Almond watched Haruki's reaction. There didn't seem to be panic like what he felt at the thought of finding more of those creatures. Instead, she seemed deep in thought. Somehow, someway, he knew what was going to come out of her mouth. He knew it and it scared him. Frantically the synapses danced around with their twirling lightning, trying to come up with something, a shield to change the arrow's course before it hit him right between the eyes, but all that it drew was a blank card. So he crossed his fingers and wished upon a star. It wasn't the brightest star, but it was big, and if he was going to entrust a wish to anything it would be in an object who could reach the planet Mars from the sun's location.

"Yeah." Almond nodded. "I had a feeling you were going to say that." He leaned forward and propped his chin on his palms. "I agree completely with you on that point Haruki, but there's something I'm not quiet sure about, and it bugs me. It bugs me like ants over a cake, or that thick lone black hair growing out of a scar. Why so little? Back home those things poured out like waves upon waves. They rushed out and just started killing. None of the foot soldiers, or whatever they were, gave two flicks of a dog's tail who saw them, but here, its different. The shadow pokemon, and I'm sure that those things are around, are being sneaky. Instead of just slaughtering outright, their hiding. Why? What would be the point of such things doing anything to keep their prescience a secret?" He shook his head.

Professor Oak watched the back and forth in silence. His fingers tented in front of his face, and his intelligent green eyes seemed to take in everything. When he saw the two had reached a point for silence he leaned forwards. "It's a bit much to believe, isn't it? A part of me wants to trust you to on the grounds that you both seem like such nice children, but another part of me, the one that can't just accept anything without proof, has no choice but to be stubborn."

Almond turned to the older man, and stared at him with blank eyes, a blank mouth, and a nose that had no choice but to appear blank on account of lacking any level of personality whatsoever. "So?"

The professor sighed and looked down. "So, is there anything either of you two could say or do that would prove me you both are from some other plain? Anything at all? It doesn't have to be amazing by your standards. It just has to be something I couldn't explain away except by with your other worldly theory."

"Oh." Almond nodded. "Well, okay give me a second to think." He scratched the back of his head and stared hard at the table until a sweat drop slithered down between his eyes and fell off the end of his nose. "Oh! I know!" He jumped and hurried over to the professor, who looked like he wanted to slink away but didn't. "You! You have a nephew named Blue, right?" The older man nodded. "And he grew up with a rival named Red, correct?" Again, a nod. "And they both got their starter pokemon the same day?" Nod. "I bet Red picked his pokemon first, it was a Charmander, and Blue picked Squirttle right afterwards simply because it was a type advantage?"

The man's face went white. "How-how did you know that?"

Almond shook his head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Oak looked at them again for a moment before nodding and getting to his feet. "I'll just take your word for it. Now," he turned away from them and walked towards a steel table with three red and white balls at the center. "Would you two please come over here? There's no way I can pretend our world isn't in danger from whatever it is that's going on and I can't let you two children go it alone, especially since there was almost a fatality caused by a flock of pidgeys." He pointed at the balls. "I've got three starters here. I want both of you to take one. You can stay here tonight, and in the morning please do whatever it is you two need to do to get whatever those shadow things are out of here." He swallowed hard and turned away. "Come on Dragonite. Let's get some sleep. I'll see you two in the morning."

Haruki listened to what Almond had to say in regards to her spoken thoughts. She had to admit, Almond raised a very good point. It was strange that the shadows were taking a stealthier approach to their attack than the shadows in their world. She thought on his question, recalling what had happened earlier, and she answered him, "Maybe it has something to do with what that guy said back in our world?" Their leaders and their 'cores'...Were those two things the reason why the shadows are trying to not bring attention to themselves? And how would they be able to recognize a leader of those shadows, or the core for that matter? They were going off of so little information. She sort of wished that that guy was here to explain himself.

