Chapter 17: Totodile for the taking!

Both Ethan and Kai had continued through the forest for the rest of the day before finally breaking through the clearing by late afternoon.

Kai's fight with Silver had gone on longer than they had thought, taking away a huge chunk of the day.

"There it is, the path out!" Ethan said, feeling a sudden surge of energy as he ran toward the clearing giving a loud cheer.

"We made it!"

Kai could see the path leading through a hillside leading up and toward a Pokemon centre where they would be able to get a room for the night and rest.

"Alright, just a little further," Kai said pulling on the should straps of his backpack before he started walking again.

Ethan ran to keep up with him, joining him by his side as the two of them followed the path, feeling the setting sun low on their backs.

Kai was growing impatient causing him to walk faster and causing Ethan to almost have to run after him to just keep up.

"Hey Kai wait up will ya!" He said, feeling his feet pounding while he tried his best to keep power walking.

"Ah sorry, Ethan." Kai said, not having realized he had been walking so fast.

"I just want to get there and make sure my Pokemon get healed right away." He said.

"It's ok, come on we are almost there." Ethan said, this time being the one to pick up the pace, making Kai smile as he ran after him.

It didn't take long for them to reach the Pokemon centre, especially with the new pace that they had set.

Ethan finally reached the main entrance as the two of them stepped through the doors, with Ethan almost dropping to his knees from the lack of food.

"So tired... So hungry..." He moaned, seeing a large and soft-looking couch with his name on it.

Kai on the other hand rushed right over to the main desk where Nurse Joy was sitting, reading a book.

"Please, I need you to heal my Pokemon," Kai said, interrupting her reading and startling her a little.

"Oh my." She said in surprise, not knowing he was there.

However, she quickly noticed the look on his face and jumped into action.

"Ok young man, place your Pokeballs onto the tray and let's have a look." She said, not wasting any time.

Nurse Joy placed the tray into the machine so she could assess the situation and see what she was dealing with.

"Oh my... It looks like your Pokemon are in bad shape." She said, giving him a stern look.

"But, it's nothing I can't handle." She then said before she got to work.

"Here, please place your trainer card into the slot and I will be back once I have healed your Pokemon." She then said, take the tray of Pokeballs off to heal Kai's Pokemon.

Kai nodded his head and placed his trainer card into the machine for it to update.

"Don't worry Kai, nurse Joy is the best. She will have your Pokemon back to full health in no time." Ethan said, standing next to him now.

"Yeah." Kai nodded, knowing they would be fine before he took his trainer card out of the machine.

"Now, how about we go and register for a room for the night?" Ethan then said, taking a look around the Pokemon centre seeing it was rather empty.

"Yeah, let's do it," Kai said as he and Ethan walked over to the clerk so they could book a room for the night.

After that came food, seeing how they had hardly eaten all day, being a little busy with their fight against Silver and the journey here.

"Ah man, I needed that!" Ethan said as he wolfed down his stew, not leaving even a single drop of it in his bowl.

Kai did the same but with better manners, placing his empty bowl onto the table before he wiped his mouth not having realized just how hungry he was.

"Ding dong. Will trainer Kai please come to the reception." The announcement sounded over the tanoy.

"Looks like it's for you." Ethan said with a big smile, already knowing what it would be for.

Both Kai and Ethan headed back to the main reception meeting nurse Joy at the desk.

"There you are." She said with a warm smile.

"Your Pokemon have all made a full recovery." She then said, placing the tray with Kai's Pokemon onto the desk for him to take.

"Thank you, nurse Joy." Kai said while taking them back.

"It's why I'm here." She said with a hearty laugh.

"Arghh... All's well that ends well eh?" Ethan said with a yawn, happy that everything was alright.

"Man I'm beat, I think I'm gonna hit the hey and call it a night." Ethan said rubbing his eyes after another yawn.

"No worries Ethan." Kai said knowing he should do the same, yawning himself having caught it from Ethan.

"See you in the morning Kai, just one final push before we get to Cherrygrove city." Ethan said.

"Yeah. See you in the morning man." Kai said, bumping his fist against Ethans, happy to have had him as a companion for his journey so far.

With that the two of them retired to their rooms for the night. However, Kai had one last thing he wanted to do before he went to sleep.

Kai took all of his Pokeballs onto the bed, looking at each of them before he studied his updated trainer card.

Things got really tough last time... Kai thought while he read the card, making sure to study what it said carefully.

I really need to make sure I know each of my Pokemon's abilities and move sets. Being able to use them to the best of my ability if we want to stand a chance in the future. He said to himself, seeing that Rattata had learned a new move, hyper fang.

Fuck... If I had known that Rattata could use hyper fang, we would have won that last battle. Kai thought to himself, looking at the Trainer card.

Current Pokemon:

Sandshrew - Move list: Scratch. Dig. Rollout. Defence curl. Poison sting. Sand attack. Rapid spin. Magnitude. Mud slap.

Ability: Sand rush.

Rattata - Move list: Tackle. Quick attack. Tail whip. Bite. Hyper fang. Focus energy.

Ability: Guts.

