Part 7: Leave it to the Eggsperts!

        We approached the seaside cottage as the sun began to set behind Mt. Moon. The iron gate leading into the front patio was left wide open and an old grey jeep was parked outside. The crashing of the waves against the cliff and the cries of nearby pokemon made a symphony, drowning out the twilight’s silence.

        ‘So, I guess this is Bill and Lanette’s cottage?’, I said as we approached the worn yellow house.

‘Guess so’, agreed Aly. Her and Dratini examined their surroundings as we cautiously approached the front door. Lights shined through the windows so we assumed that someone was home.

I walked up to the front door but there was no bell. I knocked hard.

…

Silence...

I knocked again, even louder. But there was still no answer.

‘Hmm. Maybe Lanette’s in the glass lab?’, suggested Salvadore.

We nodded at the possibility but just as we were about to walk away heavy footsteps could be heard thudding inside. They seemed to grow louder with each step. I stepped up to the door again, expecting to greet the pokemon researcher.

The loud footsteps stopped and I could see the doorknob turning. The door swung open and-

-TUUNNG!-

A flash of pink burst through the doorway and struck me firmly on the chin. A soft soggy texture pressured its way up my face. As the tongue-like object lifted from my face my vision became blurry. All I could see were a blend of colours and distorted shapes. I started to feel lightheaded and disorientated. The vast array of shapes began to spin and mingle. The world turned at a pace my body could not cope. It felt like I was falling back... further and further until... black!

* * *

‘Robin...’, trailed Aly’s concerned voice.

‘Hey, I think he’s coming around!’, said Salvadore in his usual reassuring tone.

I slowly edged my eyes open with great effort. I blinked as my pupils adjusted to the indoor light. I suddenly became aware of my surroundings. Aly, Salvadore and an older woman were looming over me with relieved faces. I struggled myself upright on the leather couch. I wearily rubbed my face which was still a bit damp.

‘Wh-where am I?’, I asked weakly.

‘Oh, it’s good to see you’re awake’, said the woman in a gentle voice, ‘My name’s Lanette and you’re in my residency. Would you like some water?’ She offered warmly holding a glass out to me.

‘Thank you’, I gladly accepted it and sipped slowly. I steadied my breathing and sighed a more relaxed breath. ‘So, what was that thing. Ya know... that...’. I gestured towards the area where my chin had been struck.

‘Oh’, smiled Lanette, fixing her bandana, ‘Lickitung, darling, come here and give Robin a proper welcome.’

Lickitung waddled into the room. I coward into the cushiony couch at the site of its gigantic tongue. Was that the thing that licked me?! I wearily checked my Dex:

Lickitung, the licking pokemon. Lickitung’s tongue is twice its body length and its sticky saliva allows it to maneuver heavy objects.

‘Well, ya got that right’, I sighed.

‘Oh, I’m sorry’, Lanette apologised, ‘He meant well but got a bit... overexcited...’

My face relaxed a little. ‘Don’t worry about it.’

Aly petted the pink pokemon on the head. Lickitung wagged his tongue happily. ‘You didn’t mean any trouble, did you?’, said Aly sympathetically, ‘ Besides, that smelly trainer must have tasted awful!’

We all laughed.

‘So’, Lanette turned to Salvadore, ‘You mentioned that Bill found something that he wanted me to examine’

‘Oh yeah, Robin has the Moon Stone’, Salvadore gestured towards me.

I dug into my pocket and carefully took out the Moon Stone. I gave it to Lanette, fulfilling our promise to Bill. It was a big relief to finally pass on the stone. Lanette held the evolution stone up to the light and gave it a quick inspection, tweaking her glasses in the processes.

After a few seconds she put the stone into her lab pocket and gave us a satisfied smile. ‘Thank you so much for going out of your way to bring this here. This will be very important to our research.’

‘It was no problem at all’, said Aly.

‘I’m glad we could help!’ I looked up at the researcher, ‘Bill also said that you have a lot of pokemon in your lab. Would it be possible if we could take a look. Ya know... just to fill my Dex?’ I gave a half hearted smile trying not to impose too much.

Lanette tightened her bandana and smiled back at me. ‘Of course!  That’s the least we can do. Lickitung, could you please make the beds for our guests?’

The Lickitung nodded and cheerfully waddled out of the room.

