Thanx for all of your encouragement! Shadow has decided to write the next chapterJ Thanx to all of you who reviewed, and those who didn’t, please! It encourages me to write more.

 

Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon. I own all the new stuff though… i.e., Destiny, Mirage… Evolution belts…

 

Italics poke speech, <> is telepathy

 

Notes: Read ‘Destiny’s early life’, also by me. It’s a prequel to this series, okay?

 

Title:  The mysterious garden and a lost Charmander!

 

 

            “Ash! Don’t tell me we’re lost again!” A.J. called.

 

            “Er, actually, we are not lost.” Ash looked at the map. “Let’s see, we’re close to the ‘secret pokemon garden’!”

 

            “Really? I hear that they have lots of strong pokemon there!” A.J. replied.

 

            “I know! Let’s go!” Ash said. They both ran deeper into the woods.

 

            A few minutes later…

 

            “Look! An Oddish!”

 

            “Cool!” A.J. said. “Let me capture it, will ya?”

           

            “Fine.” Ash said. He petted Pidgeot’s head.

 

            “Go Butterfree!” A.J. said. “Use Psybeam on that Oddish!”

 

            The Oddish squealed in pain.

 

            “Poke ball, go!” A.J. called. “Yeah! I’ve got me an Oddish!”

 

            Ash smiled. “Let’s try and find some more pokemon!”

 

            The two of them continued to walk.

 

            “A Bulbasaur!” Ash said, peering through his binoculars. “I didn’t know you could catch wild ones…”

 

            “Don’t you already have a Bulbasaur?”

 

            “Yes.” Ash admitted.

 

            “I don’t fancy grass pokemon that much.” A.J. admitted.

 

            “Fine with me.” Ash spotted a nice-looking Scyther and took off after it. The Scyther fled.

 

            A.J. sweatdropped.

 

            Later…

 

            “Poke ball, go!” Ash shouted triumphantly. “All right, I’ve caught a Growlithe!”

 

            “Really?” A.J. looked around. “Hey! Look at all of those Poliwag!”

 

            “Kakkoii…”

           

            Six hours later…

 

            Ash and A.J. were carrying several filled poke balls. They were all immensely pleased.

 

            “Say, Ash? Why aren’t your pokemon being sent to Professor Oak?” A.J. asked.

 

            “I don’t know. Let me check.” Ash said. He looked at his belt. “Cool! It evolved!” The belt had split into two strands.

 

            “Oh yeah! Evolution belts. I’ve heard about those. They can carry as many pokemon as the owner wants!” A.J. said. “How did you get one?”

 

            “I didn’t know it was an evolution belt. Mom gave it to me for my eleventh birthday.” Ash said. “Maybe I can get my other pokemon back!” He pressed two buttons on his pokédex and was soon reunited with Fearow, Ledyba, and Geodude.

 

            “Let’s keep walking. Maybe we will find the way out soon.” Ash said. A.J. nodded as he munched on a sandwich.

 

            The next day…

 

            “Look! The exit!” A.J. called.

 

            Ash and A.J. ran for the exit, but suddenly found a person blocking their path.

 

            “Why are you standing in the middle of the road?” Ash asked.

 

            “What are you doing here?” Melanie asked.

 

            “Well, we’re trying to reach Vermillion.” Ash replied. “Now why are you blocking the road?”

 

            “Because, last week, two people who called themselves ‘Team Rocket’ came and stole most of the pokemon in this reserve.” Melanie replied. “How do I know you’re not members of Team Rocket?”

 

            “That twerp as a member of team Rocket?” A voice asked. “No way!”

 

“To protect the world from devastation!”

 

“To unite all people within our nation!”

 

“To denounce the evils of truth and love!”

 

“To extend our reach to the stars above!”

 

“Jessie!”

 

“James!”

 

“Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!”

 

“Surrender now or prepare to fight!”

 

“Meowth, that’s right!”

 

Ash groaned. “You again?”

 

“Cut the chatter. Ekans, go!” Jessie shouted.

 

“Koffing, I choose you!” James called.

 

Ash shrugged and whistled. Pidgeot descended from the sky and positioned herself in front of Ash and A.J.

 

“Sandshrew, I choose ya!” A.J. called.

 

“Ekans, Poison Sting!” Jessie commanded.

