FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Red sighed. "Well, this should be the last time we'll have to come through here. At least, I hope. But just in case . . ." He pulled out a pad of paper. "Since there's no map of this forest, I'll make my own. This way we won't get lost again."

Mankey, Charmander, and Sparky the Pikachu trudged along behind him. The atmosphere was tense, because the newest addition to the team wasn't getting along well with the others. He had been chosen by Red to lead them to their first gym victory, which would have been fine if he wasn't so stuck up about it.

"It's a good thing the human picked me to beef up this group of weaklings," Mankey bragged. "Of course, the two of you could never go up against Pokémon that only a fighting-type like me can handle. It just goes to show how even a human can make good choices sometimes." He paused and then laughed, "Although, if it was me, I would have gotten a real fighter the first chance I got, rather than embarrass myself."

"I don't like him," Sparky said quietly. What was Red thinking, recruiting a Pokémon like this?

"But he does have a point," Charmander pointed out dejectedly. "I couldn't beat that Onix, and neither could you, if you had the chance. Electricity and ground types don't mix well. We need him."

"I mean, really," Mankey continued. "This little rodent shouldn't even be part of the team. What does he expect to do - dazzle the gym leader's Pokémon into submission?"

"You watch it," Charmander said, his voice low. "There's a type disadvantage, okay? It's not our fault the first gym Red decided to take on was a rock- and ground-type."

"Is that right?" Mankey feigned interest and jabbed him in the chest. "Sticking up for the rodent now, are we? I bet you couldn't take it either, huh hotshot? Too much for you?"

"That's not true! Well . . . I made it to the second round," Charmander said defensively.

"Round 2. Congrats! It's just, y'know, you were supposed to win the whole battle. That's what you went there for in the first place, wasn't it?"

Charmander didn't respond.

"And how did you like the little ride afterward? That Onix swallow you up like the pathetic little snack you are?"

"Wait, how do you know about that?" Charmander demanded.

Mankey smirked. "Everyone knows that's what happens when you lose at the Pewter City Gym. That Onix has quite the appetite, don't you think? And you look like the perfect loser to satisfy it."

"Loser? I'll show you who's a loser," Charmander growled, ready to take the Mankeys head off with his claws, but Sparky pulled him away.

"It's not worth it," Sparky said soothingly. "Leave it, chief. We'll see how tough he is when he has to take on the Viridian Forest." "Oho!" the Mankey crowed. "And would you look at that? At last it speaks! So what are you going to do, runt? Afraid you might get hurt in the crossfire between me and your buddy here? Or maybe you're just scared to see the big boys fight. You know, Charmander," Mankey said, turning to him. "I'd bet the reason you're so weak is because you hang around with this sorry excuse for a Pokémon. Now, if you follow me, maybe you could learn a thing or two - I can see the potential there somewhere."

"Can't I fight him?" Charmander said angrily, trying to struggle away from Sparky.

"No. You'll just get us into more trouble. And at any rate, it's not time yet." Sparky looked coldly at Mankey. The insults rattled him, too. He wanted to put that Mankey in his place so badly, and knew that he could do it himself, but that would just make Red angry. It was better not to attract attention.

"Okay, Mankey, it's time for us to head out. We're going to train so that you can get strong enough to take out that Gym. Charmander, Pikachu, you guys come too." The Pokemon fell into step behind Red, still glaring at each other, but otherwise quiet.

They set off down a path Sparky knew well, and he couldn't help but to remember the many times he had watched newbie trainers come here in the past. Usually they got lost and gave up, but Red and Charmander were different. Sparky had followed behind them, assuming they were like the others, watching and teasing the Charmander. But he soon came to realize that they were determined. He had given them the directions back to the beginning of the forest, so that they could give up, but they just continued down another path. And so he followed them, helping them along the way and also hindering. He saw something in them, a certain strength that he had not seen in a long time. It seemed important that he stick nearby. Of course, he had never known he would end up joining the team himself eventually.

"Hey, Sparky? Isn't this the wrong way?" Charmander asked, interrupting his thoughts. "Shouldn't we tell Red?"

"No," Sparky said, coming back to reality. "I think this is where Red wants us to be for now."

"But isn't there a nest down here?" Charmander pressed.

Sparky nodded. Yes, there was definitely a nest down here, full of Pokémon to fight. Red wanted to train, and so to him this must seem like the perfect opportunity. But Sparky knew better. A disturbed hive was very dangerous.