After falling silent, she looked to Professor Oak and saw that he seemed to be analyzing them. She listened as he spoke to them (realizing that he hadn't been eavesdropping earlier judging from his words), and she immediately knew where he was going with his point: He wanted proof. Her guess was confirmed after Almond asked for clarification. Before she could even think of something, Almond had taken care of it, talking to Professor Oak about his nephews, Blue and Red. She wondered briefly about Ash, but she shrugged it off, noticing how Professor Oak had gone pale from the information. She was glad that he took their word, the method of proving their words to be true may not have been ideal, but it worked.

She walked over to the steel table with Professor Oak and listened to what he had to say. She was somewhat surprised to hear that Professor Oak was willing to let them take a starter Pokemon with them. After he finished, she nodded and answered him gratefully, "We can't thank you enough, Professor Oak," Soon enough he had gone to bed and Dragonite had followed after him.

Once he was gone and the lights had gone out, she looked to Almond seriously, being quiet so as to not wake Professor Oak, "Almond...the next time we meet someone, can you please be more careful about what you say? We were lucky this time, but even still, you saw how Professor Oak reacted to that information. I wouldn't be surprised if we told anyone else, they would have worse reactions than that,"

After his answer, she turned her attention back to the pokeballs, and she mumbled "Now, where do they display the information," After seeing a couple of buttons, she pressed one and a holographic screen appeared, showing a Squirtle and giving basic information on it, just like in the game.

"Their cores?" Almond blinked and scratched his lower lip. "You know, that makes sense. Maybe there weren't any cores back in our world so those shadow things were free to walk around wherever they wanted since there wasn't anything important that could be destroyed? Which would make sense here since there's a fairly good chance the shadow things don't want anyone to know of their presence." He paused as something came to mind. "But then why kill if their not in the optimal position to do so? Wouldn't it be better to just move the cores to somewhere safe and then go balls out on whatever world you wanted to destroy? I don't get the logical." His eyes narrowed. "Ugh! It's like the start of a detective novel, but with pokemon. You have a crime, and what looks like the method, but its glaring how much information is missing."

"Yes sir." Almond nodded at the old man, trying his best to hide the excitement he felt with finally getting his own pokemon. "We really appreciated." He watched the old man leave. Poor guy looked physically shaken. Perhaps he'd gone too far too fast, but there wasn't a lot of time. Who knows how much damage those things could've done by now. Taking any more time than what was absolutely necessary would've been morally repugnant. Knowing that didn't make him feel any better. Neither did Haruki's lecture. It was tempting to snap at her, but he swallowed his agitation. "I know. I know. It's just those things. I don't like the thought of them running around what's basically a childhood home, perverting it, or whatever it is they do, you know?"

He turned his attention to the pokeballs on the table, with Haruki. "So here we are, the toughest decision most children in a first world country ever have to make." He watched Haruki highlight Squirtle's ball. "How long do you think we'll be here?" He touched the section above the first ball and bulbasuar appeared. "I mean, Pewter city has a gym, and lots of the trainers there specialize in rock. So it would figure there's a lot of rock pokemon moving around. So if we're just going to be here till we fix what's going on there Squirtle and bulbasaur would be the best choices, but if we're going further into the world..." His eye moved to the last ball, the one without any readings over it. "If we're going to go in further then something like fire type that can lay the smack down on quiet a few types would be better."

Haruki silently mulled over the questions Almond brought up regarding the shadows and the cores. Those questions also led her to think on the mysterious man. Where did he come from? How did he know who they were and that they needed help? What did he know about the situation and these shadows? Were they going to be able to talk to him again? He could probably fill in a lot of the blanks when they get the chance. She smiled a bit at his mention of the detective novel. That smile disappeared just as quickly as it appeared.

She listened to his response to her lecture, and she answered with an understanding tone, "Yeah, I understand where you're coming from. I really don't like that they're here, killing as they please," She then continued patiently, "But...as much as I would love to rush out here and help right now, we have to remember that we do not have game mechanics or anime plot points to protect us,"
She then pulled out her phone and she said to him as she went to her clock app , "I can set an alarm for say...5 in the morning. So we can get going as soon as possible," She waited for his answer before setting her alarm.