 

“Pidgeot, Whirlwind.” Ash said, not in the mood for Team Rocket’s antics. Unfortunately, TR pulled out some fancy-looking white circular objects that blocked the wind.

 

“Well, if that don’t work, Sandshrew, Fissure!” A.J. called confidently.

 

Melanie looked at Ash and A.J. “You’re not working for Team Rocket?”

 

“No, why?” Ash asked sarcastically. “Pidgeot, Steel Wing!”

 

“Argh! Meowth, you’ll pay for that!” Meowth shouted as Pidgeot dropped him into a nearby stream.

 

Pidgeot shrugged its wings and preened.

 

Meanwhile, A.J. had knocked out both Ekans and Koffing. TR gulped.

 

“Looks like Team Rocket’s blasting off again!” They shouted as Sandshrew launched them into the sky with another fissure.

 

Melanie turned back to Ash and A.J. “I’m sorry.”

            “It’s okay.” A.J. reassured her.

 

            “Well, good-bye then.” She said. Ash and A.J. waved goodbye and left.

 

 

            A few days later…

 

 

            “Ash, how long is it going ta take us to reach Vermillion?” A.J. asked.

 

            Ash peered at the map. “Probably another week at least.”

 

            A.J. sighed. Then, he looked up.

 

            “Ash, there’s a huge boulder blocking our road!”

 

            “Really?” Ash looked up from the map. “Hey, there’s a pokemon on it!”

 

            Both Ash and A.J. ran towards the boulder.

 

            “It’s a Charmander!” Ash said.

 

            “A wild Charmander? Cool!” A.J. said. “Poliwag, Water gun it!”

 

            Poliwag came out and attacked the Charmander, which screeched.

 

            “Kay, poke ball, go!” A.J. said. He caught the Charmander with no trouble at all.

 

            “Wow.” Ash said. “I didn’t know you could catch wild Charmander.”

 

            “Who knows?” A.J. shrugged. They headed off for the pokemon center, since a storm was brewing.

 

            A while later…

 

            “Maybe we should just fly.” Ash suggested. The storm was brewing full force now. A.J. assented and they both climbed on Pidgeot’s back. They barely made it to the pokemon center before it started to rain.

 

            “Hi. How may I help you?” Nurse Joy asked.

 

            “We need a room for the night.” Ash said. He and A.J. dried off and then headed into the common room. There were several other pokemon trainers there.

 

            “Damien, you have all those pokemon?” A nerd asked.

 

            “Dat’s right Ted, I’ve got thirty-six different species of pokemon!” Damien said proudly.

 

            “But you don’t have a Charmander.” Another voice said.

 

            “Aw, Brian, it was just too weak, so I ditched it. Told it ta wait on a rock! HAHAHAHA!”

 

            Ash looked at A.J. “Do you think?”

 

            “Yep. It probably is his, but who’s going ta tell him. He was abusing that pokemon.”

 

            “Good point.” Ash said.

 

            Damien turned to face Ash. “Hey, do you wanna trade?”

 

            Ash shrugged. “What do you have?”

 

            “Name a pokemon – I’ve probably got it.” Damien said.

 

            “’Kay, how about Eevee?”

 

            Damien made a face. “Ya can’t catch Eevees anywhere near here. Besides, they’re worthless until you evolve ‘em.”

 

            “Really?” Ash asked. “Do you want to test that?”

 

            “What, you’ve got an Eevee?” Damien questioned.

 

            “Yep.”

 

            “Cool! All right, I choose you – Raticate!”

 

            “Eevee, go!” Ash said. A poke ball opened and out came an Eevee.

 

            “I see ya got one at the reserve too.” A.J. said.

 

            “Yep. I like Eevees.”

 

            “Can we battle now?” Damien asked, annoyed.

 

            “Eevee, use Take Down!” Ash said confidently.

 

            “Raticate, Quick Attack!” Damien said. Raticate got the first hit and knocked Eevee into a wall.

 

            “Eevee, use Sand-Attack!” Ash commanded. Eevee blinded Raticate, which howled.

 

            “Now use Bite!”

            “Oh no you don’t! Raticate, Hyper Fang!” Raticate clamped its teeth down over Eevee’s legs, breaking one. Eevee shrieked in pain.

 

            “Eevee!” Ash ran over and picked it up. “Are you okay?”

