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Glint polished off his food and sat there on the grass, looking at Machop, Gruff and Coni talking. He was always amazed how different pokémon species could understand each other, even though none of them seemed to speak the same language. It was somewhat remarkable that they could understand human speech too, although often people said that was more about talking with your heart than with your mouth; they don't understand what you're saying so much as read what you're saying from what they see in you.
Machop looked like he was explaining why he was mad at the bidoof and Squirbert, with Coni cringing at the idea of confrontation and Gruff mostly keeping his opinions to himself.
While he was sat there, observing the pokémon, Glint began to imagine what it would be like to travel like this with a bunch of pokémon, just challenging other trainers, exploring far-off places and learning from gym leaders all across Kanto. He tried to imagine having Machop with him on the journey, but somehow it didn't seem right. Maybe because this machop was a little overbearing. Gruff would find it hard to get along with anyone as loud and forthright as Machop.

"Hey guys," Glint said. The pokémon stopped talking and looked his way.
"Grawr?"
"We should head out. I can see the entrance to Mt. Moon from here. Maybe we'll find your machop friends soon?" Glint wondered.
"Mah~chop!" the machop frowned. He jumped up and stamped his feet.
Glint figured that Machop wasn't so keen on being reunited with his friends. Maybe it wasn't amnesia after all... maybe it was frustration. It could be that he was lashing out at Squirbert and the bidoof because it was angry with something that was happening back with its friends at Mt. Moon.
"Is something the matter?" Glint asked.
Machop marched over and plucked Coni's pokéball from Glint's belt.
"Hey--?" Glint complained. He knew he should try to understand what the pokémon was doing, though, rather than get angry at it.
"Machop, machop, ma~a~a~chop," the pokémon said. He took the pokéball and hit itself on the head with it. Then he pointed at Glint.
"You want me to... catch you?" Glint asked. He felt so awkward, being asked outright like that.
Machop nodded. "Machop."
"But why? Don't you like being free to do what you like? Don't you like living with all your friends?"
"Machop machop, mah machop!" the pokémon blurted. He folded his arms.
Glint figured that was a 'no'. But he'd rather hoped he'd got it wrong. He wondered if that made him a bad person, not wanting to accept Machop into his life. It surely had to be a two way thing, though. Just because Machop wanted to be caught, didn't mean Glint was obligated to catch it.
"I'll do whatever I can to help, short of catching you," Glint said. "Because I'm sorry, Machop, but I don't think we'd make a very good team."

"This way!" Machop called.
Gruff looked back for Glint, but they'd run so far now that he was out of view. "Maybe we should stop?"
"It's this way. We can go up this hill and then over the other side is the gully where I used to play with my friend. The other machop are there," Machop explained. He bounced up and down and punched the air.
"Your friend who was caught by a trainer?" Gruff asked. He walked forward tentatively, uncomfortable leaving Glint so far behind. Something might happen, and Coni could hardly protect him--she couldn't even feed herself.
"Yes, that friend. Like I told you already, she was caught and I have to be caught too so I can find her," Machop insisted. He obviously didn't know how it worked. He seemed to think all caught pokémon went to the same place.
Gruff knew otherwise. He only didn't say anything because he didn't think Machop would believe him. Wild pokémon were like that toward trainer pokémon.
"Why won't your master catch me?" Machop asked. He threw a punch over Gruff's head, expecting him to flinch. Growlithe rarely flinch, though. Especially when they're not actually hit.
"Where is the gully?" Gruff asked. He couldn't see one from where they were. There was just more grass. Green, green grass.
"There!" Machop shouted. He pointed down to the bottom of the hill, to the right of where Gruff was looking. "It looks like they're playing toss the graveler. Look see, there."
Gruff nodded. "I see it. We should tell Glint."

Gruff thought he could hear Glint calling and he turned to go back. That was when he smelled smoke—burning tree and shrub smoke. "Machop, we should go back. I smell smoke."
"I don't smell anything. You must be wrong. Let's go down and see if they've seen my friend," Machop said.
"No, we should go back," Gruff disagreed. From what he could tell the fire was about half a mile back along the route, so it might have been one of the people who lived in a tent who'd started the fire by accident. It smelled like it was getting pretty intense though, and if someone didn't do something it might spread, burning acres of forest, destroying homes and killing wild pokémon.
"But we already looked and my friend wasn't there. Maybe she came back here? Maybe she escaped from the trainer that caught her? I bet she did!"
"I'm going," Gruff said. He turned away and ran back up the hill, far faster than Machop even dreamed he could run.
"Where are you go~o~o~i~i~ng?"
Gruff focussed on running. He made it to the top of the hill, where Glint was stood, waiting.