They stopped at the end of the road.

"What is this? Why are we at a dead end?" Mankey asked, confused.

"We're here to train, remember?" Sparky said pointedly.

"Wrong, squirt. I'm here to train."

"Well, here's your chance, then." Mankey grunted, but didn't ask any more questions.

"Alright Mankey," Red said, pointing to the bushes. "You see that tree over there? I want you to headbutt it."

Charmander grinned. "Oh! I know what's going to happen! It's -" Sparky held up a paw.

Mankey's face cleared. "I get it. This way some Pokémon will drop down and I can kick their butts! You two: watch this. Maybe you can learn a thing or two. Hyah!"

Two Caterpie fell from the tree, and Mankey took them out with a slap of his hand. "You see? It's all in the wrist."

The leaves rustled and a barrage of insects fell from the tree. There were bug Pokémon of all kinds, but with a few kicks, Mankey took all of them out.

"I can take you all on! Bring it!"

Charmander shot Sparky a questioning glance, but he just crossed his arms and smiled. "Watch."

Red was cheering animatedly, "Good job, Mankey! Nice! Now use Low Kick! Okay! Now maybe you should use a Leer . . . Well, that works, too! Yeah!" Of course, Sparky knew better than to assume that a Pokémon could single-handedly take on a hive.

"Freeee!"

Mankey glanced up to see the new Pokemon flying above him. He quickly recovered from his distraction. "You'd better watch out, Mankey." Sparky observed. "That Butterfree is a nasty piece of work."

Mankey sneered. "That thing? That's the most sissy-like Pokémon I've ever seen!"

Sparky shrugged. But to the side he whispered to Charmander, "You'd better get ready. This is going to get ugly."

Mankey laughed. "I'm going to show all of you who the real Pokemon is around here! Afraid? Hah!" He aimed an attack right for the Butterfree's face.

"Big mistake," Sparky commented.

The Butterfree avoided the attack and began to beat its wings. A shower of pollen fell around Mankey's head, and he sputtered angrily. "Hey! Get off me!" Sparky wondered what it would be, but he only had to wait a second to find out. Mankey's movements were slowing, and it was only when he aimed and missed an easy shot that Mankey cried out, "What's happening!?"

"Well," said Sparky slowly, "that would be Stun Spore. What happens is that the pollen surrounds you and renders every movement you attempt ten times harder to make."

"I know what a Stun Spore is," Mankey growled.

"You probably know how to deal with it, then."

Of course, there was no natural way to overcome the paralysis that came with a Stun Spore. If Red used an item, he could easily heal the Pokemon, but the boy didn't know it. And Stun Spore was an easy attack to avoid.

"Help me!" Mankey cried out as he failed once again to block an oncoming attack.

"But this is your battle!" Sparky said with fake bewilderment. "I wouldn't want to take the experience away from you!"

"You little - Arghh!"

"Shouldn't we help?" Charmander asked. "I don't like him, but there's no way he can make it out of there in one piece."

"Hold on a minute." The Butterfree used Confusion and Mankey grabbed his head with a yell. "Now!"

The two Pokemon rushed in and took on the remaining ground Pokémon. Charmander scattered them easily with an Ember, and Sparky let out a Thundershock that knocked the Butterfree halfway out of the sky. The Pokémon fled.

Red rushed to Mankey's side. "Are you okay?" he said, putting a hand on his shoulder before turning to Sparky and Charmander. "I thought I told you two to stay out of it!" he said furiously. "Mankey needs the experience! You ruined everything!" He shook his head and began to tend to Mankey's injuries.

"But we saved his sorry butt!" Charmander said indignantly.

Sparky's fur bristled. "Leave it, chief. He's a human. He won't understand."

"But we did!" Charmander protested. "We totally just saved the day, and he didn't even notice! How are we going to get any stronger if Red won't let us fight?"

"Don't worry. I have a plan."

Sparky began to whisper in his ear.

Charmander waited impatiently. Red was busy restoring the Mankey's health with some potions from his bag. Sparky was beside him in the bushes, just out of sight. His plan required precise timing, and Charmander couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong. "Are they ready yet?" he asked Sparky anxiously. This all depended on him and his friends.

"Not yet," Sparky said. "Relax. Everything will be fine." He shifted to the side nervously. Charmander noticed.

