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Sorry for the delay. But, as you saw, I've been working on some requests that I accepted a while back and I finally decided to go ahead and do them. And on a side note, I know Magnemite is a genderless Pokémon, but I decided to make it a male for the remainder of this story.

Also, I apologize for the length of this chapter, but it had a lot of stuff that I did in my game. No sex in this one, either. Be patient though, it's coming. Anyway, enjoy!

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Chapter Eight: A Contest Between Teams

I yawned, opening my eyes and stretching my limbs from a wonderful night's sleep. I sat up on the bundle of hay, trying to make myself more awake for today's events. I recalled what happened the previous morning, when a rescue team had taken our mail and left us with nothing. I frowned at what they did, but decided to drop it, as I know Stephanie will be stopping by soon. I stood up on my legs, grabbed the Toolbox, and started walking out of the base.

Once I walked out, I had an odd feeling that someone was watching me, so I looked to my sides. I saw no one there, but once again, I saw Stephanie walking up from the corner of my eye up to me. I turned to face her, seeing her smile at me.

"Good morning, Daniel! Let's do good again today!" Stephanie said.

"Good morning, Stephanie." I replied, smiling back.

Then, a familiar voice spoke from behind us. "Daniel! Stephanie!" The voice said. Stephanie turned around to see who had spoken our names.

"Huh? Who was that?" Stephanie asked. I walked next to her, looking to see who had spoken as well. I saw coming toward us, the Caterpie we had rescued on my first day as a Pokémon. "Oh, Caterpie? How have you been?" Stephanie asked, smiling at the Caterpie. He spoke to us with a worried tone in his voice.

"Please! Please help my friend!" Caterpie exclaimed.

"What's the matter?" Stephanie asked.

"I was playing with my friend Metapod... But Metapod got lost in the woods... He's still lost out there..." Caterpie replied worriedly.

Then, another familiar voice spoke behind Caterpie. "Oh, I see, I see! That does sound bad! Kekeke!" The voice said. I looked behind Caterpie to see Team Meanies coming up behind him. Caterpie looked behind to see who had spoken as well.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Stephanie asked surprisingly. I was wondering what they were doing as well, if they were trying to steal our job from us like they did yesterday. Gengar stepped forward and Caterpie took a step back.

"Have no fear! We're here to save your chum Metapod." Gengar said smiling.

"Hold on! Caterpie came to us for help!" Stephanie said, with an angry tone in her voice.

"Keh! You think you can do this rescue with your amateur-level skills?" Gengar said chuckling. I could tell he had pissed Stephanie off even more as she spoke even angrier.

"What did you say?!" Stephanie shouted. I was angry with them too, but I kept a calm and cool head, not allowing my emotions to get the better of me.

"It doesn't matter who does the rescuing, see? The guy that does the rescuing gets to be the hero." Gengar replied, still smiling. "Listen, Caterpie. How about we do this? How about you give the reward to the team that brings back your chum first?" Gengar suggested. I was shocked to hear what he was suggesting, as if rescuing Caterpie's friend was a contest.

"But I... I don't have any money..." Caterpie replied sadly. I assumed that they would still want to do the job, even if Caterpie had nothing to give to them, just to show us up.

"Oh, don't you worry about that, my little friend! I'm sure we can persuade your parents to reward us with interest afterward, kekeh!" Gengar said, chuckling. "Oh, yeah. You can even join our team. There's an offer you can't refuse. When you join us, Caterpie, we'll let you be a big wheel in Team Meanies, kekekeke!" He suggested. I was shocked at what Gengar was suggesting, while Caterpie was sitting there, unable to speak. "That's the deal, Stephanie. The first to rescue wins!" He exclaimed. Then, he turned to face his teammates and spoke. "Come on, move! Let's get this done, already!" He said. Then, they turned and left us standing there, shocked at what had just happened.

"..." Caterpie stood there, unable to think or speak. Then, he turned to face us.

"Don't worry. We'll save your friend first." Stephanie said, smiling at Caterpie. "Daniel! Let's get going!" Stephanie said, turning toward me. I turned toward Caterpie.

"Okay, don't worry Caterpie. You won't have to join those disgraceful rescuers." I said, smiling at him. Then, I turned toward Stephanie. "Let's go, get Magnemite, and get this mission done." I said smiling. Stephanie nodded toward me and we headed off for the Power Plant.

It took less time than it did the previous two days, probably because we knew how to get there so well by now. We looked around and saw Magnemite there, floating around. We walked over to him, wanting to let him come with us. "Is it time for another mission?" He asked. I nodded in response to his question and he cheered. "Great! Let's go, then! Bzbzbzz!" He exclaimed.

We started walking back toward our rescue team base, reaching it not too much later, when I suddenly had a thought. "Hey guys? I know we need to get to the place where Metapod's lost, but can we just stop quickly at Pokémon Square? I want to get a few more Friend Areas, in case we encounter some new Pokémon at the area we're going to." I suggested to my teammates.

"Sure Daniel. We can do that, but let's not take too long. Team Meanies is already ahead of us and we don't want to get further behind." Stephanie replied. I nodded to what she said and we walked into Pokémon Square, heading toward the Wigglytuff Club, when I decided to stop at the Kangaskhan Storage first, to get rid of some of the items in my Toolbox.

