Pokémon Trouble

Friends

I strolled down the busy streets of New York, looking for my friends Karen and Quentin. My friends and I had gotten lost in a shopping center looking for...anything, really. "Josh!" I heard a voice from somewhere in the large crowd. I saw Karen for a moment, before an even larger crowd that had come for the clothing sales rushed past me, even trampling me. "AGH!" I yelled. "GET OFF ME!" I said, pushing running feet off of me. I hurried to my feet before I could be trampled even more, and hurried to the wall to get away from the river of people.

"Josh!" The voice said again, though I couldn't see who it belonged to. The crowd was too thick. After almost a minute, the crowd calmed down, most of them being in the store now, and I could see both of my friends, Karen and Quentin. I quickly rushed through the now-calmer crowd before it became harsh again.

"Jeez, what happened with that crowd?" Quentin, my 1 year younger than me friend, asked. Quentin had brown hair, green eyes, was 19 years old, and a very enthusiastic gamer. Quentin seemed very bored when we arrived here, but lightened up after seeing the video games store here. Karen, my friend which is 3 years older than me, looked at Quentin with a look that said "Are you really that stupid?" Karen was 23 years old, with black hair and brown eyes, and more of an extrovert. Me, though, I was the "average gamer" kind of guy. I'm 20 years old, as you might've already seen from my friends' ages, with blonde hair and brown eyes.

Rain suddenly began. "Aw crap, I forgot my coat. We should go." Quentin said to us, quickly running off. Yeah, he was the kind of guy to say that you as a group should go, and leaves on his own. "I need to get home. But, I suppose I can spend SOME time at your house..." Karen said, possibly offering a romantic time. "Not today. My parents are visiting. Maybe tomorrow?" I asked, as we began walking. I didn't even feel myself move. My body seemed to start moving without permission from my brain. "Ah, well...maybe I could come after your parents leave?" Karen suggested again. She really wanted to come to my house! "Karen, you should know how my parents are! They like to stay the night." I said. I wasn't lying, either. Every time my parents came for an annual visit, they would sleep in my house that night and then leave to go back to their house. They were strange.

I got home, and as I expected, my parents came over to visit. "Hi, son! I found this old game in your old bedroom closet, and I think you'd like it!" My mother said, giving me an old game cartridge. "Uh...thanks..." I muttered, staring at the cartridge. It was an old, dusty Pokémon game. Pokémon Ruby, specifically. I had played all generations up to 6, because I didn't have enough money to get Sun and Moon right then. I forgot about almost all of my generation 2 and 3 Pokémon games, and I was happy to finally have one of them back.

The next day, after my family left, I immediately called Karen, Quentin, Steven, and Ryan, and told them to get over to my house. Steven is a dark brown haired, brown eyed 21 year old gamer, sort of like me, but he plays more games than just Pokémon. Ryan is a blonde haired, green eyed 20 year old who focuses mostly on work, though he also plays games.

"Hey, I found a copy of Pokémon Ruby!" I said as soon as everyone arrived. Steven, Quentin, and Ryan were the most excited, though Karen was more "meh" about it. I managed to hook up my GBA to the TV (believe me, it was weird) and we began to play. "Let's do this that everyone gets 30 minutes of play time." I said. Karen grumbled. "Everyone except Karen. Let's do this." I corrected. Karen was definitely NOT a gamer.

After a while, the Gameboy began to heat up. "What the--" I started to say, before all 5 of us were thrown into whiteness. There was nothing around. "Hello?" I asked. All I could hear was my own voice and my friends' footsteps as they, too, were confused. "We're...nowhere." Karen muttered. "Wait, I see something!" Steven yelled. In a split-second, we went from being nowhere to being in an unfamiliar city, sitting awkwardly on the ground.

It was Quentin who got up first. "Wh...where are we?" Quentin asked. All of us got up. "You're in Dewford!" A man near us said. "Are you THAT lost?" I stared at him for a second. "Guys...we are...in Pokémon Ruby..." I said.

"This...this isn't possible!" Karen said. "Oh, it's possible. And you better not do anything stupid here, or else you'll be stuck here." A guy said from the shade. "Stuck here? What's happening?" Steven asked. The man snapped his fingers. Steven groaned in pain. "I'll be back soon..." He muttered, running off. "What did you do?" I asked him. "You'll see..." The man chuckled. "Soon." He walked into Route 106, disappearing. "We better get going." I said, before Ryan stopped me.

"We have to wait for Steven." He said. I groaned. "Fine." I muttered. Steven ran out from wherever he was. "L-let's go." He said. I noticed his skin. Some of it was...green. "Umm...alright." I said to him calmly and quietly, following him down Route 106.

"I think Steven's the first to be stuck here forever." I whispered to Karen. She looked back at him, and he waved and smiled innocently. She looked back at me. "Yeah." She whispered back. We continued walking.

"Hey, let's visit Granite Cave!" Karen suggested. "Yeah!" I agreed. I looked at Steven. The green was more noticeable on both arms, spreading outwards. After everyone entered, I stopped Steven. "Are...are you alright?" I asked him. "No, I'm not! You have to help me. I don't know what that guy did, but look!" He unrolled his sleeve. The green had covered his upper arm now, and it was slowly spreading. His arm had become skinnier. "Hide it!" I scowled at him. He nodded and rolled his sleeve down.

"Ooh, this place is scaryyyyy!" Karen mocked. Quentin punched her in the arm. "This is where champion Steven is in the game." Quentin said. "Oh, we got a letter?" Ryan asked jokingly. "What's with you guys?" Quentin asked irritably. "They're trying to make light of a trapped-in-a-game situation, Quentin. Lay off of them." Steven replied.

Steven groaned once we were about to go lower in the cave. "I...I think we should get out of here." I said quickly. Karen groaned. "Alright then, I guess..." She muttered. As we were walking out of the cave, I decided to ask Steven a question. I had realized what he was becoming, since two long, sharp leaves grew on each of his arms, which had now become completely green and skinnier. "Can Sceptile learn surf?" I asked him quietly. "No..." He muttered. I slapped myself in anger as we left the cave.

"Hey, we need a boat!" I said as our small group reached the dock. "Oh? To where?" A calm man asked, holding a Pokéball. "To Slateport City, please." I said to the man. He nodded. "Slateport City. I can bring ya there. Hold on." He looked at his boat. He casually dropped the Pokéball, releasing a Treecko. "Tree!" It yelled. "I can get ya there. For 1,500 Pokédollars." He smiled at us with an evil grin.

"We...we have no money." I replied back. I checked my pockets. Nope. "Ugh, fine. Hop on, you poor people, and we'll go to Slateport City." He said, with an obvious hint of annoyance in his voice. "Except you. Stay here until I deliver your friends." He pointed to Steven. "Wha...what? Why?" Steven asked. "I...I'll stay back, too." I said. "Well, alright. If ya say so. I'll be back soon." The man got in the boat, Karen, Quentin, and Ryan following, and it left the dock.

"Why me?" Steven asked. "I don't know, but that guy seems rude." I said. The man looked back at me as he left the dock. He yelled in annoyance, and threw Quentin off the boat. "QUENTIN!" I yelled. I jumped into the water. There was only one reason why I did: Quentin couldn't swim.