Chapter 7

Redwald was holding the PokéBall that he just caught Pidgey with. He could not deny the fact that Pidgey was a challenging Pokémon and was superior to his species. Redwald was proud of catching such Pokémon. While holding the PokéBall, all Redwald could think of was the moment when he shows him to Professor Oak and his mother. The expression on their face once they understand that Pidgey is special would be worth seeing.

Redwald took the PokéBall and prepared himself to throw it to meet Pidgey in person in a calm meeting rather than chasing or battling. He gave a quick look at Greta. Greta was as excited as Redwald as it seemed. She was impressed by Pidgey’s determination as well, and the fact that Redwald, her friend, managed to catch him made it even more exciting.

But right before Redwald threw the PokéBall to the grasses, some sound distracted him. He heard someone running towards them. Redwald and Greta looked at each other, then they turned to the direction where the sound came from. That was Blake, he was running as fast as he could. There was a small Pokémon running besides him. They were clearly escaping from something.

When Blake came close enough, he did not say anything and instead just passed through them. The small Pokémon was right behind him.

“What is this all about?” Greta asked. But her answer did not remain unanswered for long. A giant Pokémon one and a half size of Blake was running right behind them. Due to her giant size, she was unable to run too fast.

“Run, Red! Run!” Greta responded while she held Redwald’s arm and began to run behind Blake.

While Redwald and Greta ran behind Blake and his Pokémon, Redwald took his Pokédex to identify the Pokémon which was chasing them right behind. It took a while in the rush and mess but eventually he managed to scan the Pokémon successfully.

“For some reason, I think that Blake hurt Kangaskhan’s infant.” Greta said ironically. “And for some reason, we are in the same danger as he is!”

“Complaining about this mess won’t get you anywhere Greta, and no one asked you to come with me!” Blake said while running. He was out of his breath but it could not be helped. “If you have a solution, say it. Or shut up and run!”

Then it hit Redwald. He wanted to meet his Pokémon in person but he had to postpone it. But he did not have to, because that was the time to do it. He reached out to his PokéBall and prepared himself to call Pidgey out of it.

“Are you crazy?” Greta responded. “Do you think this is really the time to meet your Pokémon?”

“You don’t know what I’m going to do, Greta.” Redwald responded. He pushed the round button on the PokéBall and called Pidgey out of it. He flew in the air, drawing circles.

“Pidgey, I need you to find us a safe place to hide from Kangaskhan. Can you do that for us?” Redwald asked. Pidgey drew a couple of more circles in the air, then he flew away to find a place for them.

“What if Pidgey escapes and never returns? What if another Trainer ends up catching him?” Greta asked. “That was so reckless of you, Red!”

“You don’t really know anything about PokéBalls, do you?” Blake said. “PokéBalls are designed to have ID numbers for every Trainer. As long as Pidgey is signed with Redwald’s ID number of his PokéBall, no one can catch him. Only if Redwald releases his Pidgey by breaking his PokéBall.”

“Also...” Blake kept explaining. “...Pokémon can not abandon or escape from their Trainers unless they are dead or they have not put their Pokémon in their PokéBall for over three years. This is unnatural.”

Greta never heard of these before, did not even read on books that she kept taking from Professor Oak’s library. Her all relation with the Pokémon was the Trainers around Pallet Town who brought their Pokémon to their Day Care service to take care of them for a day.

“I can’t keep running anymore!” Greta said after a while. “My legs hurt. I don’t even feel them anymore!”

Redwald thought of a solution but Kangakshan was really a pain in that matter. “Pidgey must be still looking for a place for us.” Redwald said. “Keep it up a little more, Greta!”

But something actually unexpected at the moment suddenly happened. Blake stepped on a small rock and the spike of it hurt his foot. He screamed in a pain while he fell on the ground. Even if he stood up in seconds, he would not be able to walk or run for a while.

Redwald quickly leaned on Blake and helped him stand up. But they were extremely slow then, since Redwald had to support Blake even for walking.

“We have to do something!” Greta responded. Kangaskhan was coming through them at the full speed of her. Redwald quickly took off Blake’s shoe and sock and checked his foot. It was bleeding already. His small Pokémon was standing right besides him, watching what was happening.

Greta knew that Redwald had no time to think about Kangaskhan. But suddenly it struck Greta like a thunder. “Of course!” She thought herself. Dapperly she reached out to her bag and took a PokéBall, then threw it to the grasses. “Caterpie, come out!” She said.

That was the first time Greta actually called her Pokémon out of her PokéBall. Caterpie was still tired because of the battle she had, but she had to do her best.

“Caterpie, I need you to use String Shot.” Greta said. “This Kangaskhan over there is coming for us.”

Caterpie knew what she had to do. She pulled her energy together and used the best String Shot she could ever make. All the strings splitted on the grasses where Kangaskhan would step on. Then she used it for twice more. The ground was steadily covered with the strings Caterpie brought out of her mouth.