Gruff ran down the hill and through the grass, not giving anything a chance to jump out and challenge him. Before Machop even had chance to say anything they were at the scene of a fire, where a handful of trainers were trying to save their camp and a couple of water pokémon were trying in vain to put out the flames.
The fire must have spread incredibly quickly. It looked to Gruff as though it had caught everyone by surprise. One tent had already been burned to cinders, taking everything that was left inside with it, and the flames had started to work on the next one in the row.
"Machy, come back!"
Gruff looked at the trainer who'd shouted. She looked angry. So angry that she wasn't giving the fire the attention it clearly deserved.
"Gruff ruff!" Gruff barked, hoping to get the trainer to come to her senses.
When she looked at Gruff though, she went into a rage. She thrust her arm out, holding a pokéball. "Machy, you return right now!"
Nothing happened. Machop jumped off Gruff's back and spread his arms wide. "Ma~a~a~a~a~"
"Gruff ruff," Gruff barked. He looked up into the sky as dark clouds began to gather. It was like something out of... Wait. It was rain dance; Machop knew rain dance.
"Machy? What are you doing?" the girl trainer said. Unless Gruff was mistaken she seemed to have mistaken Machop for someone else. "Machy? I said return!"

Gruff stood between Machop and the trainer. He shook his head at the girl.
"Is that not my Machy? Oh pooey, where is she?" the trainer asked. She funnelled her voice with her hands, then. "Machy?"
Gruff looked at the fire, which was dying down thanks to Machop's rain dance and the water guns of a buizel and an azumarill. It seemed to him that Machy - this trainer's machop - may have started the fire and then run away. That was the impression he was getting, anyway.
"Mah?"
"Gruff ruff," Gruff replied. He sniffed the wind to try and locate another machop nearby, but the smell of the smoke was too potent.
"What is it you two? Do you know where Machy went?"
Gruff shook his head to the girl. Then when he turned to Machop to ask if he knew, all he saw was a trail of dust. Machop had run into the forest.
Gruff set off after him. "Gruff! Gruff ruff ruff!"
"He~e~e~y," the trainer yelled. She followed too, probably hoping to find her pokémon.
The two other trainers shouted to her, "Ellie, where are you going!?"
"I've got a gym battle today!"
Ellie wasn't for stopping, though. She chased after Gruff and replied with a yell; "I'll be right ba~a~a~ck~"

Glint followed Harry and Rhine through the forest and out into a clearing where there was a river, running back toward Cerulean, with a jetty that looked like it'd fall apart if anyone tried to walk along it.
"Where did they go?" Glint asked.
Rhine and Harry looked around, confused. They didn't inspire Glint with confidence.
"They must've come this way," Rhine said. "My vigoroth came this way, so this is the way Ellie came too."
Glint nodded. He tried to figure out for himself what had happened. Rhine had faith in his vigoroth, so Glint figured he should too. But, if it really had followed Gruff and the others this way, they must have vanished into thin air. Because one thing was certain--Gruff would not go near that water.
"There must have been a boat," Harry said.
Glint still didn't think Gruff would have gone near the water. But a boat seemed like the most likely explanation.

"Machy~y~y~y~y?" Ellie called. Her machop was in the boat in front, rowing like an olympic kayaker. Ellie was rowing as hard as she could, but her arms were piddly compared to Machy's and she just couldn't keep up.
"Mah, machop," Machop said. He tried to snatch the ores from Ellie but she stubbornly held on. "Mah!"
"Let go!" Ellie screeched. "I caught that machop fair and square so tough luck. She's coming with me. We'll train together and one day we'll fight Karen of the Elite Four."
Gruff wanted to bark, to try and get Ellie's attention, but he was petrified. He never should have allowed Machop to convince him to get in the boat. Now they were surrounded by rushing water. There was nowhere to go. Gruff stayed as still as he could, right in the middle of the rocking boat.
"Hey," Ellie snapped at Machop. One of the oars flew out of her hand as the pokémon pulled on it. It splashed into the water and floated away.
"Mah!" Machop gasped. "Machop mah mah mahcop!"
Gruff shook his head. There was no way in a million years he was going to jump into the water to get that oar back. If anyone should jump in it was Machop. "Gruff ruff ruff," Gruff said.
"You two," Ellie growled. She threw the second oar down to the floor of the little boat and folded her arms in a huff. "Why are you chasing me anyway?"
Gruff wished he could explain, but obviously humans don't understand pokémon speak, and pokémon can't speak human. "Grawr..."
"Machop mah," Machop said. He picked up the oar and started to row. But with only one oar, they didn't make any progress. The river swept them back toward Cerulean. It swept them further and further away from Glint.