PART I of II
    “Zaaap!” Zapdos called, looking down to the island he was soaring high above. Ever since waking up on the beach earlier the previous day and not seeing his trainer, or any of his friends, he had taken off in search of them. (He was also keeping an eye out for his Poké Ball, since it was missing when he woke up - presumably, the Ball slipped out of Chas’ pouch during the storm, and clicked open when it hit a rock or something.) Zapdos squinted his eyes, narrowing his field of vision, but still didn’t see anything. “Dooos!” he called in his crackling voice, soaring on to find his trainer and friends.

-----

    Soon, Shelbert awoke to the feeling of something poking his shoulder. He groggily picked himself up off the ground, rubbed his eyes, then looked at who was poking him. He found himself face-to-dopey face with a Psyduck. “Psy. Psy-y-y!” it said worriedly.

    “Squir?” Shelbert asked, getting up. By now, because of their talking, Machop and Grimer started to wake up as well. Jiggles was still asleep, though.
    “Duck! Psyduck duck!” the Psyduck exclaimed frantically, waving its arms.
    “Grimer?” Grimer asked. “Mer mer grime?”
    The Psyduck nodded. “Duck psy psy-y-y!” it cried.
    Machop shook his head. “Chop chop!” he declared. He had already taken a beating at the hands of that bird, and didn’t care to do it again.
    Shelbert, on the other hand, couldn’t refuse the Psyduck’s cry for help. “Irtle squirt!” he said bravely, planting a fist on his chest. He turned back to Jiggles. “Squirtle!” he said.
    Slowly, Jiggles sat up. “Wig?” he asked.
    “Squirt irtle squir irt!” Shelbert answered.
    Jiggles leapt to his feet. “Wigglytuff!” he said, more than willing to help out his friend on this task.
    Shelbert began to follow the Psyduck out of the cavern they were all in, with Jiggles following. “Grimer?” Grimer asked, pointing to himself and Machop.
    Shelbert looked back at him and nodded. “Irrrr, squirt.” he said.
    “Grime!” Grimer said happily. He grabbed ahold of Machop’s left arm and began pulling the reluctant fighting Pokémon along behind him.
    “Duck...” the Psyduck muttered as it entered a tunnel, hoping that its friends were all right.

-----

    “What’s that?” Jade asked loudly, waking up Chas. Actually, it wasn’t just her question that woke him up; the sound of a bird’s crowing also ended his slumber.
    “It sounds awfully big...” Joey said nervously.
    “What’s happening?” Chas asked, sitting up.
    “We hear something.” Jade said. “Sounds like some sort of bird, farther down the tunnel.”
    Chas listened closely. It was, indeed, a bird, but its voice sounded somewhat like wind chimes blowing in a light breeze. “What is it?” he asked the two members of Team Rocket.
    “Beats me.” Jade said.
    “It sounds big!” Joey whined.
    “Shut up.” Jade ordered.
    Chas stood up, and was no taller than both Joey and Jade, who were kneeling at the mouth of the small cave they had slept in the night before. “C’mon, let’s go check it out.” he said, stepping forward.
    Joey grabbed him and pulled him down to the ground. “Are you crazy?” he asked. “That thing sounds big! You’re not going out there!”
    “Yes I am!” Chas said. “If that thing IS big, then it might be a danger for our lost Pokémon! We might be able to scare it away or something! Now, come on!”
    Chas stepped out of the cave. Jade reluctantly followed the young boy, and Joey (even more reluctant than Jade) followed soon after. Together, led by Chas, the three of them started making their way down the tunnel, in the direction of the strange, wind-chime noises.

-----

    “Psy-y-y!” the Psyduck yelped when it saw the creature again. “Duck duck duck!”
    Shelbert and Jiggles stepped out of the tunnel, into a large cavern connecting many tunnels. Machop and Grimer followed them into the cavern, and when they all saw the same ice bird as they saw last night, they were frozen with fear.
    “UUUUUno!” the ice bird crowed in its wind-chime voice as it hovered over a group of three cowering Psyducks. It slowly reached forward with its talons, terrifying them even more. The ice bird really enjoyed terrorizing the natives of these caves; it sure was a fun way to pass the time.
    “PSYYYYY!!” all three Psyducks cried out.
    Shelbert had heard enough. He had to do something. “Squirt!” he hollered, stepping farther into the tunnel.
    The ice bird turned to face him. It recognized the Squirtle immediately. “Arrrrtic...” it said, turning away from the three Psyducks. (And the moment its attention was off them, the Psyducks scrambled away, running into a tunnel on the other side of the cavern.) The ice bird started inching forward to attack Shelbert.
    “Chop!” Machop warned, urging Shelbert to run. But Shelbert wouldn’t; he was going to end this bird’s reign of terror here and now. Shelbert stared at the bird with the most menacing look he could muster. Of course, it was no Leer attack, but the bird seemed to be a little intimidated.
    “Grime...” Grimer said, amazed at Shelbert’s bravery. “Grimer!” he then shouted, raising a fist in the air, cheering for Shelbert.

    “That must be it.” Chas said, looking at the ice bird hovering in the middle of the cavern he, Joey and Jade now found themselves standing in. They were standing at an entrance about ten meters off the floor of the cavern, but the walls sloped gently enough for them to walk down safely if they wanted to.
