Mitch's Johto Journey

Finding the Flock

             Mitch and his Pokémon have stopped for a lunch break in a small clearing that is surrounded by tall grass. Mitch eats some kind of meat out of a bag, Cyndaquil roasts its last apple with an Ember attack before savagely devouring it, Teddiursa lies on its back and rubs its full stomach, Totodile lazily tosses what's left of an apple into the air while yawning as Hoothoot takes a nap next to it, and Heracross repeatedly slams its Brick Break into a large rock. Eventually, Heracross decides that it has had enough of Brick Break: it picks the rock up and uses Seismic Toss, sending the rock into the tall grass. 

               " Maaaareeeeeep," something from the area that Heracross threw the rock cries out, catching the attention of everyone. A small and woolly sheep-like Pokemon with blue skin runs into the clearing and rubs its injured forehead with one of its feet. " Mareep, the Wool Pokémon, an Electric-type, its fleece grows continually. In the summer, the fleece is fully shed, but it grows back in a week." " Could this be a new teammate," Mitch eagerly says as he puts his Pokedex away and grabs an empty Poke Ball from his backpack. However, before he has time to throw the ball, " Sennnnntreeeeeet," something jumps out of the tall grass and protectively stands between Mareep and Mitch. " Sentret, the Scout Pokémon, a Normal-type, a very cautious Pokémon, it raises itself up using its tail to get a better view of its surroundings."  " Sen, Sen, Tret, Sentret, Sent," it bravely cries out, only for Heracross to slam into it from the side with Horn Attack. " Treeet," it cries as it lands in the dirt and Mitch confidently yells, " Poke Balls, go," while throwing balls at both Mareep and Sentret. Protective barriers appear in front of both Mareep and Sentret, causing Mitch's Poke Balls to shatter on impact: these Pokémon are owned by another Trainer. Mitch and his Pokémon( with the exception of Totodile, who just shrugs) stare in shock as a sweet and familiar sounding voice shouts, " Sentret, where did you go!? Wait a minute, Mitch is that you?" 

             Alexandra (she has changed her outfit too as her purple dress has been replaced by a yellow dress, she is no longer wearing a hat, and her yellow shoes have been replaced by red cowgirl boots), now accompanied by a Chikorita in the place of the Venusaur she used in Kanto, runs up to Mitch and gives him a big hug. " Hey, great to see you. Are these your Pokémon," Mitch asks as he returns her hug. " Wellllllll, Sentret is, but" " That there is my Mareep," a voice from behind them shouts. An old farmer woman, accompanied by 7 other Mareep including a Shiny one, stands behind Alexandra and calls the Mareep that Mitch tried to catch over to her. " Mitch, this is Evita and she's a Mareep Herder. Last night, a tree fell on the fence containing her Mareep herd and a bunch of them escaped before she was able to repair it. I've been helping her wrangle them up," Alexandra explains. " How many do you have left to find because I can help?" " There are still 6 of them on the loose and I would love for you to help," Evita says as her Shiny Mareep nods in agreement. 

              Mitch turns to his Pokémon and says, " you guys want to help us find the Mareep?" Cyndaquil, Hoothoot, and Teddiursa all step forward and after about a minute, a reluctant Heracross does too. " What about you Totodile," Mitch asks as it lies on the ground doing nothing. " Totoo," it says as it gets up, slowly walks over to Mitch, and....... clicks the return button on its Poke Ball (the ball is on Mitch's belt), sending it inside.  " Of course, you're too lazy to help," Mitch signs. 

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               " Sentret, do you see anything," Alexandra yells to Sentret, who is currently standing on its tail on a large boulder scanning the area. " Sen, Sen, Sen," it calls back while shaking its head. Alexandra glances to Mitch, who is standing next to her, and he yells at something to the side of them, " Hey, Teddiursa, how are you and Chikorita doing?" " Ur, Ursa." it cries as it and Chikorita continuously use their Sweet Scent attacks to draw in the Mareep: they've been very unsuccessfully so far.  " Heraaa, Cross, Hera, Heracross," something grunts in an annoyed tone from above Mitch and Alexandra. They look up to see Mitch's Heracross carrying three (two in its arms and 1 with its horn) of the Mareep. It carefully lands on the ground and sets the Mareep down before crossing its arms with an annoyed look on its face. " We get it, you would rather be fighting something," Mitch says as a familiar sound comes from the nearby forest. "Cynda, Quil, Cyndaquil," Cyndaquil shouts as it runs out of the forest and up to Mitch with Evita, her Shiny Mareep, and two other Mareep following close behind it. " Ah, I see you've found 3 of them, your Cyndaquil here was really helpful when it came to finding these two," Evita says as she returns the 3 Mareep that Heracross found and the 2 Mareep that she, her Shiny Mareep, and Cyndaquil found to their Poke Balls. (She returned the 6 other Mareep that she had with her when she and Alexandra met Mitch to her farm) " Now, just one more left to find," Evita cheerfully says as, " Hoooot, Hooothooot, Hoot, Hoothoot," Hoothoot frantically screams as it flies up to Mitch and points in the direction that it just came from. " Looks like Hoothoot just found it and it doesn't sound good," Mitch says as everyone runs in the direction that Hoothoot was pointing in.

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                     " Reeep, Mareep," the last remaining Mareep fearfully shouts as it hangs off of a cliff. " Hang on, Mareep. I'm here, get in your ball," Evita cries as she tries to return it, but right before the beam reaches it, the rocks beneath its feet give way and it falls towards the ground, causing the beam to miss it. " Heracross, catch it," Mitch orders, but it would appear that Evita's Shiny Mareep has other ideas. " Reeeeeeep," it cries as it uses Agility to quickly get beneath the falling Mareep and then begins to glow in a blinding white light. The light fades and, " Flaaaaaaaaaffyyyyyyy," the muscles on Evita's newly evolved Flaaffy glow golden and temporarily grow larger as it uses Strength to catch the falling Mareep. An ecstatic Evita runs up to her two Pokémon as Mitch scans Flaaffy on the Pokedex. " Flaaffy, the Wool Pokemon, an Electric-type, the evolved form of Mareep, if its coat becomes fully charged with electricity, its tail lights up. Flaaffy can fire hair that zaps on impact." Evita returns the last Mareep to its Poke Ball before her and Flaaffy walk up to Mitch, Alexandra, and their Pokémon. " Thank you both so much. In gratitude, I'll make you a nice home cooked dinner and you can stay in my home for the night. " Thank you," Mitch and Alexandra both say at the same time as their Pokémon nod in agreement. " However, Mitch can I ask one thing of you," " What is it," " Your Heracross has been itching for a fight all day. Why not battle me and Flaaffy. Right here and right now!"

           Mitch turns to face Heracross as it nods in agreement, flexes its muscles, and walks forward to face Flaaffy. " You're on Evita, but we're not going easy on you!" " I wouldn't expect anything less!" " Heracross, use Brick Break," Use Iron Tail, Flaaffy," both trainers shout at the same time as their Pokémon jump forward and begin their attacks.