“Thank you, Caterpie! You are the best.” Greta responded. When Kangaskhan came closer to them, she stepped on the strings and her feet sticked to the ground. Surprisedly, Kangaskhan tried to get rid of the strings but they were too sticky to do it just in seconds, even for her.

In the meantime, Redwald put on a bangage on Blake’s scar and tested it by letting Blake step on the ground. At first, Blake had the pain even to stand up, but after a couple of tries, Blake was able to walk again.

“If you keep going, I’m sure you will even run.” Redwald said. Blake was extremely uncomfortable that Redwald was taking care of him and that he was caught weak in front of his Pokémon, but he had no other choice.

“I am fine.” He said coldly. Redwald knew that he felt humaliated, therefore acted like a douche bag, but he did not mind once he empathised with him. Redwald would not want to be cared by Blake in a situation like this either.

“I don’t think the strings will hold Kangaskhan anymore.” Greta said. “Are you ready to run?”

Redwald looked at Blake. Blake nodded his head. He was.

“We are.” Redwald said. And so, their run in the jungle kept going from where it was paused.

After their run for another two minutes, they finally found themselves on their way to a dead end. A steep slope appeared in front of them and no one could climb it.

“What are we going to do now?” Greta responded. “If we get there, Kangaskhan is going to kill us!”

“I have a solution!” Redwald said. When we get there, you, Greta, take the right direction. Blake and I are going to take the left direction.”

“Why do I have to leave you?” Greta responded. She was not happy with departing from Redwald.

“If the two of us take one direction, Kangaskhan would come after us and leave you alone, Greta.” Redwald said calmly. “I need you to get to somewhere safe until Pidgey finds us, and come up with a solution to save us. Then you will come behind and get us.” Greta did not like that opinion, but that made sense. At least Redwald had a plan.

“Just listen to me, do what I say. Maybe then you will come after to save us. Just go, rest and think through.” Redwald said to make sure.

Greta had no choice but accept what Redwald said. Once they got closer to the steep slope, everyone did what Redwald said and splitted in two groups. While Greta ran to the right side and hid behind a big rock, Redwald and Blake followed the left direction.

Greta was so out of breath that she felt the pain on her livers. They were almost burning. She never realised until then but she was all sweaty. She took off her hat and splattered water from her bottle on her face. She felt some better, but the burning feeling on her livers still remained.

“I...” She tried to talk to herself. “...have to...”

Redwald and Blake were still running. “Will your Pokémon ever come out and show us the safe way?” Blake said. He was too tired of running. But his Pokémon was in a worse shape. Eventually Blake stopped running, put his Pokémon on his shoulder and kept running. He was right behind Redwald.

“I am sure Pidgey is about to find a place. Maybe he already has and now he is coming to get us.” Redwald responded. He counted on his Pokémon. He wanted to count on his Pokémon.

They turned the corner and ran through the path. But at the time, Redwald realised he stepped on something. That was a rope. Nothing good could come out of it, he thought. Before it lasted even a second, Redwald found himself in nets and ropes that fell from a giantic tree. That was clearly a trap and they were caught. The net pull Redwald, Blake and his Pokémon tight and covered them all around. Then it carried everyone up. Redwald, Blake and Blake’s Pokémon could barely move.

“What is this about?” Blake grumbled.

“I stepped on the trap.” Redwald said as simple as possible. It was his fault and he knew that Blake was going to say something on that. But unlike what he expected, Blake did not respond it. Could be because I helped him with his wound?* Redwald thought.

It took only seconds Kangaskhan to reach to them. Redwald knew that there was no way out and they were captured by that angry, mothery Pokémon who knows what would do to them.

But the surprise had been waiting everyone. The nets were too high that even over 2 meters of Kangaskhan was unable to reach there. She even jumped twice, but it only hurt herself.

“Are we safe?” Redwald said. He could not believe that he turned out to be that* lucky. But Kangaskhan had no intention to give up either. Instead of leaving them alone, she sat under a tree and kept watch on Redwald and Blake.

Blake was being optimistic. “Could be worse.” He said.

Then Blake’s Pokémon cried in a pain. Redwald completely forgot about that little buddy. Blake writhed and put the little Pokémon on his lap.

“Are you all right, Cubone?” He asked. Redwald repeated the name in his mind. He never heard of Cubone before. He barely reached out to his Pokédex and turned it on to scan him. The Pokédex identified the Pokémon for him.

Blake saw that Cubone hurt his leg in the net and turned into blue.

“Don’t worry, Cubone.” Blake said. “Once we get out of here, I will treat you. But now, rest in your PokéBall. You’ve done a lot in a day.”

Then he reached to his PokéBall and called the Pokémon back in his PokéBall.

“So, Oak gave you a Cubone.” Redwald said. “He is the one you found your item really quick with.”

Blake did not want to have a conversation with Redwald. After all, he had been despising him for years. But he did not want to be rude to him exclusively that day. Instead of scolding, he watched the view for a while and then answered him uninterestedly.

“Yes.”

It had been hours since Redwald and Blake were caught in the net. Kangaskhan was overslept while keeping the watch. The sky turned into an orange shade. They probably should have been heading back to the laboratory. Redwald and Blake never spoke a word again.

