From: Mariel Aquino Read. Now. Please. Thank You. (Can you tell I have a thing for shot sentences?) Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. ‘Cept Caylith, Tiger’s Eye’s special attacks, Andruw, Arania, and Nox. Fighter of Flames, Part 1, Season 1 By, Lady Garnet A red-haired girl woke up and yawned, looking at her alarm clock, in the shape on a Charizard. It read seven o’ clock. She leaped out of bed and made her bed quickly, the fire-pokemon print sheets stretched tightly on the bed-board. Her Rapidash PJ’s were squashed into her backpack, along with all the supplies she would need for the journey. She dressed quickly in a Ninetales-and-Arcanine T-shirt and jeans with a patch on the left knee in the shape of a flame. The backpack was slung over her shoulder and her poster-encrusted door was slammed shut, leaving the Charmander and Growlithe suncatchers tinkling in the window. The girl fixed her hair into a hasty braid as she raced down the steps. The Kadabra her mother used for help around the house was making breakfast telepathically (Kadabras hate to get their hands dirty). It whisked some bacon and pancakes off the griddle and onto a plate it held in its hand. “Thanks, Quota.” She said, shoveling the food into her mouth like there was no tomorrow. “Dabra, dabra, Kadabra.” Quota said, shaking its head disapprovingly. The girl raced out the door and ran towards the Cinnabar Island Pokemon Lab. The girl’s braid flapped in the wind as she raced towards the white building. Cinnabar Island’s volcano rose majestically in the distance. Blaine’s gym was in that volcano. The girl finally reached the lab and swung the door open, red and panting. “Ah, Caylith, you’re here.” A white-coated woman walked toward her. “Yes. (pant) Did I (pant) make it (pant) on (pant) time?” Caylith gasped out, chest heaving. The woman motioned for Caylith to follow her. “Yes, they’re just starting the exam.” The woman explained as Caylith twirled some of the hairs that escaped her braid nervously. “OK,” Caylith said as she walked into the room and sat down at a desk with a paper on it. It was the trainer-qualifying exam. Some of the questions were multiple choice, others where essay questions, others were neither. Some of the easy questions were: 13.) What is Charmander’s final stage of evolution? A) Charizard B) Charmeleon C)Moltres D) None of the above 26.) At what level does Squirtle learn Bubble? 8 28.) How does Pikachu evolve into Raichu? With the Thunderstone 86.) What beginning Pokemon would you choose and why? I would choose Charmander because I love fire pokemon and I want to become Master Pokemon Trainer of Fire. Also because it is very powerful as a Charizard. Some of the more difficult ones were such: 18.) At what level does Rapidash learn its most powerful attack and what is it? A) At level 50 it learns Flamethrower B) At level 52 it learns Take Down C) At level 55 it learns Agility D) At level 46 it learns Fire Spin 22.) What attack does Charmander learn at level 46? Fire Spin 29.) What is Dugtrio’s most powerful attack? Earthquake, learned at level 47 79.) When should you evolve a Pikachu and why? You should evolve Pikachu at level 42 because it learns its most powerful attack, Thunder, at that level. It has also learned all the speed attacks it can only learn as a Pikachu. After about half an hour, Caylith put down her pen and flexed her hand. She looked around. All the other trainer wannabes weren’t finished with all 100 questions yet. As her braid was coming out, she redid it and rummaged for the book she had packed. It was called Fighter of Flames and was a novel about one of the most famous Rapidashes of all time, Dash of Flames. Rapidash racing was now a popular sport, and Dash, as was its stable name, had won the Rapidash Marathon 2 years running, beating Crown of Flames and Flaming Ride, two other greats, along with Dashing for Freedom, Dash’s full sibling. After about ten minutes, three more heads looked up. A boy with green hair did up in a spiky style yawned and stretched. The other two, who looked exactly alike except for their hair color, and were twins, started chattering excitedly. One, with green hair a shade darker than the boy’s, was named Gwendolyn, and was going to become a plant pokemon trainer. The other girl’s name was Lyssa and her hair was a blue the color of Lara Larame’s hair, rider of Dash of Flames. She wanted to be a water pokemon trainer and it was rumored that she and sister already had their starting Pokemon. “Hey, Caylith, which pokemon ya gonna choose?” whispered Arania, a girl sitting next to her. “Charmander. You?” Arania chewed her lip. “I don’t know. I want an Abra, but you can’t choose that. But look what I found on the floor outside a lab!” she excitedly showed Caylith the mysterious purple- and-white pokeball she had found. “I think it has an Abra