 

            Eevee whimpered weakly.

 

            Damien laughed. “Ha, you’re no challenge at all. You’re just a useless trainer.”

 

            “That’s not true!” Ash said angrily.

 

            A.J. intervened before anything else happened.

 

 

            “Why did I lose?” Ash asked. “I thought I was a good trainer… maybe I’m just not cut out for this pokemon master stuff…”

 

            “Nonsense. Even the greatest pokemon masters lose sometime.” A.J. said. “Besides, ya beat me, didn’t ya?”

 

            “I guess.” Ash said. Eevee’s leg was bandaged. Ash sighed. “Maybe he’s right.”

 

            No! Neither of us was trying our best! We can do much better! Eevee told him. Besides, you were raised by Eevees, weren’t you?

 

            “You’re right.” Ash said resolutely. Sunny and Jasper would be disappointed. I want to make them proud.

 

            You can do it. Eevee said.

 

            Ash smiled at Eevee.

 

            A few days passed, while Ash and A.J. trained their pokemon. At night, Damien would taunt Ash for being such a weak trainer.

 

            “Let’s have a rematch.” Ash told Damien a week later.

 

            Damien laughed. “You want ta lose that badly?”

 

            “Don’t laugh!” Ash said. “Eevee, go!”

 

            Let’s do it! Eevee said.

 

            “Pidgeotto, go!” Damien said.

 

            “Eevee, Focus Energy!” Ash commanded.

 

            “Pathetic! Pidgeot, make this a 1-hit K.O. Razor Wind!”

 

            Pidgeot glowed as it began the first stage of Razor Wind.

 

            “Now, Eevee! Rage!” Eevee charged at Pidgeotto and knocked it into the air. Pidgeot recovered and hit Eevee with Razor Wind. Eevee’s HP fell drastically.

 

            “Flail!” Ash said. Eevee Flailed, and since his HP was very low, Flail did a lot of damage.

 

            “Pidgeotto, give it a Wing Attack! That’ll finish it off!” Damien cried.

 

            “Eevee, Take Down!” Take Down finished off Pidgeot, but Eevee ended up nearly fainting as a result also.

 

            “That was cheap.” Damien complained. “Raticate, go!” Raticate flew at Eevee, who miraculously dodged. Eevee got angry and began to glow with black light.

 

            “What the heck? Raticate, Hyper Fang!” Damien said confidently.

 

            “Eevee?” Ash asked. The light cleared. Suddenly, Ash laughed. “Umbreon!”

 

            “Eh?” Damien asked. “That is not an Eevee. What the heck, Hyper Fang Raticate!”

 

            “Faint Attack!” Ash called. Umbreon disappeared from right in front of Raticate and reappeared behind it, knocking it down. “Now use Nightshade!”

 

            Umbreon nodded, and both Damien and Raticate became so terrified that they surrendered.

 

            Ash hugged Umbreon.

 

            A.J. looked confused. “What is it?”

 

            “Umbreon. A Dark-type pokemon, one of the lesser-known Eevee evolutions.” Ash told him.

 

            “Oh.” A.J. shrugged. “Maybe mine will evolve into one too. Is there a ground-type Eevee?”

 

            “Sorry, but no.” Ash said sadly.

 

            “Ah well. It’ll be okay.” A.J. said.

 

            That night, Ash and A.J. were both sleeping, Ash with Pidgeot on the headboard and A.J. holding Sandshrew.

 

            “Ow! My foot!”

 

            “Quiet, James!” Jessie said, whacking him with her fan. She headed towards the bag of poke balls.

 

            “Ow! Something bit me. I’m not lying, Jessie.” James protested.

 

            “Meowth! Look at the eyes!”

 

            Jessie turned around and found herself looking at a pair of glowing blue eyes.

 

            “AAAHHHHHH!” TR ran off as fast as they could.

 

            Umbreon sniffed and continued to look for Ash’s bag of poke chow, since he was hungry.

 

           

            “What should I do about Charmander? It’s not mine.” A.J. said.

 

            “Keep it. Why not? After all, he likes you.” That was true.

 

            “Okay. Let’s head for Vermillion!”

 

 

            End of episode… Yay! Please review! E-mail me if you have questions, okay? And please don’t steal anything.

Completed 4/1/02