of fact. The Viridian Forest is incredibly dense, so much so people have been know to get lost in it. But, don't worry we'll be okay so long as you-” “Last one to that hill is a rotten egg!” Pinkie shouted, as she ran to it, soon joined by the others. “Do... do I just talk to myself? Apparently since I'm the only one here!” Zander marched up to the hill, he was going to give them a piece of his mind. “Ha! Looks like I'm still the fastest, and you're the rotten egg.” “Yes Rainbow thank you for that! Do you have any idea how risky that was? You never separate from your friends in unfamiliar forests or caves, I mean they don't call this place a natural maze for nothing! And that shouting could have attracted a swarm of Beedrill, you know the Pokemon that was chasing you,” Zander pointed to Pinkie, “when we first met! And another thing-” “Um, Zander?” Fluttershy said trying not to break down. “I AM TALKING!” “But, but, but...” she tried to say more, but only pointed. “There's a swarm behind me isn't there?” All of the girls responded with nods. Zander looked behind him, and sure enough there was a swarm of Beedrill heading straight for them. He then heard something that sounded like a pokedex opening, apparently Twilight thought this was a great time to look them up. “Beedrill the poison bee Pokemon and the evolved form of Kakuna. May appear in a swarm. Flies at violent speeds, all the while stabbing with the toxic stinger on its rear.” “Um, Zander what do we do?” Twilight asked in utter fear. “Running would be a good idea.” With that they ran, and ran, and ran some more, for what seemed like hours. Once they were sure the Beedrill had given up they stopped. Zander was bent over trying to catch his breath, once he did he started laughing, “That... was...” he tried talking between laughs, “I haven't had a near death experience like that since that whole Mt. Coronet business.” He looked up and what he saw took the laughter right out of him. Only two of the six girls were with him, Fluttershy and Pinkie. The reality of the situation hit Zander like a ton of bricks, as he sank to the ground pulling his knees to his chest. He sat there in silence for a minute before looking up to the girls, “I owe you an apology, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, and as a result I caused exactly what I wanted to avoid.” He looked down ashamed of himself. Pinkie walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, “It was my fault, if I didn't start that race-” “No, Pinkie you were just being yourself I'm the one to blame, I lost my temper and now we're separated.” “Then we can both share the blame.” Zander gave her a half smile. “Um, how are we going to find the others?” Fluttershy asked. “Well, I still have my Pidgeot, or we can try calling them.” Zander got out his pokegear. “Take yours out too.” “Why?” Pinkie asked. “I'm setting up a conference call so we can all talk to each other.” Throughout the forest pokegears were going off. Each of the girls picked up, not sure how they should respond, given how Zander acted earlier. Zander: “Looks like everyone's here. So, to start I want to say I'm sorry and-” Rainbow: “You better be sorry! That was so uncalled for!” Twilight: “Come on Rainbow, he was only trying to prove a point. Even if he went about it the wrong way.” Zander: “Look I know I screwed up, but now we need to focus on getting back together.” Rainbow: “Maybe we shouldn't. Maybe we should go on with out Zander, we don't need his help anymore!” Fluttershy: “Rainbow!” Rainbow: “What?” Fluttershy: “That was mean. Zander has done nothing but help us since we got here, and he's sorry for yelling at us. He's was only trying to help.” Rainbow: “He's still a jerk.” Fluttershy: “You're hurting his feelings.” Rainbow: “How do you know?” Fulttershy: “I can see it in his face. He's really upset.” Rainbow: “Well I don't care!” Twilight/Applejack/Rarity: “Rainbow!” Rainbow: “What? I'm not the bad guy here!” Zander: “Enough! We won't get anywhere if we keep fighting amongst ourselves. Now, if you can stay put, I'll send out my Pidgeot to find you, but if you think you're not safe, look for one of the shacks in forest. You should be safe in there. Just make sure you let me know so I can tell Pidgeot to where to find you.” Rarity: “And if we can't find shelter?” Zander: “Then set up in a clearing, just make sure a Beedrill nest isn't near by.” Twilight: “How can you tell?” Zander: “If you see a lot of Weedle or Kakuna in the area then you might be near a hive.” Rarity: “AHHHHH!” Zander: “Rarity what's wrong?” Rarity: “Big... bug, coming towards me!” Zander: “Okay, Rarity this is important, I need to know which Pokemon it is, so, use your pokedex!” “Caterpie the worm Pokemon, Its short feet are tipped with suction pads that enable it to tirelessly climb slopes and walls.” Zander: “Okay Rarity, relax, it's harmless, it will probably leave you alone if you leave it alone. Now I'm going to send out my Pidgeot so keep your eyes and ears out for it.” Rarity: “But...” With that the call ended. Zander took out Pidgeot's pokeball and threw it. The Pokemon came out with a cry and spread its wings. “Pidgeot, we've got some lost girls out here, see if you can find them and bring them here.” The Pokemon nodded and flew off. “I'm worried about Rarity.” Fluttershy said. “Don't be. Like I said, Caterpie is harmless, then again, her freaking out could attract more Beedrill. But I think she'll be fine.” “What should we do now?” Pinkie asked. “We should set up