inside it,” she whispered. “I checked on a computer. I’m gonna keep it. Even though all it knows is Teleport, probably, I can still train it. Maybe Quota could teach it algebra.” Caylith grinned at her friend’s hopefulness. “Maybe.” She smiled. A bell sounded. That meant the results were in. Caylith looked at the board. Those who were qualified trainers were in red with their starter Pokemon under the name and picture. “Caylith Estrellas: Qualified Starting Pokemon: Charmander.” A machine grunted and dropped a pokeball and pokedex on her desk. “All right!” she whispered and flicked open the Pokedex. “ I am Jane, a non-replaceable pokedex. I belong to Caylith Estrellas of Cinnabar Island.” It droned. “Arania Loland: Qualified Staring Pokemon: Provided.” The machine had moved on to Arania and dropped a pokedex on her desk. “C’mon, let’s go outside. I wanna check out my Abra.” Arania whispered, getting up from her desk. Caylith got up too and they went outside to the lawn of the lab. When they got there, both threw their pokeballs. “Pokeball, go!” the shouted simultaneously. A Charmander popped out of Caylith’s ball and immediately shrunk away from the girls. The pokemon that popped out of Arania’s pokeball was nothing like an Abra. It was Mew-like in shape, but its tail ended in a many-pointed star. There was a white patch of fur in the middle of its chest that looked like the star on its tail. The pokemon itself was black and as it faced Arania, it hissed “Noxxxxxxxxxxxxx,” floating over and sitting on her shoulder. “Nox, nox, noxnox.” It said. Meanwhile, Caylith was slowly approaching the Charmander. “It’s okay, Tiger’s Eye, I won’t hurt you,” she said comfortingly. “Char,” it whispered and shied away from Caylith as she reached out to touch it. Suddenly, Caylith noticed its tail. The flame was so tiny that it could’ve fit on a dime. “Oh no, they’ve been abusing you!” she said. Tiger’s Eye obviously was very weak, as it made no struggle when Caylith picked it up and cradled it. She took out a Full Restore from her pack and poured it on Tiger’s Eye. In a flash Tiger’s Eye’s tail flame flared up to its normal state. Suddenly Gwendolyn and Lyssa walked out of the lab, looking smug. “Hello, Caylith,” Gwendolyn said and took out an enlarged pokeball. “Wanna battle? It’ll earn your sorry family some dough if you win, which I seriously doubt.” Caylith’s face flamed a bright red at Gwendolyn’s mention of her family. “You’re on, Gwen,” she said. “Tiger’s Eye, go!” Tiger’s Eye leapt out of her arms. “All right, then, a fire type? And a sorry one at that. Weepinbell, fight!” The flower pokemon emerged and walked (?) toward Tiger’s Eye, pollen drifting down from its leaves. Tiger’s Eye growled menacingly. Weepinbell opened fire with a bout of Stun Spore. “Tiger’s Eye, Flamethrower!” Tiger’s Eye obeyed and a stream of fire spurting from its mouth, toasting the spores. “Weepinbell, Solar Beam!” Gwen shouted. “Bell!” the pokemon cried and started collecting particles of light. Tiger’s Eye cocked its head and stared at Weepinbell. Suddenly, a beam of light burst forth from the pokemon and hit Tiger’ Eye, knocking it to the ground. Tiger’s Eye got up and screamed “CHARMANDER!” but not before it had toasted Weepinbell to a crisp with a massive fire ball. “YES! I won! Fork it over, Gwen.” Caylith yelled happily. “Oh, all RIGHT, take it.” Gwen mumbled and handed over twenty bucks. At the same time, Arania and Nox had beaten Lyssa’s Poliwhirl with one Nightshade. Since Nox was a Psychic/Ghost pokemon, it could communicate with Arania telepathically and had told her its attacks. Arania held four crisp five dollar bills and her hand and was grinning from ear to ear. “C’mon, Arania, let’s go. We have to get to the dock in…” Caylith looked at her watch. “5 minutes and we have to board in 2.” Nox had hopped on Arania’s shoulder and Tiger’s Eye leapt into Caylith’s arms. “Nox, Teleport us to the dock. Now.” Arania ordered. Nox nodded, and suddenly black light surrounded them. All that was outside the light dissolved into white. Without warning, a voice said, “Where are we going?” Caylith turned around and saw the green-hared boy from the exam standing behind her. “The dock, to get on the S.S. Ruby Tuesday. What are you doing here and what’s your name?” “I,” he said, “am Andruw McJohnson. I was strolling out of the lab with my Squirtle when I walked through a patch of light and found myself here.” “Nox! Hurry up!” said Arania. Suddenly, Caylith heard, but didn’t, a voice in her head. thought-spoke Nox. “How do you know?” asked Andruw. “And what are you?” Nox turned to face Andruw. it said as they arrived at the dock. ..Tiger’s Eye continued to lie curled up in Caylith’s arms and said “Char!” every so often as they walked onto the ship and it began to move. All of a sudden, the pokeball at Andruw’s belt started to rock. “What