"Hello there! Hey, I remember you from the other day. Do you want to store something else here?" Kangaskhan asked me. I nodded in response to what she asked me and pulled out the White Gummi, a Reviver Seed, a Pecha Berry, and a Cheri Berry from the Toolbox and handed it to her. She placed the items in the box she had set aside for us and turned back to me. "Is that all?" She asked.

"Yes, it is. Thank you!" I replied.

"No problem, sweetie. Come again!" Kangaskhan exclaimed. We started walking away from the Kangaskhan Storage and over to the Wigglytuff Club. There, behind the counter, stood Wigglytuff.

"Welcome to the Wigglytuff Club! Do you want to add some Friend Areas so you can increase your rescue team?" Wigglytuff asked us. I nodded my head to her question, so she pulled out the list of Friend Areas she had that were still available to us. I looked them over quickly, wondering which ones would best be suited to where we were going today. Then, I saw a couple that caught my eye.

"Can we purchase the Mushroom Forest and Thunder Meadow Friend Areas?" I asked curiously. I saw Wigglytuff look at me and nod her head.

"Certainly. For those two Friend Areas, that'll be 1500 Poké." Wigglytuff replied. I gave her the money, she put it in the register, and then she started her singing and dancing once again. I figured she needed to do this every time in order to unlock a Friend Area for us. Then, there was a flash of light as she stopped and spoke to us. "Now you can go to the Mushroom Forest and Thunder Meadow areas!" Wigglytuff exclaimed. "Anything else you want?" She asked.

"No thanks. See you later!" I exclaimed, smiling at her. We started walking off and back toward our base, so we could go to the area where Metapod was waiting to be rescued. We reached our base and then started toward the location where the mission was to take place: Sinister Woods. I didn't like the name of that, but hopefully it's just a name, I told myself.

The walk there didn't take as long as some of the other ones, but it was still a while before we got there. The woods here looked even bigger and more scary-looking than the Tiny Woods. I guessed that's how it got the name Sinister Woods. I turned toward Stephanie as she started to speak.

"This must be it. Metapod is lost somewhere in these woods. Gengar's gang should be in there already. We need to hurry." Stephanie said calmly.

"Yeah, let's go." I replied. I was a little creeped out by the look of the woods, but I couldn't let myself get scared. We had a mission to do, which was to find Metapod and beat Gengar's team to him. We entered the woods, preparing to complete today's mission and hopefully show Team Meanies a thing or two about a true rescue team.

Upon entering, I saw a Swinub off in the distance. I opened the Toolbox, pulled out a Gravelerock, and threw it at the Swinub. It hit the Swinub, lowering its health. It started moving closer to us, so I pulled out another Gravelerock, threw it at the Swinub, and knocked it out.

We started walking, looking for Metapod. I figured these woods must be deep, so it'll probably be a while before we find him. We came across another Swinub, behind Stephanie. I nodded toward her, letting her know she could have this battle. "Absorb!" Stephanie called, absorbing the energy out of the Swinub. The Swinub tried to attack Stephanie back, but missed her. "Leer! Pound!" Stephanie called, as she performed a combination attack. First, she lowered the defense of the Swinub, and then she swung her tail at it, knocking it out.

I noticed an Oddish nearby and reached inside the Toolbox once again. I pulled out a Gravelerock and tried throwing it at the Oddish, but missed it. It moved closer to us, but I threw another Gravelerock at it, hitting it this time. It was near Stephanie, but I knew she could finish it off. "Leer! Pound!" Stephanie called, performing her combo attack again. She lowered its defense and then, swung her tail at it. It fell down to the ground, defeated.

We continued walking and soon, I came across another Swinub. I decided to fight it normally this time. "Quick Attack!" I called, striking the Swinub in the side. The Swinub attacked me back, weakening me slightly. "Quick Attack!" I called, hitting the Swinub again. It fell down to the ground, defeated.

We continued walking and I saw a Blast Seed and some Poké, so I picked them up and put them in the Toolbox. We continued walking, not encountering any enemies until we ran into a Sentret, another new Pokémon. I pulled out a Blast Seed from the Toolbox and ate it, feeling my stomach fill slightly and my mouth fill with fire. I opened my mouth and released the flames on the Sentret, defeating it. However, instead of it staying down, it got back up and looked at me admirably. I figured I must have gotten someone who wanted to join my team, finally.

"That was a great battle. Are you guys a rescue team?" The Sentret asked us. Its voice had a feminine tone, so I figured it was a girl.

"Yes, we are. Why do you ask?" I asked curiously. I knew what she wanted, but I decided to ask anyway, to be a nice guy.

"Well, can I join your team?" Sentret asked us.

"Sure, you can! Welcome aboard!" I replied happily. I saw the Sentret cheer happily as she was now part of our team. "I'm Daniel and these are my other team members, Stephanie and Magnemite." I said, motioning behind me with my paw.

"Nice to meet you." Sentret said to my teammates. They both nodded to her, signifying the same thing.

"Well, anyway. Let's continue on now. We came here to do a mission." I said out loud. When we started walking, I could hear talking behind me, so I figured the others were informing her of the mission we were here to do. As we continued walking, I spotted some more Poké, picking it up. We continued walking until we encounted a Sunflora, the evolved form of Sunkern. As I noticed this enemy, a thought entered my head. I had remembered hearing Pokémon in the square talking about that they couldn't evolve because of the natural disasters. So, I assumed this Sunflora must've evolved before the natural disasters started occurring.