    Of course, none of them dared enter, what with such a large, dangerous-looking bird inside. “What is that thing?” Joey asked.
    It looked somewhat familiar to Chas. “I think it might be an... Articuno...” he muttered, remembering the bird he saw through the binoculars in the lookout station on his first trip to Fuchsia City. Chas quickly pulled out his Pokédex and scanned the creature.
    *Articuno.* the Pokédex said. *A freeze Pokémon. A legendary bird Pokémon that is said to appear to doomed people who are lost in icy mountains.*
    “That IS Articuno!” Chas said.
    “An Articuno?” Jade asked. “Those are supposed to be really rare!”
    “We should catch it for the boss!” Joey suggested.
    “Good luck with that.” Chas said.
    “What do you mean?” Joey asked.
    Chas turned to face him. “You don’t have any Pokémon to battle it with.” he said. Then, turning back to the Articuno, he said, “I, on the other hand, do. Snoozer, go!”
    Chas threw a Poké Ball down to the floor of the cavern. It landed with a ‘clink’, then snapped open and sent forth the Snorlax inside. “Lax!” Snoozer shouted upon arrival, ready to attack.
    “Tic!” the Articuno shouted, whipping around to face Snoozer. Snoozer moved toward it, but before he got close to it, the Articuno breathed out a blast of ice, covering Snoozer with it. Snoozer yelled out as the freezing cold beam washed over his body.
    “Frostbitten!” Joey laughed.
    “Oh, shut up!” Chas said. “Snoozer, use your new Strength attack!”
    “Snorrr!” Snoozer yelled, leaping forward. He grabbed ahold of the Articuno and crushed it between his arms and belly with all his might, squeezing the energy out of it. The Articuno quickly slipped out of his grasp, however, and flew away a good distance.
    It was then that Snoozer spotted four familiar Pokémon standing next to a Psyduck. “Squir?” Shelbert asked.
    “Snor!” Snoozer said, happy to see his little friends (and Machop and Grimer).
    The Articuno took this as its opportunity to attack. “Uuuuuno!” it shouted, flying down and Pecking Snoozer on the head.
    “Orrr!” Snoozer yelled, holding his head. He then bashed his head into the Articuno’s body, delivering a massive Headbutt. The Articuno then Pecked him again, right on the forehead. Snoozer bashed it once more with his head, then held a hand to his aching forehead.
    “Arrrr...” the Articuno cooed, breathing out another Ice Beam. The attack hit Snoozer, literally turning him blue. Once it was finished, Snoozer was no longer able to battle. “Artic!” the Articuno declared victoriously.
    Shelbert turned to Machop and Grimer. “Squir! Squirt irt irtle!” he ordered.
    “Mer!” Grimer said affirmatively, nodding.
    “Mach.” Machop said, folding his arms disapprovingly. One Pound from both Jiggles and Grimer later, Machop was ready to fight. “Chooooooop!” he hollered as he and Grimer leapt at the Articuno.
    Joey and Jade saw them. “Hey! There’s Machop!” Joey said.
    “And Grimer!” Jade added.
    No sooner were they within wing’s reach of the Articuno did the ice bird slap them with the back of its wing, sending Machop and Grimer flying across the tunnel. Chas saw they were headed right for him, so he ducked. This left Joey and Jade wide open, and each of them were slammed into by their Pokémon, knocking them down to the ground.
    “Nice... try...” they muttered to their Pokémon.
    “...mmmmm...” both Pokémon murmured weakly.
    Chas beamed Snoozer back into his Poké Ball. He was about to pull out Chirp’s Ball, but he then noticed Shelbert and Jiggles on the ground, on the other side of the cavern. “Shel! Jiggles!” he called.
    “Squirtle!” Shelbert called back, waving.
    “Jiggles, try to Sing it to sleep!” Chas shouted. “Then I’ll try to capture it!”
    “Tuff!” Jiggles called back. As Chas started making his way down to the floor of the cavern, Jiggles stepped up. But before he even got out one verse of his song, the Articuno swooped in and Pecked him badly, sending him flying backwards into Shelbert, both of them collapsing to the ground.
    “Squirrr...” Shelbert grunted, helping Jiggles get up.
    “Tuff.” Jiggles apologized. He got back to his feet and looked for the Articuno. It was nowhere in sight.
    “Jiggles! It’s behind you!” Chas warned, rushing up to his Pokémon.
    The moment Jiggles turned around, he took a bad Peck over the head, flattening out his rubbery body. “Uno!” the Articuno chirped, flying into the middle of the cavern.
    “Tuff tuff!” Jiggles yelled, reforming himself back to normal. He took a deep breath, then began to Sing. “Wiiiiggly tufff... wigglytu-uUU-uffff... wiiiiggly tufff... wigglytufffff...”
    And with that, the Articuno fluttered to the ground, then passed out, sleeping. “Nice work, Jiggles!” Chas said. “Now Pound it a couple times to weaken it up more!”
    Jiggles dashed up to the Articuno and delivered a pair of Pounds to its head. He backed away from it, and was relieved to see it was still sleeping contently. “Wiggly!” Jiggles called back to his trainer.
    “All right.” Chas said, pulling out a Poké Ball. “Poké Ball, GO!!” he shouted, throwing the Ball with all his might. It bounced off the Articuno’s head, then clicked open. The Articuno de-materialized into red energy, and was sucked into the open Poké Ball. The Ball clamped shut around the energy, landed on the ground, and then started wobbling slightly, side to side.