"Are you sure we can trust them?"

"I know these guys. They'll come through for us." He paused. "And then we'll have to get away. Quickly. They'll want payment."

"What! You didn't say that!"

"I didn't think it was worth mentioning," Sparky said evasively. "Look, we need something to distract Red. That way we can buy some time to do a little training of our own."

"By setting wild Pokemon on him," Charmander muttered. "How do you know they won't hurt him?"

"He's a trainer. He'll be fine. And, hey! What do you think I am - was?"

"An annoying squirt."

"What?"

"Nothing. So once these guys - who were they?" Charmander asked.

"Ekans, Rattata, and Zubat."

"- right. Once they come, we just go? What if Mankey can't handle them on his own?"

Sparky snickered. "As much as I'd like to see that Pokemon squirm, he's more than enough for these guys. They're bullies, but they're weak."

"If they're so weak, why can't we just take them?" Charmander asked, still confused.

"Because," said Sparky impatiently. "We need them to distract Red for us."

"So we can go train?"

"Geez, you're slow. Yes, they're the bait so we can go snag us a few bars. Get it?"

Charmander didn't get it. But he saw something sneaking through the bushes out of the corner of his eye. "Here they come," he warned.

He and Sparky edged away as they came into sight,

"Why, would you look at that," the Ekans commented. "It seems like the mouse was telling the truth. Looks tassssty."

"Heh heh," said the Zubat. "Shall we grab a bite, miss?"

"Of course," the Ekans laughed.

"Hey, don't forget about me!" said the Rattata from behind. He pushed the two aside and called, "Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double," hissed the Ekans.

"Triple!" Zubat corrected, frowning.

They strutted menacingly towards Red and Mankey, but Red turned, unfazed, and said, "Think you can handle these ones, Mankey?"

Mankey scoffed and lunged towards them.

From behind the bushes, Charmander and Sparky heard three cries of pain. Sparky raised an eyebrow and Charmander nodded. They ran off before their absence was noticed.

"You think we should find the other two now?" Sparky huffed.

"Oof. Yeah, I think it's time to meet up again. How long have we been at it?"

"Well, judging by the sun . . ." he paused. "About three hours."

"Hours?" Charmander repeated. "Jeez! How are we going to find them now? They could have left the forest already!"

"Relax, chief," Sparky said, although he too was uneasy. "They wouldn't have left without us. We just retrace our steps and follow the path. We'll find them."

"We'd better! I knew I shouldn't have followed you," Charmander grumbled.

"Hey! You agreed to this, remember? Anyways, it was worth it. We did great back there! Remember how we got stuck in that nest and you burned them away, Beedrill and all?"

Charmander grudgingly acknowledged this.

"And that river? I saved your clumsy butt before you fell in and got swallowed up by the Magikarp," Sparky teased and punched his arm. "See? We're both getting stronger."

"Alright. Yeah, I guess that's true." Charmander loosened up a little. "But if you ever mention that to anyone, you and your sorry mouse mouth will find yourself somewhere very wet, very dark, and very rumbly."

"My lips are sealed," Sparky vowed. And then he darted off into the bushes.

"Hey - where are you going?" Charmander demanded.

"Well, come on already!" Sparky called back. "We're not getting any closer to finding them by just standing here! Let's go!"

"Wait for me!" Charmander hurried to catch up.

They had found Red and Mankey not far ahead, at the rest spot about halfway through the forest. Red was busy fussing over his prized fighter and didn't even seem to notice that his other two Pokemon had been missing. "This is unbelievable," Charmander fumed.

"Where are you going? Sparky asked.

"Stay here. I'm going to go have a chat with our new quarterback."

"Don't do anything you'll regret," Sparky warned.

But Charmander was already stomping his way over to them. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, but setting his trainer's pants on fire had a nice ring to it.

"Oh - Charmander! Good. I need you -" Red passed him a few items, a bandage and a used candy wrapper. "- to go throw these in the trash can over there. And then I need you to help me tend to Mankey's wounds. And where's that Pikachu gone off to? Here, hold his arm." Red quickly busied himself with items from his pack. Charmander was so stunned he didn't even remember to set the boy's pants on fire.

"Why would you look at that?" Mankey jeered. "I've got me a footman now! You make sure you scrub behind my ears too, while you're at it!"

"Shut up," Charmander growled. "I'm just trying to figure out which part will hurt the most when I pound your face in."

