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 Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 6:38 pm
The forest just to the north was cool and comforting, perfect for someone looking to escape the heat of the beach. Ginga wandered around, her flip-flops scraping the grass and making noise with every step she took. There were Pokémon all around her; Bug-types, Grass-types, Water-types, Flying-types, practically everywhere she turned there was a Pokémon greeting her in some way. When she came to a clearing, she sat down on a small log and took a deep breath.
“Ah, it’s so nice!” Ginga said happily to herself. “So warm, yet so cool...it’s almost heaven for the Pokémon living here.”
Just then she heard a rustle in the distance. Startled, the girl stood up. “Who’s there?” she asked.
Nobody answered her, so she walked closer to the spot where the noise was coming from. Peeking through the brush, she spied a group of Pokémon with horrified looks on their faces. Before she could wonder why, she found the source of their horror: two men were capturing a group of their friends with nets.
What?! Ginga thought. What are they doing capturing Pokémon like that?! Where are the cops?
Just then she noticed the two men’s clothing. They were dressed…somewhat familiarly. Blue bandanas adorned with stylized “A”s on their heads, striped scoop-neck shirts, matching blue pants…they looked an awful lot like…
Team Aqua?! No way…they can’t be! Team Aqua and Team Magma disbanded AGES ago! There’s no way they’d be back together, not after what I read in the news….
But no matter how you looked at it, these two men seriously looked like they were Team Aqua members, so Ginga decided that’s who they were. And she didn’t like them one bit, so she decided to stop them.
However, someone had other plans.
Swinging down on a string from a nearby tree, a Pokémon attacked one of the men with Poison Sting.
“Ahh!” the guy cried out, running around with his hands on his back. “What the heck was that?!”
The attacking Pokémon dropped down from the tree and got into battle-stance. It was a little Wurmple.
“Wurmple!!” it cried out.
Wow, nice shot, especially coming from a little Pokémon like that, Ginga thought. She kind of wondered what it would do next.
“Get it Spheal!” one of the Aquas shouted, throwing a Pokéball. A spherical seal Pokémon came out of the ball. “Ice Beam!”
Oh no! If that hits that Wurmple is toast!
The Wurmple used String Shot in the air, aiming for the tree above its head. It pulled itself away just in time and, swinging itself in the air, came down with another Poison Sting attack. The Spheal recoiled, giving Wurmple enough time to hit it with Tackle, knocking it out.
Wow! Ginga thought. That little Wurmple certainly knows how to use its moves effectively, despite its limited moveset…
“Whaaaaat?!” the Aqua guy screamed. “How is this possible?!”
“Who cares?” said the other Aqua. “We’ll catch that Pokémon!” He jumped behind the Wurmple and threw a net over it.
“Wurmple!” the little Bug Pokémon cried, struggling against the net and the Aqua who picked it up.
“You’ll make a nice addition to Team Aqua little Wurmple,” the man said, grinning evilly.
“No it won’t.”
The two Aquas and Wurmple looked around. “Says who?”
“Says me,” Ginga said stepping out from her hiding place. The small group of Pokémon looked up at her with awe.
The Aquas laughed. “Some kid in a bathing suit?! What, is this a flashback from five years ago?!”
“Kid?!” Ginga yelled. “I’ll have you know that I’m an adult! And I’m not going to sit by and let you do this!”
“Oh yeah? You and what army?”
“Me and this army.” She got into a battle-stance, putting up her fists. The Pokémon group around her also prepared to attack. The Wurmple watched them.
Once again, the Aquas laughed. “Are you serious?”
Ginga ran up and punched one of the men in the arm. He recoiled, rubbing the spot where she’d punched.
“What do you think?”
The Pokémon around her began to attack, causing the Aquas to attempt to shield themselves. The one holding Wurmple lost his grip on the net, causing the Pokémon to fall. Wurmple struggled to get out of the net, taken by surprise when both it and the net were pulled out of harm’s way.
“Gotcha!” Ginga said, taking the Pokémon into her arms. She pulled the net off. “There ya go, Wurmple.”
The little worm Pokémon looked at her. “Wurmple,” it said.
The other forest Pokémon continued to attack the Aquas, causing them to send out the rest of their Pokémon. Every one they sent out was knocked out by relentless attacks. All the while, Ginga went around and freed the captured Pokémon, and they began to attack as well. All of this taken together made the men pick up their stuff and flee. “We’ll remember this!” they called out as they ran away.
“Serves you right for messing with them!” Ginga yelled after them, laughing. “Great job, you guys.” She nodded to the Pokémon group. They all cheered and went off into the forest.
