Journey Through Kanto | ✅

Chapter 44: Bring in the K-9 Unit

Zia and the rest continue towards Cinnabar Island, hoping to obtain Zia's next gym badge.

As the group walks through the forest, they suddenly hear a voice. "Stop thief!" The voice yells as Zia hurriedly puts Kaida in her knapsack to hide. As soon as she did that, a man came from the tree line with a sack over his shoulder and a gun in hand.

"That must be the thief, Emmy, leaf blade." Zia said as Emmy turned and took one look at the man before hiding behind Zia. "No, nope, ain't doing it." She shook her head. "What? Why not?" Zia asked, confused. "He has a gun! I'm not messing with a dude with a gun!" Emmy exclaimed.

Zia looked back and saw the pistol in his hand, making her eyes widen. "Attack!" The voice from before yelled as something ran out of the grass and stopped in front of the thief. Zia recognized it to be a Growlithe as it growled at the man.

"Sic him, Growlithe!" The voice ordered as the fire-type ran and tackled the thief to the ground, knocking the gun to the ground. "Kirlia, confusion!" KC ordered as his Pokemon's eyes shown blue as the thief gained a blue outline. Now having control of him, Kirlia was able to throw him into a tree without moving.

Suddenly, a whistle blew as eight Growlithe surrounded Zia and the rest. Zia spotted Officer Jenny and a couple other cops run out towards the 'thief'. "Are you alright?" Jenny asked him. "Uh, I think so." He said in a daze as he laid face first against the tree trunk.

"Just what do you think you're doing, interfering with us?!" Jenny exclaimed angrily. Everyone gained a look of confusion. "Interfering?" KC asked. "We were just trying to help you catch the thief. Were we not supposed to?" Zia questioned.

"He's not a thief. He's a police officer training our canine police unit." Jenny explained. "Canine police?" KC asked her. "These are police Pokemon." Jenny replied, gesturing to the Growlithe.

"Oh, that makes sense." He said, nodding. Zia looked around at all the growling Pokemon. "I can see why they make such great police Pokemon. I've heard they're very loyal and brave. Cute, too." She said with a smile.

The Growlithe stopped growling for a moment, confused by her statement, before continuing. "So, will they bite?" KC asked, watching them all a bit cautiously. "Don't worry. The Growlithe won't bite unless I order them to attack. Growlithe, line up!" Jenny ordered as the Pokemon lined up into two rows.

"These people are our new friends. Say hello, canine squad." Jenny said as the Growlithe barked in greeting. After that, Jenny led them all to the police base. She sat them down in the kitchen/lounge area.

She fixed something up for them to eat as she came back out with hot drinks. "You kids must be exhausted. I hope you'll be able to eat something." Jenny said before realizing KC was already gulping down half the bowl. Zia was taking her time, but was just as hungry. Sky, Emmy, Kaida, and Kirlia also had their own bowls of Pokemon food. "I guess that's not a problem." She chuckled.

"Did you see the way that Growlithe tackled that guy, Zia? He was braver than Emmy!" KC exclaimed, making the Serperior's head snap up at the mention of her name. "I guess, but the officer was holding a gun. I can't expect Emmy to handle that with no special training like those Growlithe have had." Zia argued, Emmy silently nodding to herself as she listened.

"The girl's right. Having a Pokemon take on an armed opponent is very, very dangerous unless it has special training." Jenny supported the girl. Zia thought for a moment before putting her chopsticks down. "You know, maybe having Emmy train with the Growlithe for a day would do her some good. Of course, she's plenty strong already, but it could give her some valuable experience, who knows?" Zia suggested, making Emmy's eyes bug out of her head in alarm from behind the girl.