Snubbull - Move list: Headbutt. Charm. Tail whip. Bite. Fire fang. Ice fang. Thunder fang. Scary face. Lick. Rage.

Ability: Intimidate.

Totodile - Move list: Watergun. Bite. Scratch. Leer. Rage. Scary face.

Ability: Sheer force.

After he was done Kai placed his trainer card back into his jacket Pokemon for safekeeping before sitting on his bed.

"Well, I'm just glad that everyone is safe after that last battle." He said out loud to his Pokeballs.

"Now make sure we all get some rest, it's going to be a busy day tomorrow." Kai then said, making sure to set an alarm on his Pokegear before he got in bed and turned off the light.

Kai rolled over as he pulled the covers over his shoulder, not being able to stop his mind from thinking about the real world and how his wife and family would be fairing with him gone.

Still, he knew that there was nothing he could do about it now, and knew that worrying would only cause pain. After all he was sure that there was so reason for all of this. Hell, it could even all just be one crazy dream.

Maybe there would be a way to get back to the real world one day. But until then, Kai would make the best of this world and live out his own Pokemon adventure as he saw fit without regret.

The next morning arrived quickly for Kai, feeling as if the time had gone by way too quickly with his alarm buzzing in his ears.

"I'm up..." He said switching the thing off before he sat up to stretch off.

Ah man, sleeping in an actual bed is so much better than a sleeping bag on the ground. He thought while sliding off the mattress and heading over to the sink that was in his room.

Kai turned on the cold water and splashed his face, taking a look in the mirror after he was done.

"Time to get to work." He said, smiling at his reflection as if he was talking to himself, knowing that another day had arrived.

With that Kai finished getting dressed and met with Ethan who was already eating his breakfast.

"I see you couldn't wait," Kai said chuckling to himself while sitting down to take a sip of his morning coffee he had gotten from the buffet.

Ethan nodded, before swallowing his food.

"Morning to you too Kai." He said with a smile.

"Sleep well?" Kai asked, putting his coffee mug down on the table.

"Like a log! Man, it's so much better having a bed." Ethan then said.

Kai nodded in agreement before he clicked his neck to relieve the stiffness he felt in it.

"Hey, now that we have time we had best ring the professor after breakfast and tell him about what happened with Totodile," Ethan said, reminding Kai.

Kai sat back in his seat taking another sip of coffee helping him to wake up before placing the mug back on the table.

"Yeah, that's right," Kai said thinking about his last battle with Silver again before shaking his thoughts off.

With that said the two of them finished their breakfast and headed over to the public phones that the Pokemon centre had, allowing them to make free calls.

Kai typed in the professor's number that he had in his Pokegear and waited while it rang through.

"Hello?" Professor Elm said as the screen turned on, revealing a picture of the professor.

"Hey Professor, it's us!" Ethan said excitedly, waving at the camera.

"Ah, well I didn't expect a video call from you two. What can I do for you both?" The Professor asked with a smile.

"Actually Professor we have some news regarding the stolen Pokemon from your lab," Kai said.

"Is that right?" Professor Elm asked with a concerned look on his face.

Both Kai and Ethan nodded while Kai took out the Pokeball containing Totodile allowing the small blue Pokemon to be freed before it jumped around happily.

"Dile!" It said seeing Kai, jumping onto his lap.

"Oh my, it really is my Totodile." Professor Elm said looking impressed.

"However did you find it?" He asked.

"That's a long story Professor, but long story short, Kai rescued it from the guy that stole it," Ethan said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, it certainly looks happy with you Kai." The Professor said, seeing that Totodile had taken to Kai very well from the way it was behaving, sitting on his lap and licking his face.

"I tell you what, why not keep that Totodile and take him on your adventure? I'm sure it will do him good to experience a kind trainer." Professor Elm said.

"Really?" Kai asked.

"Yeah why not, but make sure to take good care of the little guy." Professor Elm said, wagging his finger.

"Anyway, whereabouts are the two of you at the moment, have you arrived in Cherrygrove city yet?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Actually Professor we are in the Pokemon centre just outside of the city," Ethan said.

"Is that right? Well, that's great news. I actually just received word from my friend Mr Pokemon who I want you to meet with Kai." The Professor said, giving them the info.

"But, I will send all of the details to your Pokegear so you can see where you will be meeting him for yourself, like I said it's not far outside of the city." He then said.

"Professor please we need some help over here!" A female voice suddenly yelled in the background of the call before flames could be seen.

"Oh my, I need to go, but make sure to ring me once you pick up the parcel from Mr Pokemon!" Elm yelled before he hung up, leaving in a hurry. Leaving both Kai and Ethan alone.

"I guess he's busy," Ethan said laughing.

"Yeah, but looks like me and you will be together for a while yet, eh Totodile," Kai said, getting a happy reaction from the Totodile, who jumped up and down.

"Anyway, we should get a move on if we want to arrive in the city for lunchtime." Kai then said, looking back at Ethan.

"Ok, let's move out!" Ethan said, picking his backpack up and getting ready to march out.

"To Cherrygrove city!" Both of them yelled in happiness, rushing out of the Pokemon centre together.

--------------

Thats the end of this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it.