 ‘I can give you all a tour of the outdoor lab tomorrow morning if you want?’

We gratefully accepted her offer. I was exhausted. It had been as long trek and that battle with Tammie was very exhilarating. I then remembered the necklace that Aly had found.

‘Aly, do you still have that necklace?’, I asked. She raised her eyebrows in thought. ‘Ya know, the one you found earlier on?’

‘Oh yeah, I have it here’. She snapped her fingers and rooted around in her tight denim pocket. With a bit of effort she took out the heart shaped silver necklace.

‘Um.. I found this in the grass earlier on Route 25’, she said, holding it up to Lanette, ‘There were no other trainers around and we thought you might know who owns it?’

The researcher cocked her head closer to the dangling silver charm. She adjusted the specs on her nose and examined it, pondered for a few seconds and then shook her head resignedly. ‘That’s quite a pretty piece of jewellery you’ve found, but I’ve never seen it before. Sorry I can’t help.’

Thanking her anyway Aly carefully slid the necklace back into her pocket. She had a tired expression. I guess the hype of the day had finally caught up with all of us. After a quick supper rustled up by Lanette, we retired to our guest rooms for the night.

* * *

The following morning was a bit overcast and a sharp north easterly wind blew violent waves against the cliff. But this didn’t phase me in the slightest. I was brimming with excitement and anticipation, wondering what kinds of pokemon would be present in the open range. I devoured breakfast which Salvadore had offered to make. I had to credit the guy. Those scrambled eggs and bacon were cooked to perfection, perhaps even rivaling that of my mother’s.

After breakfast, Lanette lead us out behind the cottage, into a ranch where a large herd of Tauros and Miltank were grazing peacefully. I slowly checked my Dex as not to disturb the pokemon:

Tauros, the wild bull pokemon. Tauros uses its three tails to whip itself for motivation. It is reknown for its aggressive behaviour, head charging its foe with its horns.

It sounded like a tough pokemon. I quickly checked the miltank’s entree:

Miltank, the milk cow pokemon. Miltank’s milk has high nutritional values and is said to have curing qualities.

Miltank seemed a lot friendlier, even the way it chewed the grass was with savor and care. We moved briskly across the ranch and into the giant glass house.

The glass lab looked even bigger from the inside than it did on the outside. The interior was very warm, a nice contrast from the blustery winds outside. There were many plants and trees in the spacious building that towered up into the cloudy skies. A giant lake lay in the centre among the greenery. Dozens of different pokemon flew, scurried and splashed around the glass complex, their home.

‘Welcome to our main lab, or as we like to call it, the Green House’, said Lanette loudly over the chorus of pokemon cries.

‘Wow, this place is amazing!’, Aly exasperated. Her Dratini unraveled herself from Aly’s neck and began playing with a Hoppip.

‘Yeah’, agreed Salvadore, lightly splashing some pond water with a school of curious Wooper, ‘I can’t believe you take care of all these pokemon!’

‘Where did you get all of these?’, I asked in awe.

‘A lot of these pokemon are sent over from Professor Oak’s lab’, Lanette explained. ‘They have been left in his care from other trainers, just like you! If he is running out of room for them or if we’re looking to study a certain pokemon then we will look after them here.’

That seemed like an awful lot of hard work. It must be very rewarding I thought to myself.

After filling my Dex with several entries I decided to let my pokemon out to play. Peeks played in the grass with some Oddish. Hope fluttered through the air with two playful Pidgey. Toto leaped out of his pokeball in his usual joyous dance and started splashing in the indoor lake, drenching Salvadore. We spent the bones of an hour, touring the vast Green House, absorbing in the lively atmosphere. Lanette explained that the lab had a retractable roof, allowing fresh air in when it was dry.

I was fascinated by the whole concept and how the majority of inhabitant pokemon seemed to get along. We were disappointed when she suggested that we should move on to the last place of her and Bill’s studies but then again, she was a busy woman and we were grateful for her time.

The last place she led us to was a small warehouse, just a short stroll down from the cottage. The steel doors of the warehouse were password protected but the researcher pressed a series of digits and the two doors separated, making a low buzzing sound.

At first it was hard to make out the interior as there was only a faint red glow coming from the right, but as soon as we advanced through the doors the lights automatically came on, brightening the spacious room.