She smiled at his comment about choosing a starter pokemon, and she chuckled "For some reason, this choice was never hard for me," When he asked her about the length of time, she shrugged and answered "I have a feeling we'll be here for as long as those guys are threatening this world. Whether that's a long time or short time, I'm not sure,"
She listened to his reasoning, agreeing with the plan about Squirtle and Bulbasaur. After he mentioned the fire type, she suggested, "Why don't we sleep on it? Decide in the morning. For now, we should get some rest, especially considering what we've been through today," Spotting a nearby couch, she lied down on it and stared at the ceiling, hoping her family was okay.

"What really?" He blinked in honest surprise. "It always took me forever to pick mine, but then in the end I always got the grass starter, except for generation two." He shrugged. "Its always trouble with the grass types but I guess no matter how much time I spend debating with myself I'm a sucker for the underdog." He paused and looked at his feet. Both his shoes matched. He wasn't sure why, but with the way the day was going he half expected one to be a sandal and the other to be a boot. It definitely wouldn't be the weirdest thing that happened to him today. Though, it would be reason for worrying since it could be indicative of nerve damage. "But yeah I guess you are on to something there. Whatever the case the morning will always give answers, even if they only come because we're in a hurry."

Almond nodded. "I can do 5 a.m. I could do now if I had to. Would rather do now since its going to be an uphill climb after a broken back to get to sleep." He sighed. "Though going out half cocked like that, after a long day and no rest is a sure fire way to end up a footnote in history books under the greatest mistakes ever made." He swallowed hard. "So bed it is and then 5am we do." He pulled something out of his pocket. It was a purple and white bottle with the word Melatonin 3mg in bright yellow letters. "Hopefully we fixed everything before I run out of these, because then I'm really in trouble." He popped one and swallowed it dry. "ACtually, its amazing I have these at all. Usually I leave them at home."

"Well, I'll be out like a light soon so better find somewhere to sleep." He looked around and sighed. "The floor it is. Not that that's a problem since I'll only be uncomfortable for a few minutes before I'm out of it." He walked over to a switch flicked it so they were in darkness and curled up on the floor. "Good night Haruki. Pleasant dreams and what not. Oh, and if you wake up to screaming, I apologize but sometimes I get night terrors when I take a pill." He closed his eyes and was out before he knew it.

There was a dream, but Almond couldn't remember what it was. There was laughing, that he knew, and something scratching glass, but he couldn't remember anything else. Oh, and a scream too, but that was only his mind's way of trying to keep him asleep while his new friend's alarm went off. "Ugh." He mumbled, trying to work in some spit thanks to a dry mouth. "Ma. Guh." He shook his head. "UGH! I need water. Where's the water?" He turned to Haruki. "Hey, are you awake yet?"

He got up and walked over to where Oak went the day before and found the kitchen. He poured himself a cup of water and drank deeply. "So I'm going to go ahead and get the Bulbasaur, because I"ve played him so many times." Almond walked over to the table, got the ball, and put it in his pocket. "Ready to go?"

There was a knock at the door and Professor Oak stepped inside. "Good morning Almond. Good morning Haruki. I hope you two slept well last night. I saw you at the window and figured it was as good a time as any to say hello." He reached into his pockets. "Also I've got something for you two." A pair of red devices with a keyboard and black screens appeared in his hands. "Behold my new and improved pokegear."