But I decided to drop these thoughts and focus on the upcoming battle. I pulled out a Gravelerock from the Toolbox and threw it at the Sunflora, hitting it. It moved closer to me, so I pulled out another Gravelerock and threw it at the Sunflora, hitting it again and knocking it out. It dropped a Pecha Berry on the ground, so I picked it up and placed it in the Toolbox, in case we might need it later on. I knew Pecha Berries were used to heal a poison condition, so I figured it might be helpful if we encounter Gengar's team and get poisoned by Ekans.

As we continued walking, I saw a strange bottle on the ground and picked it up. It looked similar to the Max Elixir bottle we got the other day from a request, so I placed it in the Toolbox and kept walking. I remembered than an elixir is something that heals you, but I wasn't sure what it healed. I also spotted some Poké on the ground and picked it up, placing it in the Toolbox yet again.

I noticed a Silcoon nearby and decided to battle it from afar. I pulled out a Gravelerock and threw it at the Silcoon, weakening its health. The Silcoon was unable to move, since it had no legs. I threw another Gravelerock at it, hitting it again and defeating it. We continued walking and I could see a couple enemies around us. They were a couple of Shroomish, a Pokémon that looks like the top of a mushroom. I figured they might be part of the Mushroom Forest Friend Area I had purchased, but we already had four Pokémon on the team, and I figured we couldn't hold any more even if I wanted to.

I heard Stephanie's voice behind me as she spoke. "Oh, let me get that Apple for you, Daniel." Stephanie said. I turned toward her and saw her bending over to pick up the Apple, showing me her backside. I wondered why she was doing that again, like yesterday. But I told myself it was just her being a good friend again. She gave me the Apple and I placed it in the Toolbox. I directed my attention back to our foe, the Shroomish, as they continued to move closer to us.

One came in front of me and Sentret, the other was in front of Stephanie and Magnemite. We all took our battle poses and prepared to fight. "Thundershock!" I called, shocking the Shroomish with electricity and weakening its health.

"Absorb!" Stephanie called, sucking the energy out of the other Shroomish.

"Tackle!" Magnemite called, hitting the other Shroomish with his body, weakening it further. Sentret attacked the Shroomish in front of us, weakening it further. The Shroomish in front of us began releasing a yellow cloud of spores, I realized this was Stun Spore! But before we could do anything, both me and Sentret were paralyzed and couldn't do anything.

I struggled to turn my head and look at how our teammates were faring. The other Shroomish attacked Stephanie, weakening her slightly. "Leer! Pound!" Stephanie called, using her combo attack once again on the Shroomish in front of her. She hit the Shroomish with both of her techniques. It fell down to the ground, defeated.

I heard a strange sound from in front of me and turned my head, to see the Shroomish sucking energy from Sentret. I realized it was using its Absorb attack, like I've seen Stephanie use so many times already. Sentret was pretty weak after the attack, but she had managed to survive. I tried to attack, but found that I couldn't, as the paralysis was affecting me.

The Shroomish used Tackle on me, weakening my health. I noticed sparks fly off of its body, so I was thankful my Static ability paralyzed it. However, I noticed that Sentret started running away, which was her special ability, I figured. She was part of our team, but she didn't want to be defeated, obviously. Suddenly, I could feel like I could move my body again, so I figured the paralysis must have worn off already. I smiled, ready to finish off the Shroomish.

"Thundershock!" I called, shocking the Shroomish with electricity and knocking it out. I was pleased to see that it was defeated, but I still had to get Sentret before she ran too far away. I heard a cheer behind me, so I looked to see Magnemite happy, so I figured he must have leveled up. I would've expressed my happiness, but I had to get Sentret back to us. As I walked behind her, Magnemite handed me some Poké that he had picked up, so I placed it in the Toolbox. I pulled out an Oran Berry from the Toolbox and threw it to Sentret. She ate it and smiled at me.

"Thanks for your help. Sorry about that." Sentret chuckled. I started to laugh too.

"No problem, it wasn't your fault. It was just your Pokémon instinct kicking in." I said. Then, I suddenly started to feel a little bit of pain from what I had just gone through.

"You okay, Daniel?" Stephanie asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just feeling a little bit of pain from the battle we just did." I replied.

"Well, maybe I can fix that for you." Stephanie said. She started walking over to me and before I could ask what she was going to do, she started rubbing my shoulders again, like she did yesterday. I didn't know why she was doing this, but she was doing a good job, so I didn't think about it much. When the pain started to fade away, she stopped and walked in front of me. "Do you feel better now?" She asked.

"Yeah, much better. Thanks." I replied, smiling at her.

"You're welcome. Let's continue on now." Stephanie said, smiling back. I nodded with her suggestion and we continued walking, searching for where Metapod could be. Eventually, we came across a Linoone, the evolved form of Zigzagoon. It stood in front of me and Stephanie, so we both took our battle poses, preparing to fight together.

"Thundershock!" I called, shocking the Linoone with the electric attack and hitting it.

"Leer! Pound!" Stephanie called, performing her combination attack once more. She hit the Linoone with both of her attacks, knocking it out. I turned toward her and showed her a smile, at how happy I was for her battle skill. She smiled back at me and then winked at me. I was confused as to why she did that, but I decided not to pay it too much attention, because we still had to find Metapod.