    “Did you get it?” Joey asked, walking up (he, Jade and their Pokémon had climbed down from the tunnel and were now approaching Chas, Jiggles and Shelbert (the Psyduck from earlier had run off when it saw a human - namely Chas - coming)).
    “We’ll soon find out.” Chas said, not taking his eyes off the Poké Ball. It was still wobbling slightly, and the red light on the face of the Ball hadn’t yet blinked off. ‘C’mon... c’mon...’ Chas urged mentally.
    Suddenly, the Poké Ball popped open, releasing a white surge of energy. While the Ball flew back to Chas and landed in his waiting hands, the energy reformed into the Articuno, still asleep. The ice bird let out a seemingly unimpressed snore.
    “What happened?” Chas asked. “It was asleep... how could it have broken out?”
    “Beats me.” Jade said.
    “Well,” Joey started, “I heard somewhere that it’s not just a Pokémon’s physical status that determines whether or not you can catch it. It’s also its personality, its attitude.”
    “What does that mean?” Chas asked.
    “Well, if a Pokémon is really wild, then the chances of capturing it are worse than if it was more calm or tame.” Joey said.
    That made sense. ‘Zapdos WAS caring for eggs when I caught him... that’s probably what made him so easy to catch.’
    “Of course, this thing just might not have been weak enough.” Joey added.
    “That must be it!” Chas said. “All right then. Shel, give it a Tackle to weaken it up!”
    “Irrrrtle!” Shelbert shouted, leaping forward. He prepared to ram himself shell-first into the still sleeping Pokémon.
    “Grimer!” Grimer cheered.
    Which was a mistake. “Tic?” the Articuno asked, opening its eyes. It saw Shelbert coming right at it. “Uno!” it cried, trying its hardest to get airborne again. It wasn’t fast enough to dodge Shelbert’s Tackle, but the attack didn’t really harm it anyway. “Artic!” the ice bird shouted once it was back in the air.
    “Uh-oh.” Chas said. “Shel! Hide in your shell!”
    “Squirt!” Shelbert said, pulling in all his appendages just before the Articuno rammed its beak into his shell. The Articuno continued Pecking away at his shell, trying to break it open to get at the Pokémon inside.
    Chas took this chance. “Jiggles,” he said, pulling out a vial from his backpack, knowing that Shelbert’s shell could withstand the Articuno’s Pecks (at least, hoping it could), “drink this. It’s a Hyper Potion.”
    “Tuff.” Jiggles muttered, unhappy that he always had to drink a Potion when battling tough Pokémon (but at least it made his breath minty-fresh). As he drank down the Hyper Potion, Chas looked back to Shelbert.
    “SQUIRRR!” he cried out as the Articuno’s Ice Beam washed over his shell.
    “Shel!” Chas called.
    But it was too late. The Ice Beam ended, and everyone saw the Squirtle’s shell, completely covered in ice. Shelbert pounded a fist on the ice from the inside, but it was too thick to break. He was completely trapped inside his own shell.
    “That can’t be good for his morale.” Chas said. “Having his own shell used as a cell, or something.”
    The Articuno smashed its beak into Shelbert once again, Pecking him all the way across the cavern. Shelbert’s shell smashed against the wall, cracking the ice that was covering it. Normally, this would have been a good thing, if it wasn’t for the fact that the Peck attack had also knocked him out in the process. Shelbert now lay fainted on the ground, head still spinning from the momentum of the attack.
    “All right; enough child’s play!” Jade said. “It’s time for Team Rocket to claim its prize!”
    “That’s right!” Joey said as he and Jade each pulled out a Poké Ball.
    “Hey! No fair!” Chas said. “I’VE been weakening it up; it’s MY Pokémon!”
    “Poké Ball, GO!!” they both shouted, totally ignoring Chas as they whipped their Poké Balls at the Articuno. The Articuno replied by slapping the Balls away with its wings, sending them smashing right into Machop and Grimer’s heads. It then added an Ice Beam to its reply, encasing both Joey and Jade in freezing blocks of ice.
    “That’s gotta hurt.” Chas muttered. “All right, Jiggles! Go Sing it to sleep again!”
    “Tuff!” Jiggles said, stepping forward.
    “Uno.” the Articuno said, freezing Jiggles solid with another Ice Beam attack. Just before his face was frozen over, though, Jiggles spat something out - it was a Poké Ball. The Ball landed on the ground and started rolling over to Chas.
    “Oh, man!” Chas exclaimed as Jiggles froze completely. “Wouldja stop doin’ that?” he asked the Articuno.
    The Articuno gave Chas a very unimpressed look, as if to say “Who do you think you are?”. It then started stepping forward, getting ready to attack the human.
    Chas nervously backed away. Then the Poké Ball Jiggles spat out rolled up and bumped against his foot. Looking down quick, Chas recognized it as Zapdos’ Ball. ‘How’d that get there?’ he wondered, having assumed Zapdos’ Ball was in his pouch the whole time. He didn’t bother to complain, though, and instead reached down and scooped up the Ball.
    “All right, Mr. Articuno!” Chas declared, standing tall. “You think you’re hot stuff?.. Or, COOL stuff, as the case may be?”
    The Articuno blinked blankly.