Haruki blinked at the sight of the medication, but she didn't question him about it. Now wasn't the time. She nodded and answered "Night, Almond," After he had gone to sleep, she felt bad for taking the couch, so she took the time to place the spare blanket over his body, before she lied back down on the bed and went to sleep. She was quite a sound sleeper, so for her, it only seemed as though a second had passed by before her alarm sounded loud and clear. She silenced her phone, pocketed her phone, and she blinked rapidly, trying to wake herself up. She heard Almond's question and she slurred with drowsiness, "I'm up! I'm up. Try the kitchen,"

She after a few moments and a yawn, she grabbed the Pokeball that contained a Squirtle, and she went into the kitchen (feeling dehydrated as well). She nodded to him after he told her that he was going to get a Bulbasaur, and commented "OK. I've already picked up Squirtle's Pokeball," While he was out of the kitchen, she got herself a different glass of water and chugged it, before following him out. She answered his question, "As ready as I'll ever be,"

Before the two could leave, there was a knock, and Haruki turned to see Professor Oak. She felt hesitant, since she had set an alarm...it must have woken up the Professor as well. Oops... She smiled to him politely and she greeted in return, "Ah, Morning Professor Oak! Oh...Shoot, I'm sorry if my alarm woke you up,"
When he gave them the pokegear, she looked in awe, and she thanked Professor Oak. She then asked out of curiosity, "The pokegear gives information on pokemon we come across, am I right?" She wondered if it did anything else. She was curious about the technology.

"Oh no!" The professor said, shaking his head. "Not at all. To be completely honest I'm usually up before this, but I saw you two through the kitchen window and figured you'd be both be up for as early as a start as possible." He nodded to Haruki. "Yes, that's one of its applications but there's a bit more to it." He held the device up as he spoke. "There's also a map here." He turned it on and showed her where the map was. "A radio." Again, an step by step tutorial on how to go about turning on the radio. "It can be used to take/send calls, and record numbers." This was given the briefest of explanations. "Capture videos, and view streaming videos." Again, he showed them. Then he grinned. "This is actually the latest model and I'm really proud of it since I've been able to add a few really cool new tools. First and foremost there's this." He brought up a section that allowed the user to download and install apps. "This." A calculator function. "And most vitally, and its a bit embarrassing to admit it took so many generations to add this" a flashlight. He handed them both a pokegear. "Now take care you too. This world can be a dangerous place, even without those shadow things lurking around."

"Wow thanks!" Almond said, looking at the balls and the gear. "We really appreciate this." The old man nodded and offered each of the new trainers a hand and in return the professor expressed he always felt happy to help new trainers get started on their paths.

Oak started moving out of the way but then stopped. "Oh. Silly me! In my old age I'm starting to forget things." His hands disappeared into his pockets and he handed them each three pokeballs. "I'm sorry that there's only three for each of you. Usually I like to give a new trainer five, but I'm a bit short at the moment. Also, before I forget about this too I've taken the opportunity to add my contact into the systems in the chance you'll need any help." He looked around and then crouched down a little to talk closer to both of them. "Also, I wasn't sure what would be the best way for dealing with those shadow things. It's what kept me up most of the night. The number for the Pewter city police force is on there too encase you feel bringing them in is the best way to go." He stood up straighter and this time managed to move aside without remembering anything. "You kids, take care. Don't hesitate to call if you need anything."

Almond nodded and decided to head out. He hated to be rude(to people he genuinely liked) but time was of the essence. "See you later professor Oak!" Then he stepped out the door and started down the path to become a pokemon master(world savior which may or may not be equal to a pokemon master.) He got a few yards away from the house before stopping to check out the map. "ER." He turned to Haruki. "Do you remember how to find the maps on these things? I didn't want to say anything to the professor for fear it might worry him, but I'm terrible with electronics. On two separate occasions a cell phone just went up in flames in my hands."

Haruki paid close attention as Professor Oak showed her how to use the Pokegear, and the additional functions on it. It reminded her a lot of her IPhone, but she made no such comment. She didn't want to rain on Professor Oak's parade, so she just accepted the pokegear, and pokeballs, with a bright smile. It briefly went away when he leaned in and told them that he included the Pewter City Police Force's number into their Pokegear. After he finished and told them to take care, she nodded and answered with a kind smile, "You too, Professor. Thank you so much!" She waved bye to him and walked away with Almond.