Ginga stayed with the Wurmple for a while. They walked around the forest—Wurmple either being carried or riding on the girl’s head—checking out the scenery and making sure the Aquas really were gone, and that there weren’t more of them. When they got back to the clearing, Ginga placed the Wurmple on the ground. “There,” she said, patting it on the head. “I think you’ll be safe now; those Aquas won’t be coming back anytime soon.” She looked up, noticing the sun was still high overhead. “And I better get back to the beach…as much as I love the forest, I think I’ve seen quite enough of it for today.”
“Wurmple?” the Bug Pokémon asked.
“I know; I don’t want to leave either, but I’ll see you soon Wurmple, okay?” the girl said. “Bye for now!” She started to head back to the beach.
Feeling sad, Wurmple started to move back toward the brush. Shortly before it got there, the little Pokémon made a U-turn and decided to go on a journey of its own.
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 1:21 pm
Ginga was coming back along the beach, not too far away, when Skye looked up and saw her returning figure. She reached up and waved happily. "Hiiiiiiii! Did you have a nice walk? ....Oh! It look like you've made a friend!!" she said, sitting forward and waving at the Wurmple tagging along behind Ginga's legs. "Hiii little guy!"
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 1:45 pm
“Hey Skye!” Ginga called out as she ran back toward her friend. “Oh?!”
The girl looked down to see the little Wurmple she’d befriended nuzzling her right ankle. She picked it up. “Where did you come from? Did you follow me?”
“Wurmple!” The little worm Pokémon said happily.
“Awwww,” Ginga said, hugging it. “You’re so cute!”
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 1:48 pm
"Oh my god," said Skye, "Little bug pokemon are usually so shy with strangers! What'd you do to make him take such a liking to you?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 1:57 pm
“Uh…well…” Ginga said. “It’s…kind of a long story.”
“You know how I decided to take a walk in the forest? Well, I found these two guys who were capturing Pokémon! I got so mad and decided to stop them, but then this little Wurmple here came in and actually battled one of the guys and won! But then they captured it and so I stepped in and a group of wild Pokémon and myself managed to beat the guys and free the Pokémon.”
“But what really scared me were their outfits. They had blue bandanas with ‘A’s on them, striped shirts and blue pants…exactly like the old uniform of Team Aqua. But the thing is, Team Aqua and their counterpart Team Magma disbanded five years ago. Their fighting is what caused my family to move to Unova in the first place. So if they’re back…I don’t even know what we’re all gonna do.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 2:02 pm
"What in the world...?" Skye frowned as her friend explained. Her expression shifted from disbelief, to disgust. "Those people are like a cancer. A disease on people and on pokemon and the world. We gotta go to the police. Like, right now. I don't know if they can catch them, but at least they'd know, right?"
Behind the chair, Mr Waily gave a low, rumbling snore. Even though Skye had made several runs to the ocean to get more water to pour on him, he looked smaller than ever and had apparently fallen asleep in the heat. Skye reached round and patted his head again affectionately. "But first I think we'd better get Mr Waily back to the water. Wailmer get dehydrated and sleepy if they stay on the beach too long. Will you help me roll him down there?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 2:11 pm
“I don’t know if we should go to the police just yet,” Ginga said. “It could’ve just been two guys trying to stir up trouble. We don’t know for sure if Team Aqua has actually reformed. I don’t want to cause unnecessary trouble.”
She looked back at the forest. “But if they come back, we’re definitely going to the police.”
Looking at the Wailmer, Ginga could see that it looked a bit dehydrated. “Sure, but…I don’t know how we’ll be able to push him back into the water on our own…he’s kinda big.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 2:26 pm
On cue, Pancake leapt out of nowhere and jumped down behind the Wailmer, making a big show of pushing him hard, with all of her might, legs wheeling so fast she quickly made a groove in the sand. "He is. But we have to try at least."
Skye got up and joined her pokemon in the pushing. At first it was like pushing a solid block of lead, but when Ginga joined in there was a little bit of movement... and then the momentum of that made it easier... and before they knew it, Mr Waily was rolling down the shallow slope of the beach with very little effort from the girls. He seemed to come to when his body hit the lapping waves, blinking up at them. "Wail?"
"Phewww," Skye was saying, "Dunno if we could manage that with a Snorlax, but Mr Waily, you're really not that big, are you?~"
She gave him a big hug and rubbed his rubbery hide, splashing water up onto him as he rejuvenated. "Isn't that better? heart I'm gonna miss you, Mr Waily... if we come back tomorrow, will you come play with us again?"