    “Well you’ve never gone up against... Zapdos! GO!!”
    Chas threw his Ball at the Zapdos. It landed on the ground, then snapped open. Chas was smiling smugly, but his smile soon faded when nothing came out. “Uh... what happened?” he asked. “Zapdos? I said ‘GO’!” Still nothing.
    Chas sighed. “Zapdos, where are you?”
    “DOOOOOS!” Zapdos crowed, racing into the cavern from a large tunnel in the ceiling. The Articuno looked up and was startled to see such a large bird coming at it. The Articuno dove to the side to avoid a powerful Thundershock, then flapped around Zapdos’ attempted Drill Peck.
    “Yeah! All right!” Chas cheered. “Get ‘im, Zapdos! Uh, but don’t knock him out!”
    “Zap?” Zapdos asked in his crackly voice.
    “Just keep him busy ‘til I heal up Jiggles!” Chas answered.
    Zapdos nodded. Then he took a critical Pecking from the Articuno. “Zapdos!” Zapdos crowed, flapping his wings to put some distance between himself and the opposing bird. The Aritcuno swooped forward, though, and the two of them started grappling with each other, using their talons and wings to do so.
    Chas ran up to the completely frozen over Wigglytuff. He slung off his backpack and quickly fished out a jar of Ice Heal. ‘Good thing I thought to pick some of this stuff up in... uh... wherever I got it.’ Chas thought to himself. He sprinkled the red powder on Jiggles, then waited for its effects to take place.
    “Mrrrr!” Chas heard behind him. He turned around and saw Joey and Jade, still frozen, both with pleading looks on their faces. “Mmmmm?” Joey asked as well as he could (he couldn’t move his mouth at all).
    “Yeah, all right.” Chas said, throwing the jar at them. It shattered and sprinkled the rest of the powder on them. Slowly, both Jiggles and Team Rocket began to thaw out, the powder having melted the ice. Jiggles shook himself off, then stepped out of the puddle of water he was in.
    “Thanks!” Jade said.
    “Thank me later!” Chas said. “I still got an Articuno to catch!”
    “Zaaaaaap!” Zapdos cried, getting Pecked again. He started to spiral down out of the air, heading for the ground.
    “Oh no!” Chas said. “The Articuno beat him!”
    “Call it back then!” Joey said.
    Chas did so. “Zapdos, return!” As Zapdos beamed back into his Poké Ball, Chas looked down to Jiggles. “You know the drill. Go Sing it to sleep!”
    “Tuff tuff tuff...” Jiggles muttered, waddling up to the Articuno. That’s all he was ever allowed to do. Sing, Sing, Sing. And Pound occasionally. Didn’t Chas know about his other two attacks?
    The Articuno Pecked Jiggles on the head as it swooped by overhead. “Uno!” it crowed arrogantly.
    Jiggles shook his head. “Wiiiiggly tufff... wigglytu-uUU-uffff... wiiiiggly tufff... wigglytufffff...” he sang. As before, the Articuno was put to sleep, landing gently on the ground before shutting its eyes. “Tuff. Wiggly?” Jiggles asked Chas in an annoyed tone.
    “Nice work!” Chas said. “Now, Poké-“
    “Poké Ball, GO!!” Joey shouted, throwing his second Poké Ball.
    “What’re you doing?!” Chas demanded.
    “What Team Rocket always does.” Joey said. “Stealing Pokémon!”
    The Ball clicked open, made the Articuno break down into energy, then pulled in the energy and clicked shut. The Ball started wobbling around ever so slightly, attempting to tame the wild bird. “C’mon! Break out!” Chas urged. “Don’t let THEM catch you!”
    “Hey! We’d be just as good a trainer for it as you, kid!” Jade said.
    “Technically, I’D be the trainer.” Joey said. “You could be its aunt.”
    “What?” Jade asked. “I thought we were a team, Joey!”
    “We are.” Joey said. “But-“
    At that moment, the Ball snapped open and was thrown back to its owner, smashing Joey right in the face. Joey fell to the floor, stunned, as the Articuno re-materialized back on the ground. “Ha ha! Guess you WON’T be its trainer.” Jade said. “But I will! Poké Ball, GO!!”
    Chas tried to stop her, but he didn’t reach her before she threw her next Poké Ball. It, too, pulled in the Articuno, then started to wobble. “You can do it, Poké Ball! Tame that thing!” Jade said.
    “No! Don’t do it!” Chas shouted.
    Machop, Grimer and Jiggles all looked at each other and shrugged. Neither one of them knew why their trainers were talking to an inaminate object.
    Then Jade’s Ball snapped open again and flew back at her. Chas ducked out of its way, leaving Jade as its target. She, too, ducked though, and at the same time, Joey got back to his feet. Just in time to take THAT Poké Ball to the face as well. “Doie!” he uttered before falling back to the ground.
    “D’oh! What a stubborn Pokémon!” Jade hissed.
    Apparently, the force of being pulled into two seperate Poké Balls and breaking out of them both was enough to rouse the Articuno out of its slumber. “Tic!..” it muttered weakly, trying to get back up. Jiggles stepped forward to, again, Sing it to sleep. But before he could, the Articuno Pecked him again, knocking him down and causing him to tumble a few feet away.