She stopped when he spoke up hesitantly, and she raised an eyebrow at him. She blurted out of curiosity and confusion, "Your cell phone went up in flames...What were you doing? Messing around with the Lithium battery?" She shook her head and answered "Never mind, that's not important. Yes, I remember how to use the maps. Hold on a second..." She took out her pokegear and she got up the maps and she was able to pull up the directions to Pewter City. She told Almond once she was done, "OK. I got it. Let's go," She then led the way through Pallet Town and headed for the exit and the path that would lead them there.

As she led the way, the sun began to rise.

Almond shrugged and opened his mouth to explain that one time was due, in part to a faulty battery, and the other time was because someone showed him how to change the background on his phone. He still wasn't sure about the second time. He didn't get to say any of this because Haruki told him not to worry about it. So he shrugged again. No point in pushing the information. He'd just cross his fingers and hope something similar wouldn't happen with his pokegear, because if it did, and there was no way to get it fixed, then he'd be stuck with the world's most expensive paperweight/ potential blunt weapon.

He followed her outside of the town's boundary into the tall grass. "So, are you ready for this?" He swallowed hard and hoped his pokemon liked him. "Would probably have been a better idea if we talked with our pokemon for awhile before heading into the tall grass, huh?" There was a rustle around them. Almond tensed and pulled out his sole occupied pokeball, and waited, ready to sling it at whatever appeared but nothing happened. "Haha well then, that answers that." He tossed the ball gently on the ground. There was a flash of light and Almond's bulbasaur appeared.

"Hello new friend." He said crouching down to pat the grass pokemon on the head. "From this day forth you shall be known as Walnut." The pokemon gave him a look but didn't say anything. He turned and pointed to Haruki. "This is our friend Haruki. Watch out for her too, okay, because if something happens to her then we're stuck out here, or will be once we get further away from town." Again, another blank look.

"Well now that I got Walnut here, ready by my side, I'm good to go way into the tall grass." He smiled nervously.

Haruki nodded in response to Almond's question as she walked through the tall grass. When he mentioned talking to their pokemon beforehand, she groaned and face palmed herself, "Yeah...we should've done that," She tensed when she heard nearby rustling, and she turned to face it. But there was nothing there. She sighed through her nose as she relaxed a bit. She watched as Almond called upon his Bulbasaur anyways, and started talking to it. She raised an eyebrow at the fact that the Bulbasaur seemed to have little to no reaction to Almond's words. She couldn't help but wonder as to what was going on through the Bulbasaur's head. She remembered the anime and the premise that Pokemon want to be the Trainer's friend. But this Bulbasaur looked as though it could care less about Almond and what he was saying....It was a little disconcerting to Haruki.

She looked at her occupied pokeball in slight worry. Was the Squirtle going to be the same? Would it...hate her if it saw her? She shook her head, realizing that she shouldn't think that way when meeting that pokemon. She put away the Pokeball and she looked to Walnut with a smile and she greeted "It's nice to meet you, Walnut. Hope we can be great friends," She then looked to Almond, and she said to him in worry, "We should probably keep going...before something big attacked us,"

Bulbasaur gave Haruki a look. It was different then what it was giving Almond. Instead of seeming to be perplexed to the point that going cross eyes would be mandatory, it smiled. "Bulb" and gave a little nod.

"Alrighty Walnut!" Almond said, looking around. "Let's do Haruki's suggestion and get out of here. The sooner we make it the next city/town/cabin with an adorable old couple who'll let us rest, the sooner we'll get to Pewter city and see where we go from there." He sighed. "Oh. Where Oh where will we go from there?" He perked up a bit as he started walking and turned to Haruki. "Hey do you think there'll be some kind of reward when this is all over? I don't mean like something big and flashy, but at least like a special medal that can't be made anywhere but in the hands of an angel? I'd like that. Bet it would fetch a pretty penny on ebay."