We continued walking through the woods, listening and looking for Caterpie's friend. Then, we came across another Sunflora. I took my battle pose, preparing for another battle with a wild Pokémon. "Quick Attack!" I called, hitting the Sunflora harder than normal. The Sunflora tried using Absorb on me, but I stepped to the side as it failed to steal my energy. "Thundershock!" I called, shocking the Sunflora with electricity. It fell down to the ground, defeated.

We continued walking, when I spotted some Poké on the ground and picked it up, storing it for future use. I also saw a Max Elixir and a Blast Seed on the ground nearby, placing them in the Toolbox as well. As we continued walking, I saw a Shroomish near Magnemite. The Shroomish used Tackle on him, weakening his health. I decided to help Magnemite out.

"Quick Attack!" I called, striking the Shroomish in the side.

"Tackle!" Magnemite called, hitting the Shroomish with his body. It fell down to the ground, defeated. I was really getting impressed with my team, they were all doing their parts, just like I had promised to let them. We continued walking, until I could see a Shroomish nearby sleeping. I wanted to get another member on our team, but I knew we wouldn't be able to get anyone else as long as there were four of us. So, I turned toward Magnemite and started speaking.

"Magnemite, I greatly appreciate you helping us, but can you go back to the Power Plant now? I do appreciate you helping us, it's just I'd like to see if maybe I can get someone else to join our team, if you don't mind, that is." I said to Magnemite. He looked confused for a second, but then he nodded.

"Sure Daniel, I don't mind. You're our leader and I won't doubt your decision. I'll head back to the Power Plant for now. Come by if you want me to join you on another mission. See you later, guys!" Magnemite said. He started floating back through the woods, looking for the way home. I was happy that he was willing to accept my request, but I focused my attention back on the sleeping Shroomish.

We walked forward, and I took my battle pose, preparing to engage in another battle. "Quick Attack!" I called, striking the Shroomish and waking it up. It moved closer toward us and I took this chance to attack again. I pulled out a Gravelerock and threw it at the Shroomish, hitting it and knocking it out.

We continued walking and I saw another new Pokémon, a Wooper. I pulled out a Gravelerock and threw it at the Wooper, hitting it. It moved closer toward us, so I pulled out another Gravelerock and threw it at the Wooper, weakening it further. The Wooper attacked me back, weakening my health a little. I attacked back, knocking the Wooper out.

I could see another Linoone nearby, so I prepared for yet another battle. "Quick Attack!" I called, unfortunately missing the Linoone. The Linoone used Tackle on me, hitting me hard. "Quick Attack!" I called, hitting the Linoone this time. The Linoone attacked me back, hurting me further. I decided to end this, so I pulled out a Gravelerock and threw it at the Linoone, knocking it out. It dropped an Apple on the ground when it was defeated.

I noticed a Shroomish behind the defeated Linoone as it came up to us. I prepared for another battle, taking my battle pose. "Quick Attack!" I called, striking the Shroomish in the side. It moved closer to us and picked up the Apple on the ground, so I decided to finish it off by pulling out a Gravelerock and threw it at the Shroomish. It hit the Shroomish, defeating it.

We continued walking when I heard Stephanie talking behind me. "Oh, let me get that Apple for you, Daniel." She said. I turned toward her and she bent over again, picking up the Apple and giving it to me for storage. I wondered if she was trying to get me to do something, but I figured that would be crazy. But she hasn't started doing things like this until yesterday, so could she be trying to tell me something? I decided to drop it for now, focusing on the mission ahead of us. I placed the Apple in the Toolbox.

We continued walking, not encountering any enemies as we did so. I thought maybe we had finally gotten a break from them, but my thoughts were short-lived as I noticed another Shroomish nearby. I took my battle pose, hoping we could convince it to join our team. "Quick Attack!" I called, striking the Shroomish hard. It moved closer toward us, so I pulled out a Gravelerock and threw it at the Shroomish, hitting it. It fell down to the ground, defeated.

We continued walking, not encountering any enemies as we did so. Then, we ran into another new Pokémon, a Hoothoot. It looked similar to an owl with glasses, but it only had one foot. I prepared for another battle, taking my battle pose.

"Thundershock!" I called, shocking the Hoothoot with electricity. It fell down to the ground, defeated. I could hear cheering behind me, so I looked behind to see Stephanie happy. I figured she must have leveled up and I noticed she was moving faster than normal. I knew she had learned Quick Attack, just like I did. "Nice job." I said to her.

"Thanks, Daniel." Stephanie replied. Then, she walked over and grabbed my hands with hers, stroking them softly. She pulled them away a second later and we continued walking, but I still couldn't help thinking that she was trying to get me to do something. We eventually came across another Shroomish and it attacked me, but I saw sparks fly off of its body, so I figured it must have been paralyzed from my Static ability.

"Thundershock!" I called, shocking the Shroomish and weakening its health. I saw that it couldn't move due to the paralysis.

"Quick Attack!" Stephanie called behind me, striking the Shroomish with her newly acquired attack. It fell down to the ground, defeated. We continued walking, reaching a dead end. We started backtracking our way and continued on what I hoped was the right path. I could see another new Pokémon that looked like a lazy monkey, a Slakoth.

"Thundershock!" I called, waking up the Slakoth and shocking it. The Slakoth then used its Scratch attack on me, hurting me quite a bit. But I was still alive and I remembered that a Slakoth's ability only allows it to attack every other turn, so I was happy for that. "Quick Attack!" I called, hitting the Slakoth in its side and weakening it further. The Slakoth couldn't move due to its ability, so I decided to finish it off.

