A Pokemon Tale, Part II: The Rise of Team Rocket

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The Safari Zone

Somewhere near Fuchsia City-

Red was still sore as he and Blue were led outside the small cottage where Janine had stolen them off to. The small wooden building was one of many that rested atop a cliff, backed by a thick forest of tall, forbidding trees. Below the cliff in a valley, the tops of Fuchsia's thatched roofs could be seen above the treetops. Koga's Palace stood tallest of them all. The southern ocean could be seen, sparkling on the horizon.

Daylight was turning to evening as the two young trainers joined Janine and her two ninja partners around a campfire. The young woman, small but confident, greeted them.

"We can't keep you safe here for long," she said. "Team Rocket will be here in great numbers within the week. You have to get out of here."

Blue sat down and accepted a small roasted vegetable from one of the ninjas. Red shook his head.

"I need that badge," replied Red. "I'm not leaving here until I get it." One of the ninjas laughed.

"We all saw the battle, boy," he said. "If you went back the same result would happen. It's alright if you can't handle Muk's smell; few trainers can."

Blue quietly ate the vegetable before inputting her advice. "It's OK, Red. We can go for another Gym and come back when the whole Team Rocket issue has subsided."

"Even so," the other male ninja had now joined the conversation. "Your Pokémon are gonna need a lot more experience, kid."

"There is a way," said Janine. She had not eaten. Instead she was staring into the sunset. She turned around towards the thick forest that lined the backs of the cottages. "The Safari Zone."

Red and Blue looked at the tall trees. The forest seemed to deepen into eternity.

"If you and your Pokémon can learn how to survive on your own and fend for yourselves, then you may begin to understand how the ninja lives. My father and I come from a long line of Gym Leaders who live like the ninja and battle like the ninja. However, the risk may be too much."

Red looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"While there are many powerful, untamed Pokémon in the Safari Zone that can put unwary Trainers in peril, there is one that we ninjas respect above all others. This Pokémon is truly the embodiment of the ninja itself: speed, stealth, grace, efficiency, focused strength," Janine stood up now smiling as she gazed into the forest of the Safari Zone, almost hoping she catch a glimpse of that Pokémon. She turned to Red. "You must fight with this Pokémon if you find it. Learn from it, then challenge my father. That is, if it doesn't find you first."

Red's heart was pounding, his Trainer's sense of adventure was swelling from inside of him. A ninja Pokémon? He could study it, and use this experience to fight against Koga in a rematch. Blue wasn't so sure.

"Red, it sounds pretty dangerous," she wanted to leave Fuchsia and return to a more civilized place anyways. "Who knows what else is in there?"

Red turned back to her. "If I'm going to be Kanto League Champion one day, I need this. How many experiences will I have to learn from before I'm on the same level as Lance?"

Blue hung her head. "True," she said quietly.

Janine reached over and put a hand on Red's shoulder. "Don't rest any longer. If your mind is made up, then you must go. Release your Pokémon from their Pokeballs, you should all survive together."