    “Wig.” Jiggles muttered, trying not to get aggrivated (if he did, he just knew he couldn’t resist Pounding the bird, and that could result in a knock-out). So, as calmly as possible, he sang again. “Wiiiiggly tufff... wigglytu-uUU-uffff... wiiiiggly tufff... wigglytufffff...”
    Chas watched the bird’s eyes close again. “All right, now it’s MY turn!” he said. “Poké Ball, G-“
    “TUFF!!” Jiggles hollered, causing Chas to stop his throw.
    “What’s the matter?” Chas asked.
    Jiggles narrowed his eyes at the Articuno, then marched up to it. He placed a hand on its head, then closed his eyes. A bright flash of light came from both Pokémon, and when it ended, Jiggles backed away. “Wiggly.” Jiggles said to Chas.
    “What was that?” Chas asked.
    “It looked like Disable.” Jade said.
    “Disable?” Chas asked. “You mean, one of the Articuno’s attacks is useless now?”
    “For a while.” Jade said.
    “Then I’d better throw my Poké Ball before it gets its attack back!” Chas said. As quickly as possible (so it would be his Ball and not another one from Team Rocket that sucked in the Pokémon), Chas shouted “Poké Ball, GO!!” and threw the Ball. It beamed in the Articuno, then started to wobble.
    “That’ll never hold it.” Joey said.
    “I don’t know...” Jade said, worriedly. “That Disable might’ve had another effect... it just might make it easier to catch.”
    “Doubtful.” Joey said.
    But he was really put in his place when the Poké Ball went ‘PING’ and the red light on the face of it blinked off. “YES!!” Chas shouted, leaping into the air. “I caught Articuno!”
    “Wigglytuff!” Jiggles cheered.
    “Jiggles, thank you so much for using Disable!” Chas said. “I didn’t even know you knew that attack!”
    “Tuff tuff wiggly.” Jiggles said, hoping that Chas would start to tell him to use Disable more often now.
    Chas walked up and picked up the now motionless Poké Ball. “Articuno...” he whispered, amazed that he was able to catch such a rare and powerful Pokémon. “This makes my second legendary bird Pokémon!”
    “Correction.” Joey said. “This makes Team Rocket’s FIRST legendary bird Pokémon.”
    Chas turned to face them. Joey, Jade, Machop and Grimer were all stepping forward, marching up to Chas. “Give us that Poké Ball.” Jade ordered.
    “No way!” Chas shouted. “Go find your own Articuno!”
    “Wiggly!” Jiggles threatened, leaping in front of Chas.
    “Machop, give that thing a Low Kick, wouldja?” Joey asked.
    “Chop chop!” Machop shouted, running forward.
    Then, something happened that changed everything. The Poké Ball, which Chas was holding high in the air to keep it away from Machop, suddenly began to glow. The black band around the middle lit up first, followed with the rest of the Ball. Then, with a loud zapping sound, the Ball disappeared from view.
    Chas was stunned. “Wha?.. What happened?” he asked, looking at his now empty hand in confusion.
    “Maybe the boss teleported it back to headquarters!” Jade suggested.
    “Yeah!” Joey said as he and Jade embraced each other in a hug. “Score one for Team Rocket!”
    “Now, let’s get rid of these two.” Jade suggested, turning back to Chas.
    “Jiggles! Disable!” Chas ordered.
    “Tuff!” Jiggles said, blasting all four bad guys with his Disable attack. They all immediately froze up, their motor control being Disabled. “Wiggly wiggly!” Jiggles laughed.
    Just then, the four Psyducks from earlier entered the cavern. They closed their eyes and held their hands to their heads. “Psyyy...” they chanted in unison, powering up an attack. They then used their attack, using their mental powers to send Team Rocket flying up through the tunnel in the ceiling, far out of sight.
    “Looks like Team Rocket’s blasting off again!....” Chas heard echo down through the tunnel.
    Chas looked at the Psyducks. “Thanks!” he said. “I owe you one!”
    “Psy! Duck!” the lead Psyduck said, shaking its head.
    “Why? What did I do for you?” Chas asked. “Are you grateful to me for getting rid of that Articuno for you?”
    “Psyduck! Psy!” the Psyduck said happily, smiling and nodding.
    “Well, that was nothing.” Chas said. “You guys have any more problems, you just come to me, all right?”
    “Psy psy psy psy!” the Psyduck laughed.
    “Tuff tuff!” Jiggles chuckled.
    “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have to get out of here.” Chas said. “We need to find a way back to the mainland.”
    “Psy! Psyduck duck!” the Psyduck said, motioning for Chas and Jiggles to follow it. It and the other three Psyducks then started waddling off to a tunnel on the other side of the cavern.
    Chas looked down to Jiggles. “Well, I guess we follow them then.” he said.
    “Wiggly.” Jiggles said, walking after the Psyducks. Chas followed, not really sure where they were being led.
PART II of II
    Chas and Jiggles followed the four Psyducks through the tunnel for a long time, finally coming to its end - a wall of foilage. “What’s this?” Chas asked.
    “Duck.” the lead Psyduck answered, brushing the leaves away. Bright sunlight glared into the tunnel, hurting Chas and Jiggles’ eyes (the Psyducks didn’t seem to mind; either they were used to the bright light, or they were too dumb to realize the sun was burning their eyes). The Psyducks walked out onto the sandy beach outside, followed by Chas and Jiggles.
    “Now what?” Chas asked.