I attacked the Slakoth, weakening it further. But the Slakoth attacked me back, making me pant as I was nearly out of health. I attacked it one last time, but it still wasn't defeated. It attacked me again, knocking me out. I wondered what would happen, when all of a sudden I saw a flash from the Toolbox, which I assumed was one of the Reviver Seeds we had kicking in. In a second, I was back in the woods, ready to fight again. I attacked the Slakoth again, knocking it out. I turned toward my teammates to speak.

"Sorry about that. I shouldn't have been playing around like that." I said, chuckling slightly. They looked at me and smiled at me.

"That's okay. You didn't know that he was going to be so tough. It's not your fault." Stephanie said. I was happy she didn't mind that I got careless and almost got us defeated.

"I don't mind either. You're doing a great job, Daniel." Sentret said.

"Thanks, you guys. Well, let's continue on, then." I said. I remembered what had happened the other day, that once a Reviver Seed has been used, it would turn into a Plain Seed. We continued walking, looking for Metapod. I figured we had to be close and would find it soon hopefully. I found some Poké on the ground and picked it up, putting in the Toolbox.

I saw a Hoothoot come around the corner and was about to battle it when a sound behind me drew me out of what I was going to do. "Quick Attack!" Stephanie called, hitting the Hoothoot hard. I took my battle pose, as it moved closer toward us.

"Quick Attack!" I called, striking the Hoothoot and knocking it out. We continued walking and we came across another dead end, so I started backtracking my way toward the correct path. We continued walking and I could see some Poké on the ground, so I picked it up and placed it in the Toolbox for future use. As we were walking, we didn't encounter any enemies, which I figured was strange, since a wooded area should have a bunch of them. I saw some more Poké on the ground and picked it up.

Then, we encountered another Slakoth and I remembered not to get careless this time and just finish it off as quickly as possible. I pulled out a Blast Seed from the Toolbox and ate it, letting it fill my belly and the fire fill my mouth. I opened my mouth and released the flames on the Slakoth, hurting it greatly, but not knocking it out. The Slakoth started yawning, which I thought was strange, but then I started yawning, so I realized it used a Yawn attack on me.

I had to hurry up and finish the Slakoth off, before it could finish me. "Quick Attack!" I called, striking the Slakoth hard and knocking it out. Instead of staying down though, it got back up and looked at me admiringly. I figured we had another new team member.

"Great battle. Can I join your rescue team?" Slakoth asked. I noticed that from its voice, it was a male. I tried hard to stay awake, but knew I would fall asleep soon.

"Yes, you can! Welcome aboard!" I exclaimed, yawning as I did so. Slakoth noticed and had an apologetic look on his face. "That's okay, you were just doing what you had to do." I said, chuckling. "I'm Daniel and these are my teammates, Stephanie and Sentret." I said, pointing behind me.

"Pleased to meet you." Slakoth said. They both nodded back at him, signifying the same thing. We continued walking when all of a sudden, my eyelids started to close. Then, I fell asleep from the effects of the Yawn attack Slakoth had performed on me. I don't know for how long I was asleep, but it must not have been for long because I saw my teammates looking at me, wanting to continue on.

We continued walking, with our new member Slakoth. I figured while I was asleep, Stephanie and Sentret must've informed him of our mission. I could feel that we were very close to where Metapod was, hoping that Team Meanies didn't beat us to him. We had reached another dead end, so I backtracked my way toward the right path, I hoped. I could see another Hoothoot while we were walking, so I prepared to battle it.

"Thundershock!" I called, shocking the Hoothoot with electricity. It fell down to the ground, defeated. We were about to start walking, when I noticed another Shroomish walk up to us. I prepared for another battle. "Quick Attack!" I called, trying to strike the Shroomish, but I missed. It moved closer, so I pulled out a Gravelerock and threw it at the Shroomish, unfortunately missing it again.

The Shroomish started sucking energy out of me, so I figured it was doing its Absorb attack. I was rather angry now, so my next words came out a little harsher than I meant them to. "Thundershock!" I shouted, shocking the Shroomish this time and weakening it. I was happy I hit it finally, but I was brought out of my thoughts by Stephanie's voice.

"Quick Attack!" Stephanie called, trying to hit the Shroomish and missing as well. I wondered why we were getting so sloppy at hitting our foes, I assumed it was because we were tired. But I just had a short nap and I felt great, so I didn't know why I was missing my foes. The Shroomish turned towards Slakoth and started using Absorb on him, stealing his energy and healing itself.

"Thundershock!" I shouted again, wanting to defeat the Shroomish and find the Metapod we needed to find before Team Meanies. I hit the Shroomish again and it fell down to the ground, defeated. I was panting from the battle, but I paid it little mind as I decided to keep walking. I heard Stephanie's voice behind me as I started walking again, so I turned around.

"Let me pick up that Gravelerock for you, Daniel." Stephanie said, bending over and picking up the Gravelerock. She gave it to me and I put it in the Toolbox. I still wondered why she was acting like she's been, but I couldn't focus on that, as I just wanted to get this mission done. I spotted some Poké as we walked, so I picked it up for future use. I figured we had gotten quite a bit today, maybe enough to even replace what I spent at the Wigglytuff Club. But I decided not to worry about that now.