Another rustle in the grass ahead of them. Walnut stopped and let out a low rumble that could've been taken as a growl, but cuter. "Hmm?" Almond stopped a few feet after and turned back to look at the pokemon. "What's going on? Is there something ahead of us?" The pokemon didn't answer, just continued his low warning music.

Haruki smiled a bit when she got a positive response from Bulbasaur. She looked to Almond in slight deadpan, and she commented in said deadpan with a slight roll of her eyes, "I really wouldn't count on other strangers to be as kind as Professor Oak, if I were you," She hoped to not impose on strangers too much. If they could, hopefully they can figure out a way to buy a room at an inn. When he asked his question, she whipped out her pokegear that still displayed the directions and she answered him, "This way," before leading the way once again. As she led on, she heard his next question, and she answered him honestly, "I highly doubt it. We were thrown into this. We didn't volunteer to take on this adventure,"

She stopped when she heard the rustling and she looked to see Bulbasaur was growling towards the source. Haruki looked and listened carefully, trying to see what was in front of them, with Squirtle's Pokeball in her hand.

"Maybe, he's just paranoid. It could run in the family? Something like that runs in my family, but its not quiet as cheerful. Well, there's that not so quiet cheerful thing and the shorter leg. My left one is about a third of an inch closer to the ground than my write one." Almond realized he was babbling, it was a nervous habit, and bit down on his lips. He looked around at the brightly lit grass and a slight shudder went through him. There could practically be anything anywhere. Not for the first time he wished he had some kind of weapon, any kind. Having a pokemon was great, but something he could use with his own hands to either help out WAlnut or defend himself while his pokemon was busy couldn't hurt. That is unless he stabbed himself with it, but how bad could one person be with every conceivable form of equipment?

There was another rustling in the bushes, but it went the opposite direction from them and before too long the sound disappeared altogether and Walnut stopped its growling. "Wonder what that was." Almond swallowed hard and started walking again. He watched Walnut as he did so, noting how the pokemon's eyes darted around as if it was tracking something. "Hey, those things back there, at our world, do you think they were smart? I mean, were they just mindless minions or could they think? I don't know. To me it looked like they were just pawns advancing. What about you?"

Somewhere to their left there was a startled cry and a group of pidgeys shot into the air.

"Maybe we should start walking a little faster?"

Haruki ignored Almond's babbling, and she watched warily, until the sound disappeared and headed in the opposite direction. After he stated his question about what it was, she answered him, "I don't know...but I don't think this is over quite yet," She walked with him, and when he asked about the statues back in their world, she shrugged "I don't know...Those soldiers could've been thinking, despite acting like soldiers," She snapped to attention and looked to the left when a startled cry resounded, causing Pidgeys to fly through the air. She looked to Almond, and she asked him, "We should, but someone may be in trouble! Let's go!" She then ran towards the sound, leading the way.

She didn't stop until she reached a clearing, and she looked around for where the cause of the noises would be. She took out her pokeball, ready to call upon Squirtle if she needed to. For now, she needed to see if anyone was there, and was okay.

"Wait" Almond called, raising his hand to try and catch Haruki before she went into the tall grass where the danger was. "Why is your first reaction to run into the danger?" He didn't get a response and would've spent a few moments, not a lot, thinking about what to do next, but Walnut didn't, and hurried off after Haruki. "Oh! Et tu Brutus!" He called, shaking his head as he rant to catch up to the pokemon who was supposed to listen to him. It was like his huskies all over again, charging into a Rottweiler, St Bernard, Irish wolf hound or whatever potential threat chance had put in their path, or behind them, or around the next corner.