    “Psy! Duck!” the Psyduck said, pointing out to the sea. Chas looked in the direction the Psyduck was pointing and squinted his eyes. It was small and hard to see, but it was definitely a ship of some kind. “Psy-y-y!”
    “A boat!” Chas said. “Great! We just need some way of signaling them... I wish Pikachu was here. He could use his Flash to get their attention.”
    Jiggles looked up to his trainer. “Wig.” he said, stepping forward. He walked up close to the water’s edge, then closed his eyes. “Tuff!” he yelled, firing off a Flash (which blinded Chas, but as with the sunlight, did not seem to affect the Psyducks at all).
    “Oh yeah. I forgot.” Chas said. “Evan said you knew Flash, didn’t he?”
    “Wiggly!” Jiggles said, nodding.
    “Well, keep using it ‘til the boat sees it.” Chas said. As Jiggles continued using his Flash, Chas knelt down to the Psyducks. “Thanks for helping us. I really appreciate it.”
    “Psy psy-y-y-y-y duck.” the Psyduck said thankfully.
    Chas assumed they were still thankful for him catching the Articuno. ‘I wonder what DID happen to him...’ Chas thought. “Well, I guess you guys can go now. The boat should spot us and pick us up. Thanks again.”
    “Psyduck.” the Psyduck said before leading its three friends back into the foilage-covered tunnel. Chas just sat there and watched them leave until they were out of sight, then turned back to look at the boat out at sea. He then realized he should shield his eyes from Jiggles, after taking another Flash.

-----

    “Ahhhh...” Chas sighed, stepping off the ferry’s boarding ramp onto the wooden dock below. “It sure is great to be on solid ground again!”
    “Tuff!” Jiggles said.
    “And best of all,” Chas said, “this is Cinnabar Island!”
    Indeed, it was. After being picked up by the ferry, Chas was told that he would be dropped off on Cinnabar Island, the ferry’s destination. Chas was more than willing to hitch a ride on the ferry then, especially since it meant getting off a deserted island (deserted of all but Pokémon).
    And now, he had arrived. He immediately started searching for the nearest Pokémon Center, so he could heal up his Pokémon after battling against the Articuno. It didn’t take him long to find it, and once he did, he entered, passing by the bike rack.
    ‘I guess it really is a good thing I DIDN’T bring my bike on that ferry,’ Chas thought to himself. ‘If I did, it’d be littering the ocean floor right now.’
    Once inside, Chas zapped Jiggles back into his Poké Ball and approached the front desk. “Hello!” Nurse Joy greeted. “How may I help you?”
    Chas was really shocked. ‘There’s a Nurse Joy on Cinnabar Island, too?’ he thought. ‘I would’ve expected they’d stick to the mainland!’ “Uh, yeah, I need to heal up my Pokémon.”
    “All right. We’ll heal them up.” Nurse Joy said.
    Chas handed over his six Poké Balls. “Say, can I also use your phone?” Chas asked.
    “You can use the video phones over there.” Nurse Joy said, pointing to the phones by the front doors.
    “Okay. Thanks!” Chas said. Nurse Joy walked away with Chas’ six Poké Balls on a tray while Chas walked up to the video phones, only one of which was in use. Chas sat down in front of an empty one and dialed Professor Oak’s number. The line took a longer time than normal to connect (it had to travel across a large body of water to do so), but after a few moments, the line was answered, and Professor Oak’s face appeared on the screen.
    “Chas! Hello!” Oak said.
    “Hi Professor.” Chas said. He decided to get right to the point of his call. “Listen, I just caught-“
    “An Articuno!” Oak answered.
    Chas was stunned. “How did you know?” Chas asked.
    “Because it’s here now!” Oak answered. Oak turned the camera he was talking into to look out the window, where Chas saw his Articuno playing with several other Pokémon (Squeak included).
    “Uh, Professor?” Chas asked. “How’d it get there?”
    “Didn’t you know that Pokémon trainers can only carry six Pokémon at a time?” Oak asked as he turned the camera back to face himself.
    “Yeah, I knew.” Chas said. “But why did my Articuno teleport there?”
    “Well, once a trainer collects a seventh Pokémon,” Oak explained, “the Pokémon detected by your Pokédex and is automatically transported to whereever you got your Pokédex from. That’s why Articuno was here.”
    “Oh!” Chas said. “That’s cool! I didn’t know that happened!” Chas started thinking. “Boy, this could really change the way I catch Pokémon.”
    “How do you mean?” Oak asked.
    “Well, I always knew the Pokémon League rules say that a trainer can only carry six Pokémon at a time.” Chas said. “But I didn’t know that any Pokémon over six get transported. I originally thought that, to catch a new Pokémon and follow the League rules, I’d have to transport some of my Pokémon to your lab, then I’d have an empty spot for a new Pokémon.”
    “Ah. But now that you know extra Pokémon come here automatically, you can start catching all sorts of Pokémon!” Oak said.
    “Yeah.” Chas said. “Cool!”
    “Anyway, I see you’re calling me from the Cinnabar Island Pokémon Center.” Oak said. “You’ve reached Cinnabar, I take it?”
    “I sure have!” Chas said. He was about to tell Oak about how he was stranded on the Seafoam Islands, but he decided against it. “I just got here about ten minutes ago.”
    “That’s great!” Oak said. “Now you can collect another Badge!”