As we continued walking, I could see an Exeggutor sleeping in front of us. I remembered that Exeggutor is the evolved form of Exeggcute, as I could see from its many heads. I walked forward, waking it up and continued walking to pick up an Oran Berry on the ground next to it. I turned to the Exeggutor and saw it look at me strangely. I realized it was using Hypnosis, but it was too late as I fell asleep once again. In my sleep, I could hear Stephanie battling.

"Leer! Pound!" Stephanie called, using her combo attack yet again. She hit the Exeggutor harder than she normally would've. I could feel something hit me, so I figured the Exeggutor must've attacked me in my sleep. "Leer! Pound!" Stephanie called again, using her combo attack on the Exeggutor again and knocking it out.

In my sleep, I suddenly felt stronger, so I realized I must've leveled up yet again, but I couldn't do anything as long as I was asleep. Then, I woke up shortly after that, ready to continue on again. I felt refreshed once again, from having taken a short nap. I felt like I could battle Team Meanies if we needed to, but I hoped my teammates could as well, since I needed all the help I could get.

As we continued walking, I could see yet another Hoothoot. I sighed, really wanting to reach the end of this forest and find Metapod. I pulled out a Gravelerock and threw it at the Hoothoot, hitting it. It moved closer and out of the corner of my eye, I could see another Exeggutor walking up toward us. I pulled out another Gravelerock and threw it at the Hoothoot, hitting it again and knocking it out.

I turned towards the Exeggutor and prepared to fight against it as well. I pulled out another Gravelerock and threw it at the Exeggutor, unfortunately missing it. It walked closer toward us and I decided to fight it with something else. I pulled out a Blast Seed and ate it, feeling my stomach fill slightly from eating something. I felt fire fill my mouth and opened it to release the flames on the Exeggutor. It fell down to the ground, defeated.

I also pulled out the Plain Seed that was in the Toolbox and ate it, feeling my stomach fill slightly again from eating something. We continued walking, reaching another dead end. I was really starting to hate running into dead ends, so I walked back with my teammates behind me. As we continued walking, we ran into another Hoothoot, so I prepared for another battle.

"Thundershock!" I called, shocking the Hoothoot with the electric attack. It fell down to the ground, defeated. We continued walking, encountering another Slakoth as we did. I sighed and hoped this would be the last battle I would have today. "Thundershock!" I shouted, shocking the Slakoth with the electric attack. It hit the Slakoth, weakening it slightly. I saw the Slakoth start to clap its hands, so I realized it was doing an Encore attack, which prevents me from using anything but Thundershock for a short period of time.

I tried to attack the Slakoth, but I missed. The Slakoth couldn't do anything, due to its ability. "Thundershock!" I called, shocking the Slakoth once again. It weakened further from the second hit it had taken. The Slakoth tried to attack me, but it missed. I pulled out a Gravelerock and threw it at the Slakoth, defeating it.

We continued walking and soon, I could see the end of the forest, which looked rather similar to the entrance. I figured Metapod had to be ahead, so I was prepared to start looking. Stephanie's voice brought me out of my thoughts, however.

"Wow, we came quite a ways into this forest. I wonder if Metapod is ahead..." Stephanie said smiling.

"I'm sure he is. Let's look for him." I replied, smiling back. Suddenly, a familiar voice from behind us interrupted what we were about to do.

"Hold it right there!" The voice said. Team Meanies ran in front of us and blocked our way. "Keke! You know who's going to get to Metapod first? We are! So, for you to go ahead... Well, we can't let that happen." Gengar said, smiling that nasty smile of his.

"Wh-What! Hey, Gengar! Why do you always mess with us?" Stephanie asked, surprised.

"Yeah, what'd we ever do to you guys to deserve this?" I asked as well.

"Oh? Didn't we tell you? Our aim is world domination~" Medicham said, with a song-like tone at the end of her sentence.

"Caterpie's mama will give us a generous reward... And Caterpie will join us too... That brings us closer to our goal." Ekans continued, smiling.

"Keke! And for that, your lot is in the way! So sorry to say, but your party's over right here and now! Say good-bye, Stephanie!" Gengar said, laughing at us.

"Let's teach them a lesson they won't forget!" I exclaimed. I saw my teammates nod at me, so we took our battle poses and prepared for battle. I pulled out a Gravelerock from the Toolbox and threw it at Gengar. It hit him, weakening his health.

They moved closer toward us, getting ready to attack us. I prepared to attack them with something stronger this time. "Thundershock!" I called, shocking Gengar with electricity. It hit him, weakening his health further.

"Leer! Pound!" Stephanie called, hitting Medicham with her combination attack. It weakened her slightly, making her more vulnerable to defeat.

"Yawn!" Slakoth called, yawning at Gengar, which caused him to yawn as well. I figured it would make him fall asleep soon, so I hoped that meant I could defeat him more easily.

"Confusion!" Medicham called, using her Psychic-type attack on Slakoth. It hit him, weakening him slightly. Gengar attacked me, weakening me a little bit.

"Thundershock!" I called, shocking Medicham with electricity. The attack hit her and knocked her out. "One down, two to go." I told myself. I could hear cheering behind me, so I looked behind to see Sentret cheering. She must've leveled up and I was happy for her. I also saw she was moving faster than normal, so I figured she had learned Quick Attack as well. I was impressed, three of us knew Quick Attack now and two of us had learned it in the same day.