On our left were wide flat screens and computer monitors, presumably to profile all the data they collect. But what really caught my attention were the lines of incubating pokemon eggs on the right side of the room. The eggs were varied in different colours and shapes

Lanette lead us over to the eggs and then faced us, ‘Well, this is the last part of our pokemon research facilities’, she explained, ‘Here are loads of little pokemon waiting until the right time to hatch.’

‘Um, what type of pokemon?’, I asked curiously.

‘These contain all different species of pokemon’, she answered, ‘But I think this one is the most interesting when it hatches’ She pointed to an egg with blue and red oval shapes covering the shell.

‘What pokemon is that?’, asked Aly.

‘Why don’t you find out for yourselves’, she grinned.

Puzzled looks were painted across our faces. What did she mean? Was the egg about to hatch or something?

She laughed at our awry expressions and continued, ‘I was in contact with Bill early this morning. He spoke highly of your battling skills and responsibilities as trainers. So, he suggested that the three of you should mind the egg’

We stared back at her with shocked expressions.

‘Oh wow! I’d be delighted to mind the egg’, shrieked Aly in glee, ‘Baby pokemon are so cute!’

‘Hold on a sec!’, I turned to the giddy Dragon Tamer, ‘I should carry the egg. After all, I’m gonna be a pokemon master!’

We glared at each other. Just before we could slur an onslaught of jibes and insults at one another, Salvadore placed his hands on our shoulders and intervened.

‘Guys, take it easy’, he said calmly, ‘Since I’m training to become a pokemon breeder I think I should mind the egg. We can then decide who will train the pokemon once it hatches’

At first we were dismissive of the idea but then we soon realised that Salvadore was right. Neither Aly nor I knew a lot about taking care for an unborn pokemon so Salvadore seemed like the best carer.

Lanette smiled once we had reached the decision and carefully took the egg out of the incubator and placed it softly in the pokemon breeder’s arm. She also gave us a soft cotton cloth and a jar of wax to keep the egg clean and healthy. For the rest of the morning, my thoughts lied with the egg and what mysterious pokemon it held inside.

* * *

It was late afternoon when we decided to leave Lanette and her lab. The cool winds had died down a bit so our travels would be a bit more leisurely. We thanked her for her hospitality and the mysterious pokemon egg and wished her and Bill good luck in their research of the Moon Stone. As we walked out the gate she yelled after us, ‘Safe travels young trainers and please keep that egg safe. Also remember this, the trainer does not always chose the pokemon!’

Her words confused me but I waved goodbye all the same as we ascended the track up Route 25, back towards Cerulean City.

After a few hours we came across the sign for Route 24. It was somewhat of a relief that it wouldn’t be too long until we would arrive at the Golden Nugget Bridge. Salvadore kept gently cradling the egg in his arms and covered the egg with the cloth whenever it slipped off. His caring gaze reassured me that he was the rightful minder of the egg. It was safe with him.

Suddenly, a rustling noise came from the overgrowth to our left. A white blur dashed towards us and swiped at Salvadore.

-MEEOW!!!-

Salvadore stumbled, trying to keep balance and juggled the egg on his fingertips. To everyone’s horror, the attacker snatched the egg from Salvadore’s grasp and flipped, landing in front of us on its hind legs. In frustration I flicked my Dex:

Meowth, the scratch cat pokemon. Meowth adores round objects and anything that shines. It hoards shiny coins and uses them in battle if threatened.

There was something odd about this thieving pokemon. It wasn’t just it’s angry snarl but something else. Then I noticed the leather boots that it wore on it’s hind legs. It must be that rogue Meowth that Tammie had told us about.

‘Give us back that egg!’, roared Salvadore, fuming with anger.

The rogue Meowth snarled at his orders and began to run away with the egg as we approached it. It was surprisingly faster than any of us had anticipated. We chased the cat down Route 24 without giving a second thought. Salvadore lead the chase with Aly and I struggling to keep up. In my haste I accidentally stood on a sleeping Ekans tail. It shrieked in pain and then hissed in anger. It started to chase me, infuriated that I disturbed it in its slumber. This new pursuiter made me quicken my pace a bit.

The chase lasted for over 10 minutes until everyone began to tire, including the rogue Meowth. We all began to slow our pace.