    “Oh yeah, I almost forgot.” Chas said. He stretched out his backpack strap, showing off his Soul Badge to Oak. “I got the Soul Badge from Fuchsia Gym.”
    “That’s very good.” Oak said. “I just got a call from Adrian yesterday, and he said he had the same six you have.”
    “I don’t doubt it.” Chas sighed.
    “And that’s also the number of Badges my grandson, Gary, has!” Oak said.
    “I guess so.” Chas said.
    “Don’t let that get you down.” Oak said. “Remember, go for quality, not quantity.”
    “I try my best.” Chas said. “And I think I do well, too! I mean, after all, I still have my Zapdos, and I caught Articuno.”
    “That’s good work, Chas.” Oak said. “Will you be bringing Articuno into your current line-up? Or do I have time to study and examine it?”
    “Well...” Chas said, thinking. He didn’t really want to bring Articuno into his line-up right yet, remembering how mean he was when Chas tried to capture him. “You can keep ‘im for a while, I guess.”
    “That’s great!” Oak said. “Well, I guess you should be headed for Cinnabar Gym now, hmm?”
    “I guess so.” Chas said. Then, realizing something, he slapped his forehead. “I forgot!”
    “What?” Oak asked.
    “I promised Pikachu that I’d use him and Shelbert to win all the other Badges!” Chas said. “And I traded Pikachu to a friend a while ago, and he’s probably back on the mainland!”
    “Well, you don’t need to use your Pikachu to win.” Oak said.
    “Yeah, but I made a promise, and I wanna keep it.” Chas said.
    “Then you should catch the next ferry back here I suggest.” Oak said.
    “I guess I’ll have to.” Chas said. “But how’ll I find out where Evan, the guy I traded Pikachu to, is?”
    “Try calling him up on the on-line Pokémon forum.” Oak said. “If he’s on-line, you can communicate with him and see where he’s at.”
    “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” Chas said. He looked over to the PCs, seeing that none of them were in use. “Well, I’ll go look for him now. So long, Professor!”
    “Good luck on your journey, Chas!” Oak said. He then switched off the line, causing the screen to go blank. Chas got up out of his seat and walked over to a PC, then sat down again. He clicked the link-up icon for the Pokémon forum, then entered Evan’s ID No.: 06286.
    “C’mon... be on-line.” Chas said.
    After a few moments of searching, the computed dinged, and a message box popped up. [Hi, Chas!] the box said.
    “Great!” Chas exclaimed. He tapped on the keyboard, spelling out a message. [I’m gonna click the button for video feed.] And yes, he spelt ‘going to’ as ‘gonna’.
    [Go ahead.] came the response.
    Chas pressed the big, red VIDEO button and a moment later, the screen displayed an image of Evan’s face, just as Evan’s screen showed Chas’ face. “Hiya, Ev!” Chas said.
    “Hi!” Evan greeted.
    “So, how’s Pikachu been doing?” Chas asked.
    Evan sighed. “You sure have one disobedient Pokémon, y’know that?” Evan asked.
    “What do you mean?” Chas asked.
    “Well, I tell it to do one thing, and it goes and does something completely different!” Evan said. At this point, Chas could see Pikachu in the background, rooting through Evan’s backpack.
    “Really?” Chas asked.
    “Yeah!” Evan said. “And what’s worse, sometimes he just doesn’t do anything! We were fighting a wild Voltorb once, and he just sat there and wouldn’t do anything! Eventually, the Voltorb just got bored and left, but still...”
    “Hmm... he was never disobedient with me.” Chas said. “Maybe he just doesn’t like you.”
    Chas saw Pikachu pull out a big piece of pie from Evan’s backpack. He then saw Crisp, Evan’s Charmeleon, walk up and begin fighting with Pikachu to get the food away from him. One Thunderbolt later, Crisp was out for the count. Evan turned around, spotted the scene, then turned back to face Chas. “See what I mean?”
    Chas didn’t know what to say. He found Evan’s situation more hilarious than anything.
    “Anyway, how’s Jiggles been doing?” Evan asked.
    “Oh, just great!” Chas said. “I caught that Zapdos because of him, and I also caught an Articuno! Thanks for lending him to me!”
    “No problem.” Evan said. “But, uh, can we trade back soon? I mean, your Pikachu won’t even listen to me, and I can’t even teleport him back home, ‘cause he needs to be in his Poké Ball to be transported, and I can’t get him to go back IN his Ball.”
    “Yeah, that’s why I called you up.” Chas said. “Where are you?”
    “I’m in the Pokémon Center outside Rock Tunnel.” Evan said.
    “Still?” Chas asked.
    “Well, I wanted to level up my team before going in there.” Evan said. “You said it was dangerous, so I thought the stronger my team is, the better.”
    “That makes sense.” Chas said. “Well, right now I’m on Cinnabar Island, so-“
    “Really?” Evan asked. “You’re on Cinnabar? Cool!”
    “Yeah.” Chas said. “But I don’t wanna challenge the Cinnabar Gym Leader yet, ‘cause I promised Pikachu I’d use him, and Shelbert, to win all my other Badges. So, I wanted to know where to find you once I take a ferry back to the mainland.”
    “Well, now you know where I’m at.” Evan said. “I’ll be here for another couple days, too, maybe. I want to make sure my guys are as strong as they can be before risking Rock Tunnel.”