"Quick Attack!" Stephanie called, hitting Ekans with her body, but not doing a whole lot of damage, it seemed. I figured his defense must be high, which is reducing the damage he took.

"Spite!" Gengar called, hitting me with a strange ghost that he generated. I suddenly felt weird, as if something happened to me, but I didn't know what. My thoughts were interrupted as Ekans spoke.

"Leer!" Ekans called, lowering my defense. I was ready to attack once again, to teach them a lesson they wouldn't forget.

"Thundershock!" I called, trying to shock Ekans. But, I found that I was unable to. "Thundershock!" I yelled once again, not seeing anything happen. It suddenly dawned on me, that Spite attack Gengar used on me, it must have made me unable to use my Thundershock for the remainder of the battle. I decided to use a different attack, since I couldn't use my Thundershock. "Quick Attack!" I called, trying to hit Ekans, but missing him.

"Absorb!" Stephanie called, sucking the energy out of Ekans. Slakoth then attacked Gengar and after the attack, he fell asleep from the Yawn attack.

"Poison Sting!" Ekans called, unleashing a barrage of stingers at me and hitting me. I was still conscious, but I felt really weak after that attack. I pulled out a Gravelerock from the Toolbox and threw it at Ekans. It hit him, weakening him further.

"Leer! Pound!" Stephanie called, hitting Ekans with her combination attack. I hoped he was almost defeated, because I wanted to focus my attention back to Gengar before he woke up. Slakoth attacked Gengar again, weakening him further. Ekans attacked me, making me pant in sheer exhaustion from how weak I felt now.

I pulled out an Oran Berry from the Toolbox and ate it, feeling my energy return. I was ready to battle once again. "Leer! Pound!" Stephanie called, lowering the defense of Ekans again, but missed hitting him with her tail.

"Encore!" Slakoth called, urging Gengar to perform an encore of the last move he had done. I frowned at what he had just done, because the last move Gengar did was Spite, and I didn't want that to happen again. Ekans attacked me yet again, weakening me slightly. I threw another Gravelerock at Ekans, but I missed him yet again. I kept wondering why I kept missing, usually my attacks hit their target, but today I was really off.

"Quick Attack!" Stephanie called, hitting Ekans dead-on and knocking him out. I noticed Slakoth was unable to move, since he had just done an attack last time. So, I turned toward Gengar and prepared to finish him off.

I pulled out a Gravelerock and threw it at Gengar, hitting him. He fell down to the ground, defeated. I smiled, as we were victorious over Team Meanies. Hopefully, they'll think twice before messing with us again, but I could be wrong. Well, at least they won't mess with us for a little while, I hoped.

My thoughts were interrupted as I saw them getting up. But, instead of preparing to fight us again, they backed away. "Owowowow... You'll pay for this! Don't you forget it!" Gengar said, frowning at us. They started running away, obviously not wanting to take another defeat. We all watched shamefully as they ran away. Then, I turned to face Stephanie, seeing her smile at me.

"No one should hold us back now. Let's find Metapod." Stephanie said happily.

"Yeah, he's got to be around here." I replied, smiling back.

"Um, excuse me..." A voice said from within the forest. We turned to where the voice came from and saw a green Pokémon approaching us. I figured this must be Metapod, Caterpie's friend. "Did you maybe come looking for me?" He asked.

"You must be Metapod. Let's get you home. Caterpie was worried about you." Stephanie said.

"Yay! I was scared, so I kept my shell hardened...and waited and waited. Thank you!" Metapod exclaimed. He jumped in the air in happiness. We started walking back through the woods, heading towards our rescue team base. It took us a while, as we were all tired from today's events, except for Slakoth.

When we got back, I saw Caterpie still there waiting for us. He looked happy as he saw that we had his friend Metapod with us. He jumped in the air in happiness. "This is great! Welcome back, Metapod!" Caterpie cried happily.

"Thank you, Caterpie!" Metapod replied. Caterpie turned to face us, that sparkle in his eyes I remembered.

"And thank you, Stephanie and Daniel!" Caterpie exclaimed. But his expression soon changed into a sad one. "But I don't have any money..." Caterpie said.

"Oh, no, no. We don't need a reward. We're happy to see that Metapod is back safe and sound." Stephanie replied happily.

"Yeah, after all, that's what a true rescue team is about." I said, smiling at Caterpie.

"............ Cool..." Caterpie looked at us with his eyes sparkling again. "You're even more cool than I thought! I want to go on rescues when I grow up!" Caterpie exclaimed.

"Hahaha! That would be great! Chase that dream!" Stephanie replied happily. "I have an idea!" She exclaimed. Then, she turned to face me and I turned to face her. "Daniel, we should do something with this place. We should make a proper rescue team base here. Something impressive." She suggested.

"That sounds great! We should definitely do that when we get a chance!" I replied happily.

"That's cool! A rescue team base is cool! I want to work here when I grow up!" Caterpie exclaimed, with that sparkle still in his eyes.

"Me too! Me too!" Metapod chimed in.

"Haha! That's what we'll do!" Stephanie said, laughing. "Let's work hard and build our own rescue team base!" She exclaimed.

"Daniel and Stephanie, thank you again!" Metapod exclaimed.