‘I’ve had enough of your games’, panted Salvadore and took out a pokeball, ‘I know you haven’t battled before but you're my best hope in getting this egg back! Give it your all, Clefairy!’, he yelled as threw the pokeball.

Aly and I stood there in shock as the little fairy pokemon sprung happily out of its pokeball.

‘Umm... when did you get a Clefairy?’, I asked the breeder, confused.

‘This was the little guy who helped us defeat Team Rocket, back at Mt. Moon’, he explained, still staring at the stolen egg, ‘I couldn’t let such strength and potential go untrained!’

Clefairy waved his arms happily in the air, thrilled with his trainer’s compliments.

I buried  half my face in my right palm. Why didn’t I catch a clefairy when I had the chance!?

The rogue Meowth gently laid the egg in a tuft of grass behind it and spread it arms readying itself for battle. I examined the battle that was about to commence and then the Meowth’s expression. Something wasn’t quite right...

‘Ok Clefairy, use double slap! But mind that egg!’, ordered Salvadore.

The two pokemon advanced at each other. Clefairy swung his arms frantically. The Meowth dodged the first swinging arm but Clefairy caught it square in the cheek with the second slap. Meowth tumbled backwards in pain.

Aly and Dratini cheered for the former gym leader and his Clefairy.

Salvadore clenched his fist, pleased with Clefairy’s performance and ordered Clefairy to continue the assault. As Clefairy ran towards the rogue Meowth once more, the sly cat began to prowl on all fours. It snarled as it slowly moved close to Clefairy. Without warning the cat pokemon swung at Clefairy and knocked him off his feet, unconscious.

‘Ah! That was a faint attack!’, exclaimed Aly.

Salvadore scowled and returned his fainted pokemon to his pokeball.

There was still something that didn’t feel right. Something about the look in Meowth’s eyes. There was definitely anger in its glare but that wasn’t the only thing. In a way it looked almost sad... like it didn’t really want to battle. But why?

‘If I can’t use a pokemon the I guess I’ll have to pry it back off you myself!’, Salvadore thundered as he advanced towards Meowth, anger growing with every step he took. We had never seen him so angry. He was going to do anything to get that egg back. It was then I noticed the fear in Meowth’s eyes. A fragility it had not shown until now.

Once again, I acted with my heart rather than my head and ran after Salvadore, jumping in front of him and laying a firm hand on his shoulder.

‘What are you doing?’, he said in vigur, ‘We need to get that egg back from that thieving runt of a-’

‘Wait a second’, I said, trying to figure this whole situation out, ‘Look, there must be a reason why it took the egg! Look closer. Meowth doesn’t want to battle. It’s scared...’, I trailed off staring deep into Salvadore’s narrow eyes. He stared back, then took a deep breath. His frown eased.

We looked back at the Meowth, still prowling on all fours. It’s leather boots dug into the soft earth. I started to walk slowly towards the cat pokemon. It snarled louder at every step I took.

I steadily raised my hands, indicating that I meant no harm. ‘Meowth’, I said in a gentle voice, ‘We don’t want to battle. We just want know what’s wrong. What made you take the egg.’ I kept eye contact with the cat, trying to read its emotions.

The anger and intensity in its eyes began ease with my words of reasoning. It stopped snarling and relaxed onto its hind legs. I continued my slow walk until I was directly in front of it and then slowly knelt down on one knee until I was at eye level with the feline.

I gestured my hand but it flinched backwards, hiding behind its pause, shivering with fear. I gently placed my hand on its shoulder. ‘It’s ok. I’m not going to hurt you.’

The Meowth peered at me from behind his paw. When it saw that my eyes were sincere, it relaxed and slouched its shoulders. It then sighed and looked at the ground. A look of shame swept over its face.

‘Listen, I know you can’t speak human languages but could you at least try to explain what happened. Why you took the egg?’

Aly and Salvadore looked on anxiously from behind us.

Meowth raised its head. Tears started to trickle down its furry face.

-Meow-Meow-Mow-Mow-

Meowth pointed to Aly and scratched its chest. It then pointed to the egg.

