CHAPTER THREE
“Got any plans for the future? What Pokémon are you planning to catch?” I asked Danielle as we strolled along, with Bulba (her Bulbasaur) at her heels, having refused to get into its Pokéball. Come to think of it, so did Secret. After a couple of hours, the two friends and their Pokémon could converse freely with each other, and when I tried to recall Secret it cried “No! I’m not going back it there! It’s cramped, it’s smelly…” here she gave a sly Vulpix grin, “… and there’s no decent toilets either.”
“Well…” Danielle said, “I really want to try to capture some of the Pokégods.”
“Poké…gods?”
“Yes, haven’t you heard?” she asked, looking at me strangely. “They say that there are almost certainly at least three Legendary Birds, and maybe up to five! There’s rumours There’s also Mewtwo- have you heard the story about him? He was created by scientists, but he was too strong. Blew the lab apart! And they made him using the DNA of another Pokégod- Mew!”
“Wow,” I muttered. “But, if they’re so strong, what chance do you have?”
Danielle looked a bit sad, so I shut up.
We walked on for a while in silence, and then Danielle started complaining of a stone in her shoe. I went ahead with Secret. Then…
“Tatta? Rat-tat-tattaaaaaaaa!”
It was a Rattata!
“Go! SECRET!…”
“Secret! Use Tackle!”
“VUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLPIX!” Secret gave her war-cry before charging into the already injured Rattata. The little Pokémon gave a cry of pain before keeling over. I held my Pokéball high, but then I realised- Secret! My little Vulpix was exhausted. I picked her up.
“Are you okay? That Rattata looked as if it bit you pretty hard,” I said.
She managed a weak smile. “Of course I’m OK! Put me down!”
I placed her gently on the ground. She swayed a bit, and then collapsed.
“Secret! You’re not all right at all! I’d better take you to the Pokémon center!” I cried.
She protested, saying she was perfectly all right, but I picked her up and carried her towards the nearest Pokécenter. On the way, I passed Danielle and told her where I was going. She looked at me enviously when I mentioned the battle (“How come you get a battle when I get a stone in my shoe?”) but she could see that Secret needed medical attention.
I headed on and eventually reached the Centre. The smiling Nurse Joy informed me that she would be ready in half an hour. Quite a bit of time. I went out and began wandering slowly back to Danielle. When I reached there, I realised that the Rattata had recovered and made off- WITH MY CRISPS!!!!!!!!!!
“Hey, Danielle!” I said, flopping down next to her.
“Hi!” she said. “How’s Secret?”
“At the Pokécenter. She needs some time to recover.”
I took out my ‘Regulations & Tips’ booklet and began reading.
“Rules and Regulations. Please follow these to make sure that you have a safe and comfortable career as a trainer.” Danielle made a snorting sound. “Rule #1: If another trainer beats you, you must hand over- HALF YOUR MONEY???!!!”
“Figures,” Danielle said. “Otherwise you’d just run out.”
“Yeah, but would you say that if you were beaten?”
“Hey!” Danielle yelled suddenly. “I beat that dumb guy with the Magikarp and he never paid me!”
“How much did we get when we became Pokémon trainers?”
I asked, ignoring her. “Oh yeah- ¥500.”
“And
how much does Nerdy-boy owe me? ¥250. And if he doesn’t-”
“SECRET!”
I yelled suddenly. “Oh, my God! I forgot!”
“Wait,
Rachel, it’s only-” Danielle started, but I had leapt up and dashed off at
top speed.