"Don't look at me!" Mankey said, astonished. "I'm not doing anything. You're trainer's the coach. I'm just the player." Before Charmander could retort to this, Mankey continued. "I bet it's because of that Pikachu."

"What do you mean?" Charmander asked, disgruntled.

"Well, just like I was saying before, he's weak. Your trainer doesn't see much opportunity for him. Man, you should hear him! All I've heard for the last few hours was 'that Pikachu' this, and 'oh, the weakling,' that. You know, he was actually glad you two were gone. It took a load off his back. The better so he could train me."

"And what are you? " Charmander shot. "The fact that you need to be trained separately says enough right there!"

"Ah! The words. They get bitey. I'm not saying I agree with him," Mankey gave a sad smile. "I'm just saying that what company you hang around with defines you."

"Meaning . . .?"

"Meaning the Pikachu isn't exactly a role model. You hang around with it constantly. Put two and two together." Mankey leaned over. "You just make yourself look bad."

Charmander dropped the comb that was currently in his hand. "So what do you want me to do?"

"You need to lose the rat," he grinned. Charmander rolled his eyes and began to walk away. Red was turned. "It's for your own good!" Mankey called.

"C'mon," Charmander said when he reached the bushes. "Let's go."

"I thought we were checking in?" Sparky asked, but he followed behind anyway.

"They didn't even know we were gone. But that's okay, because it means more time for us. Let's go train."

"Wait for me!" Sparky cried, keeping up just behind him.

They could just hear Red's words, "Okay Charmander, now hold this . . . Hey! Where did Charmander go now? Never mind, I think we're ready. Come on, Mankey, let's keep moving. We have a long way to go."

"It's time to put that Mankey in his place."

They kept just off the main path, a little ahead of Red and Mankey, and continued to practice battling, sometimes with other wild Pokémon and sometimes with each other. Always they kept to the shade of underbrush, just to be sure they wouldn't run into Red by accident. Eventually they came to a split in the road, and Charmander's eyes lit up in recognition. "I remember this place!"

"Yeah," Sparky chuckled. "Remember when I led you through the Spark Chasm?"

Charmander looked at him quizzically. "That's what it's called?"

"Well, yeah. Not much of a chasm, though. I never would have put you under harm's way if I didn't think you could handle it."

"I'm touched," said Charmander, partly sarcastically. He studied the path. It was just as dimly lit and overgrown with weeds and vines as last time. And there were still the unmistakable signs of life all along the path, which meant there would be Pokémon to battle. "Let's go this way."

"But . . ." Sparky hesitated and pointed to the right. "The other way is so much easier, and cleaner, too!"

"You said it yourself. It's not much of a chasm, and anyway, there will be tons of bug Pokémon in there so we can practice battle techniques."

"Ew. Bugs."

Charmander raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, okay," Sparky conceded. "My idea, I know. I guess you should lead the way." He grimaced.

Charmander shot a flame at a couple of vines that blocked their path and they started to make their way along the path that obviously wasn't used often. "What are you so afraid of, anyway?" he asked conversationally. "I mean, this is the way you sent me last time when you were my 'guide.' I got through just fine."

"I'm not afraid," Sparky said immediately. "It's just . . . There are a few things here I'd rather not see."

"What do you mean?" He shot a few more flames in a random direction that caught a few bug Pokémon in his path. "There are a lot of Pokemon here, but none of them are very strong. Watch this."

He aimed for a nest high in a tree and paused for a moment before shooting an Ember. The nest dropped like a stone, scattering the Pokemon inside. Charmander flexed his muscles. "Yeah?"

The Pokemon from the nest shot him dirty looks before retreating deeper into the forest.

"Ha ha. Funny." Sparky picked a berry off a nearby branch and popped it in his mouth. He peered off into to the distance and launched a weak Thundershock at a passing Caterpie. It bristled angrily and shot a String Shot at him before scurrying off. Sparky wiped the silk out of his eyes. "It's just . . . This is near where I grew up. The Pikachu colony lives by here."

"Really? That's great! Can I meet your family?" Charmander didn't understand why Sparky seemed so nervous. He'd love to meet the other Pikachu! Maybe he could make some friends, too. But Sparky didn't respond. Charmander pushed. "What's wrong with you?"

"You remember those three from earlier, right?" Sparky said hesitantly. "This is their territory now."