As he ran he came into a clearing surrounded by tall grass. There were scratch marks in the dirt, probably from the pidgeys. Walnut's green eyes darted around. He growled again. This time his warning wasn't met with silence. Something big didn't like them, and it was even angrier now that they had done some following of their own. It was obvious because before Almond could say they should leave a flaming dog lunged out of the growth and spit a streak of flames right at Walnut

Haruki didn't see anyone here that seemed to be in trouble, but then again, the tall grass could be obscuring any sign of a possible victim. Before she could even think of leaving, a flaming dog (she guessed it was a Growlithe or an Arcanine) appeared, and spat fire at Walnut. She called to Walnut, knowing the type advantage the wild Pokemon had, "Walnut, watch out!" She pulled out her Pokeball, ready to call out Squirtle and ignore the doubts that clawed at her mind once again. Did Squirtle know water gun already? Or did both of their Pokemon just know basic attacks.

Walnut heard Haruki's warning. He didn't need it. He'd been the first one to know they were dealing with a fire type, and even tried grumbling a warning, but nobody listened. Did they ever? He'd think about it later, and probably come to the conclusion there was a barrier with the language as for now there were more important things at hand, such as not letting himself become a roast. Which he planned to help come to fruition by the simple act of not being where the fire landed.

"Holy hell!' Almond shouted as he looked around for some kind of way to aid his pokemon. "That's a growlith!" Walnut landed and gave him a look that seemed to scream 'shut up and tell me what to do you gawking bastard!' Almond noticed this and shouted "Dodge it Walnut!" He was referring to another stream of fire rushing towards his pokemon.

"Uh." He swallowed hard. "Do you know vine whip?" The pokemon didn't. The confused stare was enough. "Okay then. How about trying to get close and then going for a tackle?" That Walnut could do, potentially. So he started rushing towards the fire type, ready to leap aside in case another jet of flames burned his way.

"Hey Haruki, maybe some help? Your pokemon would have the advantage and we'd have the advantage of numbers."

Haruki nodded to Almond, and gulped in response, "Right! On it!" She then threw the Pokeball in her hand and called "Come on out of your shell, Squirtle!" In a flash of light, the Squirtle appeared. At first, the Squirtle was confused about the situation it suddenly found itself in, but it didn't take long for the turtle Pokemon to catch on to what was going on.

Haruki recalled the basic attacks that Squirtle should know, and she called to Squirtle, with newfound confidence, "Squirtle! Protect the Bulbasaur, and use Tackle on the Growlith!" The Pokemon answered "Squirt!" as it tried to head butt the dog like Pokemon.

The wild growlith was too preoccupied with his assault on Jim's walnut to notice the rapidly approaching squirtle as it rushed towards him. Eventually he realized there was a newcomer to the battle, but by then he was rolling on the ground. It hurt but he wasn't out of the fight yet. He hoped to his feet and blasted another stream of plasma, this time at squirtle.

"Now's your chance WAlnut, give him another tackle!" Walnut nodded. "Bulba" and rushed towards Growlith while his attention was focused on squirtle.

The blast of fire successfully hit the Squirtle. The Squirtle was knocked down, but he didn't sustain any serious injuries. While the Bulbasaur attacked the Growlithe again with a tackle, Haruki asked Squirtle "Are you alright, Squirtle?" She got a nod and a seemingly cheerful "Squirtle!" in response. To the Squirtle, the Ember attack was nothing but a mild annoyance. It was confident that it could defeat the Growlithe. Haruki let out a breath in relief, and she called to the Squirtle after Walnut attacked the Growlithe, "Don't let Growlithe attack Bulbasaur, hit it with another tackle!" The Squirtle obliged and it charged at the Growlithe again.

As the battle continued, Haruki realized something. It was a rare occurrence to run into a wild Growlithe, (at least in the games), so this is a good chance to get a fire type Pokemon on their side. She drew out an empty Pokeball, waiting for the right moment to catch the Growlithe, before it faints. She told Almond, "Hey, I think we should try to catch Growlithe. What do you think?"