camp.” Zander got out the tent and began to set it up. ________________________________ “Okay mister bug just go away now.” Rarity said as she backed up to a tree. The Pokemon in question looked at her, tilting its head to the side. It started inching its way to her. “No go way!” Rarity started flailing her arms like it would do something to ward off the bug. This caused one of her pokeballs to fall off of her and land inches away from the Pokemon. The Caterpie crawled to the ball. “Don't you dare! Don't! You! Dare!” The Pokemon entered the ball and Rarity became the proud owner of a Caterpie. “NOOO-” Rarity put her hands over her mouth, remembering what Zander said about shouting. Fortunately Pidgeot was near by and flew down. “I'm saved! Zander will know what to do about this.” Rarity said looking at the pokeball on the ground, “I could just leave it, but that wouldn't be right.” She picked up the pokeball and followed Pidgeot back to the camp. ______________________________ Rainbow was sitting in the biggest and fullest tree she could find, in an attempt to hide herself from Zander's Pidgeot. She was still pretty mad at him for yelling at her and the others. Who does he think he is? Yelling at us like that! Well, screw him. We don't need him, we can do this on are own. Rainbow saw in the distance a small bit of smoke. Must be his camp, well I ain't goin' I'm staying here! Her stomach started growling. Even if it means going without food for a couple of days. ________________________ Twilight was walking through some tall grass when she saw some of it was rustling. Better be careful, it could be something dangerous. Twilight crept up to the grass and peered through it, only to see Applejack. “Ah!” The two said together as they fell backward in surprise. “Twilight!” “Applejack!” “I didn't expect to see you out here!” Twilight said as she got up. “Me neither.” The two friends hugged each other, happy to see a friendly face. “Come on we should look for one of those shacks.” Applejack said “Are you sure? Zander did say to stay put.” “If we weren't feelin' safe, and I’d feel safer in a building.” As they walked, Applejack started wondering if this was a good idea, “Hey, Twi?” “Yes, Applejack?” “Do ya think this was a good idea?” “What do you mean?” “Ah mean coming out here with a guy we barely know, and we're trustin' him in a world we know nothin' about.” “Maybe not, but it's too late now. I know Zander got a little upset at us-” “A little?” “My point is we all lose our cool from time to time. He only wanted us to be safe and we didn't listen to him. He's a good person, he already proved that when we met him, remember?” “Yeah, ah guess. But don't you think we rushed in to this too quickly? Aurora said Zander spent a year studying Pokemon before his journey.” “That's why he's here with us. He's here to guide us, to teach us, if we listen we could learn so much about him and this world.” Applejack laughed. “What?” “You really like this, don't ya?” “I like to learn, you know that.” “Ah know. Look over yonder!” Applejack pointed to a building in the brush. “That must be one of the shacks Zander mentioned.” Inside they saw very little. The shack could hold four maybe five people at most. The floor was dirty and the only furniture was an old table. “Not much to look at, but ah guess it will do.” Applejack said as she began laying out her sleeping bag. “I'll call Zander, and let him know we’re okay.” ______________________________ *Ring, Ring* Zander's pokegear was ringing. “Hello?” “Hey, remember my super cool Rattata?” 'Click'. I thought I blocked him. *Ring, Ring* “*sigh*, Hello?” “Hi, Zander.” “Twilight, is everything alright?” “Yes, I found Applejack and we're in one of the shacks you mentioned.” “Good now-wait a minute, you have a flying type.” “Yeah, so?” “You can have it fly around so Pidgeot can spot you quicker.” “Why didn't I think of that?” “You are still new at this. But anyway I can see Pidgeot coming back so I'll send out again soon.” “Okay, see you soon... hopefully.” “Yeah, bye.” Pidgeot flew into the camp with Rarity right behind it. “Good job Pidgeot, but I need you to go back out there and look for the rest, it should be easy, they have flying types as well. Look for a Hoothoot and a Spearow.” Pidgeot let out a cry, and went back to the sky. Now I just need to call Rainbow and tell her to let her Spearow out. “Oh Zander, it was terrible.” “What? Did something attack you!” “Well, not really.” “Okay then, if you excuse me, I need to call Rainbow.” Zander selected Rainbow's number and waited for a good two minutes her to pickup. Come on pickup, you can't still be mad. “Zander I have a real problem!” “So do I. Rainbow's not answering.” Rarity give Zander the same look Twilight give him before. Can all these girls do that? “Fine what is it.” “I caught that bug.” Oh no! Let me call the President! “Come on Rarity, give it a chance. Who knows, you may grow to like it.” “How could I like this?” She opened the pokeball. Out came a Caterpie, but it was different than normal. It had gold skin instead of green. “You have a shiny, and you don't want it?” “Correct.” Zander stood there, his right eye twitching. Pinkie and Fluttershy walked over to see if he was okay. “Rarity I think you broke him.” Pinkie said as she started poking him in the cheek. “Shiny... have... not want...” “Um, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked. Zander shook his head and brought his hand to the side of his face, “I think I just had an aneurysm. I