The Wailmer looked at her with a strangely deep look in its eyes. Then it gave what was apparently a little nod, splashed its wide fins, and rolled backwards out into the ocean. Skye waved and waved - it wasn't apparent when he couldn't see them any longer, so she just kept waving in case. Then she turned to Ginga. "I don't suppose all the pokemon around here are as friendly as Mr Waily and your little Wurmple?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 2:34 pm
Ginga laughed. “Hah! I’d say yes, but I’m biased because I was born here. All the Pokémon I remember seeing as a kid were really friendly. But still, that doesn’t mean you should let your guard down completely. Just use your judgment and you’ll be fine.”
Wurmple wiggled around in Ginga’s arms, snuggling closer to her chest. “You’re just the cutest little thing aren’t you?” she said, petting its head. “I don’t suppose you’ll go back home if I took you back to the forest, will you?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 2:41 pm
"He's certainly a determined little guy. He followed you all the way back from the forest after all!"
Skye giggled and adjusted her swimsuit a bit, then looked over at the silhouette of the hotels in the distance. "...I still think we should maybe report what happened in the forest. If we head back to our hotel room I can ring the non-emergency hotline and give them the full story. Then they can investigate it or not, it's down to them. And we don't have to say it was guys in Team Aqua uniform. Any troublemakers terrorising pokemon are just as bad."
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 2:56 pm
“Okay,” Ginga said, still unsure. She didn’t want to cause trouble by making the police think that Team Aqua had reformed and was causing a ruckus again, but even so, Pokémon theft—even if thwarted—was a crime and should be reported. “We can do that when we get back to the hotel. Tomorrow though, I think I’ll do some investigating. I’ll head back to the forest and see if they turn up again. If they do, then I’ll go to the police right away.”
“But in the meantime, I think I should get some Pokémon food and maybe a Pokéball or two.” She smiled at the little Wurmple in her arms, who now perked up. “Would you like to come with me?”
Wurmple nodded its head, saying its name in an excited manner before jumping up on her shoulder. It crawled on top of her head and started sniffing at her hair.
“Haha! I’ll take that as a yes,” Ginga said, taking Wurmple down off her head and jumping up and down excitedly. “Guess I better pick up a Trainer’s card as well, because I’m gonna be a Pokémon trainer!”
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 3:11 pm
Skye clapped her hands to her mouth in shock and delight. "Oh. My. GOD!! Y-your first pokemon! Oh my god! I have to get my camera! Why'd I leave everything back at the room?! C'MON!"
Police reports fell by the wayside for the time being, as now, Skye's first priority was getting a ton of pictures and film of Ginga and her new partner. They chatted excitedly on film as Pancake tried to make friends with the new pokemon. At first, she feigned shyness, gazing over the top of the bed at the caterpillar-ish creature and immediately ducking back down (and then vanishing) when it came to investigate. But then she came right up to it and gave it a poke in the side, followed quite soon by a massive glomp.
"Miiiiime!"~ she said, and though she could only say her name it sounded more like: 'Sooooo squishyyyy!~'
Of course, her trainer was elated to get such a moment on camera. Once that was done, though, she reached into her bag and pulled out a special, hard case full of pokeballs, stored in their miniaturised form. Skye chose a handful and enlarged them - a basic red pokeball, a pink ball, a ball with a pretty purple pattern on it... some of Skye's personal collection had her own name written across them in swirling pink writing, on a soft blue background. There wasn't really a limit to pokeball customisation in their day and age, but such fancy stuff was still pretty expensive.
She held a few out to her friend, with an air of reverence and ceremony. "Can I tempt you into choosing one of these...? You can choose a custom one, or a basic one, a luxury ball... anything you like. Wurmple deserves it!"
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 3:27 pm
Wurmple was surprised by Pancake’s hug, but warmed up to it quickly. “Wurmple!” it said happily, hoping that a nuzzle would suffice for a hug. Not having arms didn’t always work out so well.
“Oh my!” Ginga said, also surprised, but by a different event. Skye was holding out a plethora of Pokéballs; some of them had designs on them that the girl had never seen before, and others looked really expensive. “I…I don’t know! They’re all so nice…!”
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 3:32 pm
"You dont have to take one, of course, but I just thought... seeing as it's your first and all. We can go buy you your own tomorrow if these don't take your fancy, but... I really would like to give you a gift!!"
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 3:41 pm
“Well then, in that case,” Ginga bent down and picked up Wurmple, who was curious as to where it was being taken. “Why don’t we both pick?”
“Wurmple?” it asked, but then it noticed the Pokéballs. The two looked at the group curiously, thinking about which one would suit them best. A few seconds later, Wurmple wiggled in Ginga’s arms, reaching for the ball with the purple design on it.
“You want that one?” Ginga asked her new friend, the latter nodding in agreement. “Okay then, I guess we’ll take the purple one!”
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