"OK, bye! Be careful going home." Stephanie said happily. We turned and watched them walk out of view. Then, Stephanie turned to face me. "Sigh... Well, we ended up working for free, but that was the right thing to do." She exclaimed sadly. Then, her face changed to a smile. "And we got to show Gengar's team a thing or two, so it's all good!" Stephanie said laughing.

"Yeah, we certainly did! Hopefully they'll think twice before messing with us again!" I said, laughing as well. Suddenly, my shoulder started to cramp up again, probably from our final battle of the day with Team Meanies. I saw Stephanie look at me curiously.

"Is something wrong, Daniel?" Stephanie asked.

"My shoulder hurts a little bit. Probably from our final battle of the day, against Gengar and his team." I replied.

"Oh well, let me rub your shoulders a little." Stephanie said, smiling at me. I nodded with her request, hoping maybe that would help. She walked behind me and started to rub my shoulders with her soft paws, making me feel better.

I couldn't figure out why she was doing this, but all I knew is I liked it. I gave a sigh in satisfaction, loving this feeling. Then, she pulled her paws away and walked in front of me, smiling.

"Do you feel better now?" Stephanie asked. I nodded at her question before I answered.

"Yeah, you're really good at that. Thanks." I replied.

"You're welcome." Stephanie said. Then, she started to yawn. "Today was a tiring day. Let's do some more good tomorrow! See you tomorrow, Daniel!" Stephanie exclaimed.

"I'm tired too. See you later, guys." Sentret said, yawning.

"Well, I'm going to go to sleep as well. See you, everyone." Slakoth said, yawning as well.

"See you tomorrow, Stephanie. Bye, Slakoth. Sentret, can I talk to you in the base for one minute?" I said out loud. I saw Stephanie and Slakoth start to walk off, while Sentret gave me a nod with her head. I saw my teammates walk off into the distance, until they were gone. "Well, let's go inside." I said, motioning to my base with my paw.

We started walking into the base, so that I could talk to Sentret about Stephanie's odd behavior. I could tell by her look, she was impressed with the look of the base. "Wow, this looks pretty nice. Anyway, what did you want to talk about?" She asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about Stephanie." I said. I could tell that by the look of Sentret's face, she didn't know what I meant by that.

"What about her?" Sentret asked me. She looked at me with a curious expression, wanting to know what I meant by what I said.

"Well, you saw how she was acting today around me, didn't you?" I asked, wanting to know if Sentret had indeed seen Stephanie's strange behavior that started yesterday. I saw her give a small nod before she started speaking.

"Yeah, but why do you ask?" Sentret asked curiously. I could tell she wanted to know more, so I sighed and prepared to answer her question.

"Well, it's really strange. She's never acted like that around me before until yesterday. I don't know if she's trying to get me to do something or realize something." I said. I looked toward Sentret and saw her give me a small smile before speaking.

"Maybe she has a crush on you?" Sentret asked, chuckling. She had said the one thing that I didn't think of myself. I know I have feelings for her that I can't get rid of, but could she really be having those same feelings as well?

"But that idea sounds crazy. I mean, if she has a crush on me, why doesn't she just come out and say it? Why try to get me to realize it with simple moves like bending over and giving me shoulder rubs?" I asked curiously. The more I thought about it though, the more it seemed that could be the reason for her recent behavior.

"Maybe she's shy. Maybe she's trying to make you feel the same towards her. I don't know. Why don't you just ask her?" Sentret suggested. She had a good point, but if I asked her this, what if she just denied it or something else?

"If I asked her, do you have any idea how'd silly I'd sound? I don't want that to happen. Plus, I'm not sure, but I might feel the same way towards her already." I said, sighing. I could see Sentret had a curious expression on her face. So, I prepared myself for what I knew she was going to ask.

"You have a crush on her? Well, why don't you just tell her how you feel?" Sentret asked. She wanted to know what my reason was for this, so I sighed and prepared to answer her question.

"Because I didn't know if she liked me either. But now, the more I think about it, the more I feel that is the reason. But, you have to promise me something. Promise me you won't say anything to her. I want to deal with this on my own." I said seriously. I looked toward her and saw her give me a slight nod.

"Okay, I promise. I won't say anything, but you should talk about this with her. The sooner you do that, the better. So, are we done now?" Sentret asked, yawning. I knew she was still tired from being with us most of the day, so I nodded.

"Yeah, you can go now. See you later." I replied. I saw her nod at me, before she started walking out of the base and toward her home for a well-earned rest. I sighed, then I took off the Toolbox, went over to the bundle of hay, and sat down on it. I wasn't sure what to do now, if Stephanie really does love me, then how did it happen?

I thought back to a couple of days ago, when she asked me if I was alright because I had been acting strange around her lately. She had believed me, but something told me that something happened to her between then and yesterday, when she started acting really strange around me. But what could have happened between that time to make her start acting differently towards me? Was it something I did? I couldn't think of anything that I did that would make her think I liked her.

"I better just go to sleep. No sense in staying up trying to answer a question I can't possibly answer. Maybe I can find out something tomorrow." I said, yawning. Even though I had fallen asleep twice today, I was still tired as it was a rather tough day. I closed my eyes and eventually, my tiredness from the day's events lured me into a peaceful sleep.

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Well, that concludes yet another chapter. I hope you all liked it, as I think this was one of my better chapters. But, I'll let you be the judge of that. Wow, I can't believe the chapter turned out this long, even without a sex scene.

Thank you for reading,
Daniel, the Tinkler