Pokemon: Book One: The Dark Hearted

Chapter Five ~ Jungle City

    "So, we've gotten four badges so far," Shadow explained as we walked through the woods. It was a half mile forest, and we were finally leaving that town back there, which I only now learned was called Elm Town. "The Aqua Gym badge, the Bug Gym, the Bronze Gym and the Silver Gym."

I nodded. It was just me and Shadow out of our Pokeballs, walking next to Ben as we trekked through the forest. It had been two days since Britney traded me to Ben, and somehow, I was starting to get used to life like this. It wasn't like I didn't miss the Snow Camp, that was my home! I'm just pointing out that I might like this. I MIGHT. Just saying.

"I've gotten zero," I joked. "Anyway, I heard Zoruas can change shape. Can you?"

"We can't change shape, but we can make illusions so it looks like we're a different Pokemon," Shadow responded. "Just name a random Pokemon."

I paused. "How about Mew?"

He looked slightly taken aback, but blinked and nodded. Shadow fixed his gaze in front of him, and a moment later, there was a slight shimmering and there was a pink hovering cat in front of me. It spoke in Shadow's voice.

"Ta da," he declared, waving his pink tail.

Ben glanced over his shoulder. "I think we're almost there. And Shadow, I know it's you."

    With the light of a grin on his face, Shadow stopping impersonating Mew and appeared to be a Zorua again.

    After another five minutes of walking they arrived at another town, but this one looked more wild. Vines crept along the ground and up the sides of buildings, colorful flowers blooming off the ends, and an assortment of different trees were planted around the place. All the buildings seemed to be made of wood and stone. Somewhere in the middle of it I could see a brown and green building labeled The Grass Gym.

    "Sweet," said Shadow.

    Ben pulled out two Pokeballs and released Aurora and Sapphire, who looked around with interested looks.

    "Jungle City," Sapphire informed us, her vines slipping out to pick a vibrant pink flower.

    I looked at the gym and suddenly thought of something. "Is that all you- we do? Just going around to different gyms?"

    Aurora frowned. "Well, we do other stuff too," she said pointedly, her split tail swishing. "We explore, hang out with other Pokemon and people we meet, train, play..."

    "Don't forget sleep and eat," Shadow teased. "We definitely need those."

    Aurora gave him a whack on the head with her tail.

    I cocked my head. "Well, yeah, I guess... I dunno... Don't you... You know..."

    "Spit it out," Sapphire said.

    "Don't you guys ever have adventures?" I blurted out.

    The three other Pokemon looked confused.

    "Well, duh," said Sapphire. "We're kind of on one."

    "To make it more exciting you can call it 'The Epic Quest For The Badges'," said Shadow. As an afterthought he said, "TEQFRB for short. Teh... Teckferb... Nah, can't pronounce it."

    I smiled wistfully and said, "no thanks."

    But as we went back into our Pokeballs so Ben could book a hotel, I wondered if this life was going to really be exciting.

    I'll just wait and see, I guess...

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    "Sorry, guys, we can't fight at the Grass Gym," said Ben.

    All five of us were in our hotel room, which was remarkably the same shape and size of the one Britney, Torch and I stayed in. After Ben told us the news, we were furious (well, mostly the others, all the gyms are just gyms to me).

    "Why not?!" roared Sapphire, and I jumped out of range of her vines.

    Ben waited for them to calm down before continuing. "I just went out to ask when it's open, and if I signed up, it'd be two weeks before we could fight."

    Sapphire, who looked slightly ashamed from her outrage, just sat on the couch and said sarcastically, "oh well, it's not like I care about grass types, no..."

    Ben said, "We're going to go to the next town, Sweet Grove Town, and fight at the Golden Gym. It's a random pairing gym, like the Silver and Bronze ones."

"The Golden Gym?" said Aurora suddenly, looking interested. "I heard that the gym leader there just left one day. No one knows where she is now. She has a Pidgeotto, a Fearow, and a Flygon, I think, but no one really knows anymore. Do you think she's dead?"

"Well, duh," said Sapphire. "You can't exactly vanish one day- that was three months ago, by the way- and you can't not be dead after so long."

"All I heard was can't, can't, not, dead," said Shadow. "You're so negative. I think she's alive because she's a gym leader with three strong Pokemon, and she could just be living in the woods somewhere."

I spoke up. "I think I have no idea because I don't know."

They stared at me. Then Shadow said, "alright, so Sapphire's negative and Dare's brain doesn't work. Aurora, you've got any problems?"

"Yes," she said seriously. "I'm really Mew in disguise."

We all laughed, but I couldn't help remembering Mew's warning.

    That led me to remember Reshiram's, and he told me to find my friends.

    Then I realized, I know who the friends are.