is it, Squirtle?” he said, letting out the turtle-like pokemon. “Squirtle!” it said, launching a Water Gun attack at the air behind them. Sputtering was heard as they turned around and saw a Sandshrew and a girl with bright green hair that defied gravity by curling around her head. “Dramatic pause……AHEM. I SAID, Dramatic Pause!” she glared at them. “Why didn’t you pause dramatically?” Everyone fell down, anime-style. “Anyway,” she said, still glaring, “I am Cassandra, of Team Rocket!” she thrust her black-gloved fist in the air. “Department of Pokemon theft, division 3, order number 361, new recruit number 694,” she added in an undertone. “ But that doesn’t matter, for I am going to steal your pokemon!” she cackled evilly. “Shrew! I agree wit dat!” Sandshrew said with a New Yorker accent. Everyone’s mouths hung open. “Sandshrew! Get that Mew-thingie! Now!” Cassandra screamed. “Alrighty, Cass!” it squeaked. “Tiger’s Eye! Let’s beat ‘em!” Tiger’s Eye jumped from Caylith’s arms with a “Char!” and faced Cassandra. “So, you want to battle, eh? Fine with me. Drowsee, go!” The tapir-like pokemon emerged. “Drowsee, Poison Gas! Now!” Drowsee puffed itself up a bit. “Drow…..SEE!” It expelled a bout of acid- green smoke. “Tiger’s Eye! Ember!” Tiger’s Eye nodded and started to spin around in the air while its tail whipped around and surrounded it in fire. The muscular tail suddenly swooped the other way, sending a wave of fire at Drowsee. “DROOOOOOOOOOWSEEEEEEEE!!” it shouted and ran around in circles, slapping at its rear end, for it was on fire. “Drowsee, Return!” The pokemon was sucked back into its pokeball. “So, you’ve beat Drowsee, eh? Try and beat this. King, go!” Cassandra twirled around and threw the pokeball. A giant Charizard appeared, orange with black stripes on its back. “ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!” it screamed and gave a mighty leap towards Tiger’s Eye, landing with a thump that shook the entire ship. “Tiger’s Eye! Fiery Rebirth!” Caylith shouted on a whim. Tiger’s Eye nodded and opened its mouth, but instead of shooting fire at King, white flames suddenly rose with a roar around Tiger’s Eye. The flames consumed the tiny lizard and when they died down, there was a pile of ash there. Then suddenly, a giant Charizard rose from the ashes and roared mightily. Tiger’s Eye opened its arms to reveal the semi-precious stone that was its namesake and shot flames into the air. Caylith did a double take. “Tiger’s Eye? Did you just talk to me? Never mind, Slash, now!” she shouted. Tiger’s Eye took off with an agility that no real Charizard can boast of and dived toward King like a shot. Tiger’s Eye raked its claws against King’s arm and nimbly flew out of reach of the Pokemon’s slashing talons. Tiger’s Eye did the eye and tongue thing at King while taunting, “Tiger’s Eye! Be nice! And stop Sandshrew with a Flamethrower!” Caylith scolded. Tiger’s Eye meekly used a Flamethrower at Sandshrew, who was attempting to snatch Nox. “Sand! Hey! Why’d ya hafta do that? Shrew!” Sandshrew cracked its knuckles. “Yer gonna pay fer it! King! Seismic Toss!” King growled and leapt into the air. Tiger’s Eye flew out of reach and started to tease King, swooping in and out of range like a sparrow. Suddenly, King lunged and grabbed Tiger’s Eye’s foot. King, being more powerful than the speedy Tiger’s Eye, lifted it and hurled the fellow Pokemon towards the sea. “Tiger’s Eye, noooo!” Caylith cried as her pokemon hit the ocean and the ship moved steadily away from the harbor. Suddenly Tiger’s Eye shot out from the ocean with a Krabby latched on to its tail and fired a Fire Spin at point blank. As it happened, Team Rocket WAS point black and they blasted off again. Tiger’s Eye landed on the deck of the ship and turned back into a Charmander. It whipped its tail around and the crab pokemon released its grip on the orange tail, landing on the deck.. Tiger’s Eye Embered the crab and Andruw pulled out a pokeball. “What are you going to do?” asked Arania. “I’m gonna capture it. Krabbys make good pokemon when they evolve. Pokeball, go!” Andruw threw the pokeball at Krabby and the ball rocked….once……twice……the light went off. Krabby was caught! And so, with a new pokemon and a new friend, Caylith, the aspiring trainer heads off to Pallet Town, and the famed Professor Oak! END PART ONE How do ya like it? Mind you, this only my second ‘fic so don’t expect it to be like out of this world or something. C&C requested. Also, puh-leez answer my poll! Poll: Should I add someone else to team rocket? And should they have a motto? Hopefully I can get part 2 done by next week. Lady Garnet, signing off. Quote time! YAY! Ash: OK, Charmander, light this candle for us. Charmander: CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR! (burns Brock to a crisp) Brock: LIGHT THE CANDLE, NOT ME!! -The Tower of Terror!