need to sit down for a minuet.” “But what should I do?” “I recommend keeping it unlit it evolves to its fine form, and if you still don't want it then I'll take it off your hands.” “Alright. So, what about Rainbow?” “She didn't pick up. You think she's still mad?” “Well, I've known Rainbow the longest,” Fluttershy said, “she's not one to hold a grudge, at least not for long.” “Just long enough to get herself into trouble.” “What do you mean?” Rarity asked. “It's dangerous out there, and I don't mean just the forest. This world is and is not like your own. You guys are more then rookery trainers, you're new to this world and how it works, and it's my responsibility to keep you safe. I admit I went too far, but it was only because I care about you guys.” Zander sat down in one of the chairs he and the others had setup around the camp. “We'll try to be more careful in the future,” Rarity said trying to cheer up Zander. “Thanks, but you know I kind of broke my own rule.” “What was it?” Pinkie asked. “Never take myself or my journey too seriously. It just takes all the fun out of it, so lets have fun already!” “After we find everyone first, right?” Rarity pointed out. “Of course.” “Pidgeot.” “Ah, good Pidgeot's back.” Pidgeot landed in the camp with Twilight and Applejack following. Zander got up to pet Pidgeot. “Good job, have a treat.” Zander took out a small cube, and Pidgeot ate it. “Now get some rest.” “But, Zander Rainbow's not here.” “I know, Twilight, but she didn't answer her pokegear, so she's either not answering on purpose, or she's in trouble. Either way, we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find her.” “You serious?” “Look Applejack,” Zander said as he ran his hand through Pidgeot's feathers, “Pidgeot is tired and it's getting dark. Tomorrow we'll look for her. Even if it takes us all day or all night, we will find her!” “Ah still don't like it.” “Me neither.” After the sunset, the group turned in for the night. Everyone fell asleep quickly, except Zander. Why did I think one tent was a good idea? Zander thought. He was in the middle of the tent with Pinkie on his left and Fluttershy to his right. Normally this would be awesome but... Pinkie began to squeeze him. Too tight, too tight, too tight. Pinkie let go only for Fluttershy to squeeze him back. I'm going to have to fix this, if I live to see tomorrow. ________________________ In the morning the girls got up feeling refreshed, while Zander was trying to realign his spine. I think I now know what a rope used in tug o' war feels like. “Come on Zander, you said we would look for Rainbow today.” “I know Applejack, just give me a few minuets. I didn't have a good night's sleep.” “Why's not?” “Women.” “Pardon?” “Nothing. Come on out Pidgeot. Now like before we need you to look for a girl, okay?” “Pidgeot.” It said with confidence. ______________________ Rainbow woke up in a sticky situation. The tree was now home to a small Beedirll hive. She was surrounded by yellow cocoons and she could see a few Beedrill near by. Aw man what do I do? Why did I insist on staying here? Maybe if I stay still they won't notice me. They didn't, the Kakuna had their backs to her and the Beedrill were busy. The occasional Weedie would see her but they ignored her. I can't believe I was so stupid. Zander I hope you can find me before these guys figure out I'm not part of the tree. In the distance she could see movement in the forest. Zander and her friends walked into the clearing near the tree she was in. She could just make out what they where saying. “The sun's goin' down.” “I know Applejack, but we're not stopping now. Twilight you wanted to know what Pokemon I got here right?” Twilight nodded. “Well then, come on out Raichu!” The Pokemon stood two feet in height, its body was a golden tan color with a long tail that had a lightning bolt at the end. Twilight got out her pokedex. “Raichu the mouse Pokemon and the evolved form Pikachu. Its electrical attacks may reach 10,000 volts. It discharges electricity from its tail, so it is not harmed by its own power.” “Raichu use Flash.” Both Rainbow and the Beedrill saw the light emitting from Raichu. The Beedrill advanced toward Zander and the girls. “Zander look out!” Rainbows' shouting caused the Kakuna to notice her and they began their metamorphosis. Zander looked up, “Oh. That's not good. Rainbow! Climb down NOW before the Kakuna evolve!” Zander threw out another pokeball, it open to reveal Ninetales. “Ninetales use Flamethrower, Raichu use Thunderbolt, cover Rainbow!” “Is there anything we can do?” Twilight asked. “Stay behind me.” Rainbow managed to climb down, almost missing a few steps and falling, but she got down in one piece. She ran to the group as fast as she could, and was half way there when the Kakuna finished evolving and were on her tail. She's not going to make it! Zander thought. He did the only thing he could think of. He ran toward her and the Beedrill. Zander manged to get to Rainbow and push her out of the way, as a Beedrill swooped in and stung him in the stomach. As Zander fell to the ground Pidgeot flew in and hit the Beedrill with a powerful attack. Zander's Pokemon kept up the attack until all the Beedrill either fled or fainted. After the battle Rainbow ran up to Zander. “Zander? Zander are you... are you okay?” Zander opened his eyes, “I'll be okay... I think. *cough* You have no idea how much this hurts. Ha, ha *cough, cough*. I'm going to rest now. See you in the morning.” Zander closed his eyes.