Aly? I thought to myself. What did she do to upset the Meowth? It repeated its charade as I thought of what it could possibly be saying. Then I noticed something. On the Meowth’s chest there was a shadow... No! An imprint of a shape. Like something had once rested against the fur. It could just be a small quiff in the fur or from the battle with clefairy. I looked a bit closer. The shape looked similar to a...

‘Aly’, I spun around and called the Dragon Trainer, ‘Do you still have that necklace?’

Aly paused for a moment and then pulled out the silver necklace with the heart piece.

Meowth’s eyes lit up when it saw the glittering neck piece. Aly walked over and held out the necklace, it’s heart shape charm reading, “Mia”.

‘Wait a second! So you’re Mia?’, I guessed.

The Meowth happily nodded her head.

I took the necklace from Aly and tied it around Mia’s neck. ‘There ya go!’

Meowth nuzzled my arm in gratitude, crying tears of joy. It then turned around and picked up the pokemon egg and handed it to me. I took it, relieved that it was unscathed.

Salvadore joined us, ‘Hi Mia. I’m sorry I forced you into a battle. I shouldn’t have chased you so recklessly either.’

Mia tilted her head and smiled. All was forgiven.

-EKAANNNSSSSSSS!!!-

We spun around to face the hissing Ekans that was slithering threateningly towards us. It must have been the one I accidentally stood on earlier. I edged back nervously. I t did not look amused.

        ‘Hey! Stop right there!’, a voice yelled as the trainer emerged from the woods, ‘That Meowth is mine!’

It was Tammie!

‘Woah!’, I raised my hands in defence once more. I had not planned to capture the Meowth but Tammie must have misread the situation.

‘I told you I was out here to catch that rogue Meowth! Now stand aside!’

Tammie yelled in front of me, a pokeball in her grasp, while the Ekans continued to hiss violently behind me. I did not know which way to turn.

With a sudden burst of fiery determination she threw the pokeball with great force at Mia. The Meowth snarled and jumped, springing her booted hind legs into the air. She spun and lashed her tail at the pokeball. I jumped and tripped backwards to avoid the misdirected pokeball.

As I fell awkwardly onto the ground, one of my pokeballs unnoticedly came loose from my belt and rolled along the ground. Everyone’s attention was now focused on Tammie’s pokeball which zoomed through the air with great force and thwarted the approaching Ekans square in the face.

The snake pokemon swayed in a daze.

Tammie looked on in disbelief as her pokeball opened and the red beam of light sucked the Ekans into the pokeball. The pokeball dropped to the ground and started to twitch. It shook three times and then beeped.

-Meow-Meow-

 Mia laughed at the failed attempt to capture her and then turned to me and gazed into my eyes. I met her stare and then smiled. It resembled the gaze that I had made with Peeks in Viridian Forest. A new connection. A new friendship.

Then, without warning, Mia leaped in my direction and pressed my fallen pokeball with her paw. The pokeball opened and she happily jumped in.

I sat there, speechless at was what happening.

Tammie shrieked, dumbfounded.

It shook three times on the ground and then after a long stall, beeped, completing the capture.

Mia was now my pokemon.

I propped myself up on my knees and picked up Mia’s pokeball, unaware of the confused looks and stares that were present around me.

‘Hey, Robin!’ My moment of lost thought was broken as I looked up to see an unamused Tammie looming over me.

I scrambled to my feet and was about to blurt out a plethora of apologies and excuses when she raised a warning finger that shushed me. I gulped.

She gave me a hard stare and then suddenly smiled, ‘Take good care of Meowth. Ekans and I will be expecting a great fight from you the next time we battle!’

I sighed in relief and smiled back. ‘It’s a deal!’ We shook hands, sealing a new promise to each other, motivating each other in our new found rivalry.

‘Congratulations, you two. They’re both strong pokemon!’, complemented Aly.

‘Thanks Aly’, I said and then turned back to Tammie, ‘So, are you heading back to Cerulean City?’

She shook her head, ‘No, I’m continuing on to the coast. I heard there’s a tough gym near the Kanto Power Plant so I’m gonna catch a boat down that way. Might try and catch some water type pokemon while I’m at it.’

‘Ok, well, good luck in your gym battles!’

‘You too!’

We saluted each other and then went our separate ways with our newly caught pokemon.

The artistic Golden Nugget Bridge was now in sight as we turned a corner on route 24, a golden path leading to Cerulean City and many more adventures.