"But they were defeated earlier by Red and Mankey, right? So maybe if they come by we can defeat them!" Charmander was excited now, but Sparky didn't show it. "Well?"

"Yeah, maybe," Sparky said.

"I don't get you," Charmander complained. "One minute you're all gung-ho about something, and then the next you get all sulky and quiet! What's your deal?"

"There's not much to get," Sparky said. C'mon, let's get moving. We're not getting anything done talking like this. Let's have a quick battle and see if we can utilize those new techniques we just learned. On the count of three, I'm going to use Thunder Wave and you're going to try to block it, okay? Let's go."

"Okay," Charmander said grudgingly. He got into position to block Sparky's oncoming attack. He knew there was more to Sparky's story, but he obviously wasn't going to find out what. Not now, at least. Instead, he put all his energy into showing him up in battle.

No way was he going to tell Charmander anything. Sparky was sure of that. He walked along past the familiar trees and rocks that had made his temporary home in silence.

He knew the odds that he would run into anyone here were very slim, but it gave him a chill just thinking about the memories. But he had to focus on training, and maybe that would distract him. At any rate, he was part of a team now! He had a real trainer. There was nothing to worry about. Maybe.

"C'mon," he said to Charmander. "There's a clearing just up ahead here. I can practice my Thunder Wave there, since I couldn't make it work before."

"You let me win," Charmander accused. "I saw you."

"Sure," said Sparky distractedly. "I can practice so I don't miss next time. Hurry up!"

They made it to the clearing and battled for a while, but Sparky couldn't focus, and kept missing easy shots. All he could think about was his failures the last time he was here. After a few minutes, Charmander gave up. "You're not into this. It's not helping.

"Sorry," Sparky said. "I'm just tired, you know. We've been at it all day."

"Well, I'm hungry. I'm going to look in the bushes over there for some berries. You coming?"

"I'm not hungry," Sparky said. "You go ahead. I'll be here."

"Ookay. You know how I said you've been acting weird? This tops it. Denying food? I don't understand the meaning."

"It's like I always say. Fill the bottle, squeeze the rock. You get what I'm saying."

"Um . . . sure. I'll be back," Charmander muttered. He walked off.

That got him out of the way. And it might as well. Sparky wanted to brood in silence. He ran the events over and over again in his head. And no matter which way he put it, it always came out the same: It was his fault. He could have cried, but he couldn't do that. Charmander might see. He had to keep up his cool bravado, even though he knew that he was broken inside. He sat against a tree and waited for him to come back.

~ It was night time. The two fugitives busied themselves gathering food: berries and grasses left over from the empty nests that had been occupied just minutes before. They couldn't go out in the open for fresh food. They were always being watched. Or, at least, that's how it seemed. They were found wherever they went. They couldn't hide. Every new hiding spot they found was exposed within days. Until now. They were lucky. They had been here in the depths of Viridian Forest for weeks, and still hadn't been caught. Sparky was nervous, but he felt safer here than anywhere else. His friend disagreed. "Move on!" he urged. "The longer we stay here, the more the chance that they will find us!" But Sparky didn't want to leave. He was comfortable here. Maybe they could make a home... ~

He heard a rustle in the bush from behind him.

Sparky opened his eyes and peered around. "Charmander?" he called nervously.

"Sparky!" said a genuine voice from behind him. "There you are!"

Sparky jumped around and bared his teeth. "Jolt! What - what are you doing here?" Standing there was a Pikachu who shouldn't have been there. It was impossible.

"I live here, duh," said Jolt happily.

Sparky eyed him. This wasn't right. He was afraid. "What do you mean, you live here?" he asked cautiously. "Where are the others? Who did you bring?!"

"There's no one here but me and my new friend, yup! Look!"

Sparky tensed as Jolt gestured to the bush, and within seconds, Charmander came walking through.

"Charmander!" Sparky said frantically. "Help me, quick! Attack him! He shouldn't be here!"

But Charmander only tilted his head quizzically and said, "But Sparky, this is my friend! We've been friends for so long!"

"Aw," said Jolt sadly. "He doesn't want to be our friend."

"Don't worry!" said Charmander. "I know just what to do." A stick appeared in his paw and he eyed it intently before raising it.

"Wait," said Sparky nervously. "Did you join them, Charmander? Stop it! What are you doing!?"