The thoughts that Redwald found himself into did not please him even a bit. It had been hours since Pidgey flew away to find a safe place but he never returned. Could Greta be right from the beginning, despite what Blake said, could Pidgey escape already?

“I shouldn’t have let him go.” He thought. If that was the case, he had to build up a friendship first before letting Pidgey go away like that.

“What did you to Kangaskhan, Blake?” Redwald asked. He had to think of something else.

“I didn’t do anything to her.” Blake said whimsically. But he knew how stupid it sounded. A Pokémon would not go after someone with such big passion out of nowhere. Something had to happen.

“Fine.” Blake said. He was still staring at the sky. “I intended to catch a strong Pokémon. It would be so lame to return to the laboratory with a Rattata. So, I read about Kangaskhan before. They were really tough in battles, and they could be encountered in here but very rarely. So I found her infant in the woods. I know that Kangaskhan would never let her infant go away like that. So I decided to chase it behind to find the mother. But before I found her, she found me chasing her infant. Before I even got my chance to realise what happened, she came after me. I used Cubone to protect myself but it only made Kangaskhan even angrier. You know the rest. Bumping into you and so.”

Redwald said something completely unrelated to the situation. “Is it unnatural for Pokémon to abandon their Trainers?”

Blake knew what was in Redwald’s mind. “Yes”, he shortly said. Redwald turned his back and looked at Pidgey’s empty PokéBall. He regretted for letting him go.

Suddenly the net unwinded. Redwald and Blake swung in the air. The net was still holding to the tree but it was a metter of time to fell on the ground. Even worse, Kangaskhan woke up and watched the two guys bow to the inevitable.

Redwald and Blake, as a reflex, tried to hold on to something but nothing was accessible other than the net. Eventually, the net broke for good, and Redwald and Blake fell on the grasses as tough as possible. As they hit the ground, Redwald and Blake groaned in a pain while Kangaskhan ran to them as fast as possible. Redwald attempted to stand up and run but it was impossible to order his nerves and bones to do that.

Just when Kangaskhan was close enough, she prepared himself to tackle on them. But before she did that, Pidgey appeared and used Tackle on her. Kangaskhan was caught off her guard. She was distracted from Redwald and Blake who were in pain on the ground, and she decided to attack Pidgey.

“Pidgey!” Redwald thought. “He returned!”

Redwald was so relieved that he did not think anything about Kangaskhan. Eventually, he stood up and ordered Pidgey what to do.

Kangaskhan’s hand glowed bright. “That’s Mega Punch!” Blake said.

“Pidgey, dodge it!” Redwald said. Pidgey sailed and dodged the punch. As she hit the air, Kangaskhan lost her balance and stood on her one knee.

“Pidgey, use Sand Attack now!” Redwald said. Pidgey flew closer to the ground and used Sand Attack on her. Kangaskhan covered her face with her hands but it was not good enough.

“Now use Gust!” Redwald said. Pidgey flew around Kangaskhan and flapped his wings as tough as possible. He quickly created a gust and Kangaskhan felt lost in it. Suddenly her infant came out of her pouch.

“Hold it, Pidgey!” Redwald said. Pidgey stopped flapping his wings. Kangaskhan ran after her infant and caught it under a tree. She very quickly put the Pokémon in her pouch. Instead of attacking back or causing more destruction, she just ran away for the sake of her infant.

Pidgey landed in front of Redwald. His light-yellow furs glowed in bright orange as the sky’s reflection. He had a domestic smile on his face. He almost wanted to say out loud that he would not leave Redwald behind.

“Thank you, Pidgey.” Redwald said. He was more than glad to see Pidgey save him. Pidgey came closer to Redwald and put his beak on Redwald’s stomach.

Then Greta appeared behind the bushes. She was all sweaty and out of breath. “I just saw Pidgey flying in the air and chased him behind…” She said. “So, you are finally here and you got rid of that mothering instinct…”

“Indeed, we are.” Blake said almost carelessly. He beat out the dust and stood up. “You two go back to the laboratory.” He said. “I still have a Pokémon to catch.”

“Will you be safe out there?” Greta asked. Blake silently nodded his head and walked away. Redwald called Pidgey back in his PokéBall. It was almost the night time.

As Redwald and Greta walked their way back to the laboratory, they thought of the day in a silence. The two definitely got tired and would sleep all night long. But what was more important was that, they finally built a trustworthy bond between their new Pokémon. Redwald could count on Pidgey for anything since he had the chance to escape, but he did not. Greta was more than happy that she worked with her Caterpie in sync while Caterpie was organized to use String Shot. Both trainers finally gained the trust they needed for themselves.

Humans

 * Redwald Walker
 * Greta Parker
 * Blake Oak
 * Professor Oak (mentioned)
 * Fennel Walker (mentioned)
 * Two Students

Pokémon

 * Wild Kangaskhan
 * Wild Kangaskhan
 * Wild Kangaskhan
 * Wild Kangaskhan