"What do you mean? We just want to be friends!"

"Friends, friends, friends!" sang Jolt, who suddenly had two heads.

"Be our friend!" sang Charmander. He brought the stick down on Sparky's head and everything went black.

"Did I do good, miss?" said a voice in the background, indistinct and hazy, as though through a fog.

"Yesss, Zubat. You did well," said a female voice. "Your Sssupersonic is brilliant."

"Ugh . . ." Charmander groaned. He opened his eyes slowly with difficulty. It was dark, and it took him a few seconds to realize where he was. He was in a cave. Sparky was off to the side, unconscious, and there were three shapes in front of him. Were they the other Pikachu? "Where . . . where am I?" he said groggily.

"Never mind that, dearie," said the female voice, falsely sweet. "You're right where you need to be." The shape hovered over him. "Hm, this one looks good," she confirmed. Zubat? Rattata? You subdue the other one. I'll take thisss one."

Subdue? What was going on? Charmander tried to life his head, but it hurt. He laid back down on the comfortable rock.

"Mmm," said the voice. "That's right, be a good dear and relaxxx. You're a sweetie, aren't you?"

Aw, a sweetie? That was so nice. This Pokemon was being so nice to him! Charmander got a warm feeling inside and he wiggled around playfully. The Pokemon was tickling his feet!

"Yes, you are a very good, aren't you?" she whispered. "Almossst good enough to eat . . ."

Eat? That would be nice . . . Charmander was hungry, and he couldn't wait to get back to Red so that he could get something to eat. Wait, Red?

"Very nice," the voice mumbled. Charmander was beginning to feel very warm. But wasn't that good?

Charmander kicked out suddenly and heard a loud hiss as whatever was around him fell off to the floor. He knew what was happening now. "Sparky! Wake up!" he yelled, suddenly wide awake. "It's those three again!" Because he knew who the Pokemon were now. It was Ekans, Zubat, and Rattata. And they were trying to steal a low-cost meal, the jerks!

The Ekans lunged at Charmander, mouth agape, but he stepped easily to the side and caught her. He swung her at the Zubat and Rattata, who were running toward him, and they dropped as one like stones. He dropped Ekans, too, and they huddled together under his furious stare. He roared and they all took off in an instant.

"You better stay away from us!" Charmander yelled threateningly after them. Then he turned. "Are you okay, Sparky?"

"Ugh," moaned Sparky. "What happened? Why did you attack me?"

"Me? What about those Pikachu that attacked us?"

"What Pikachu?"

"There was a group of them. They were all laughing, and - and they wanted to lead us to their home. And then they knocked me out." Charmander looked at Sparky quizzically. "How could you not have seen them?"

"But there wasn't . . . you . . . Oh. Oh, geez. Supersonic."

"What?"

"We were both put under confusion. Zubat must have used it on us."

"But isn't Supersonic hard to pull off?" Charmander asked as he pulled Sparky to his feet.

"Hard, but not impossible."

"So then we were just almost beaten by the losers of the Pokémon kingdom."

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Well, that's great. I thought we were supposed to be getting stronger." Charmander grumbled.

"Maybe next time."

"Next time? Seriously? We just lost! Do you know what that means?! How are we ever -"

"Relax, chief. You win one, you lose one. That's life. And you know, I really don't want to talk right now."

"Nothing! How can you -"

"Listen!" said Sparky suddenly. Charmander stopped, fuming, and heard the sound of Red calling.

"Charmander! Pikachu! Come on, we're near the end of the forest now. And I think I've got this map all drawn out. Kind of. Maybe I won't show it to the people at the gate, after all . . ."

They were almost back to the main road, and walked the rest of the path in silence. They met up with Red.

"Good. We're done here, so we're going to go back into Pewter City. I'm sure we can win that badge this time! And it's all thanks to you, Mankey!"

The Mankey winked in their direction. "You too wimps ready to see some action?" Charmander was too worn out to argue. He just shrugged tiredly. The Mankey came close, and whispered, "Of course, we both know where the real problem is here. I just hope we don't get any thunderstorms tonight,"

Charmander looked warily in Sparky's direction. "I think you should get low to the ground so you don't get shocked."

"Okay," Mankey grinned. "Remember what I said, though." He trotted back to Red's side and whistled nonchalantly.

Charmander couldn't help but to look back at Sparky with a new suspicion in his eyes.

To Be Continued