    “All right.” Chas said. “I’ll try to get there as soon as I can so we can trade back.”
    “Great!” Evan said. Then there was a crashing noise off-camera, and Evan turned to face it. “No, Pikachu! Get off the table!” he shouted.
    “Pikapi!” Pikachu shouted back, totally disobedient. Chas snickered.
    “Listen, I gotta go. Your Pikachu’s makin’ a mess again.” Evan said. With that, Evan switched off the video feed and disconnected from the Pokémon forum. Chas just shook his head in pity of Evan’s problem with Pikachu, then switched off his end of the line, too.
    “Well, might as well check out the city while I’m waiting for the guys to heal up,” Chas said. He adjusted his backpack to a more confortable position, then stepped outside into the bright sunlight. Then his stomach grumbled. Looking at his watch, he saw it was 5:00 PM. “Maybe I’ll go find a McDonalds first,” he said, walking off down the street.

-----

    “Sorry, kid. Y’just missed it.”
    “What?” Chas asked.
    “The last ferry to Fuchsia City just set sail about ten minutes ago.” the man on the dock said. “The next one won’t be leaving ‘til 8:00 AM tomorrow morning.”
    “That’s just great!” Chas shouted sarcastically. “Here I am, within walking distance of another Pokémon Gym, and I can’t go there ‘cause Pikachu’s still on the mainland. Just great.”
    “You can buy your ticket now, though.” the man said.
    “Yeah, all right.” Chas said. He paid the man the right amount of money, and got a little red ticket in return. Chas walked off the dock slowly, with Shelbert following.
    “Squir?” Shelbert asked.
    “If only you guys’d been healed up just ten minutes faster,” Chas muttered. “Oh well. No sense in getting angry. We’ll just have to make the best of our time on Cinnabar, huh?”
    “Irtle!” Shelbert said happily.
    “Now, we’ve already been to the McDonalds,” Chas said. Shelbert cleared his throat. “At least I’VE been there... so now, where can we go?”
    Shelbert just shrugged as he walked alongside his trainer.
    Chas decided to ask a passer-by what all this island had to offer for travelers. He saw a man in a business suit approaching, so he stopped and cleared his throat. “Excuse me, sir, I-“
    “What is it?” the man demanded. “I’m in a hurry for a very important meeting!”
    “Well, I was just wondering if there are any places of interest here on Cinnabar.” Chas said. “I’m new here, and-“
    “Go check out the Pokémon Lab!” the man said in aggrivation. “Something there oughta keep you interested! Now out of my way!”
    The man pushed past Chas and continued on his way. “No need to be so angry about it,” Chas muttered. Then, to Shelbert, he said, “Well, let’s go check out this Pokémon Lab!”
    “Squirtle!” Shelbert said.

-----

    “This must be it,” Chas said, looking at the large, red building in front of him. The words “POKÉMON LAB” were written on a sign above the main doors. “Let’s go see what all’s in here.”
    Shelbert followed Chas inside. He instantly saw several white-coated men and women walking about, with various devices and items in their hands. It sure did look like a laboratory; even moreso than Professor Oak’s lab, which amazed Chas. He saw a man by the back wall, reading bulletins off of a bulletin board, so he decided to ask him what the Pokémon Lab was all about.
    “Excuse me.” Chas said once he reached the man. “I’m new here in town, and I was wondering, what all goes on here in this Pokémon Lab?”
    “Well, welcome to Cinnabar!” the man said. “We study Pokémon extensively here.”
    “Really?” Chas asked.
    “Yes indeedie.” the man said. “In fact, people often bring us rare Pokémon for examination.”
    “Say, like a Zapdos? Or an Articuno?” Chas asked.
    “Yes, like those.” the man said.
    ‘Well, I guess it’s too bad Articuno’s at Oak’s lab, and that I don’t wanna give up Zapdos.’ “Sounds neat.”
    “Feel free to look around, young man.” the man said. “I have a lecture to get to right now. See you later!”
    “Bye!” Chas said as the man walked off down the hall. Once he left, Chas noticed the number of people in the hall started to thin out, and soon, only he and Shelbert were left. “Must ALL have lectures, or something.” Chas said.
    “Squirt.” Shelbert said, starting to wander around.
    “Let’s see what else is in here.” Chas said, walking down one of the halls that led from the main room. He walked slowly, glancing here and there at all the different rooms and signs, spotting a meeting room, a research and development room, and finally, at the end of the hall, a testing room. Chas looked through the glass window on the door of the testing room, spotting only a couple of scientists inside. “Wonder what they’re doing in there,” Chas said to himself.
    “Irt?” Shelbert asked, too short to be able to see through the glass.
    Suddenly, one of the scientists spotted Chas. He started to back away, but the scientist waved for Chas to enter. He opened the door, then stepped inside, followed by Shelbert. “Hiya!” the scientist greeted in a strange accent.
    “Uh... hiya.” Chas said.
    “I am important doctor!” the man said. “I study here rare Pokémon fossils!”
    “Fossils?” Chas asked. “Like the ones from Mt. Moon?” Chas’ mind instantly went back to the fossil that he ‘liberated’ from Team Rocket, oh so long ago.
    “Exactly!” the man said. “You! Have a fossil for me?”
    “Uh...” Chas hesitated. “Well, I DO have a fossil, but it’s kinda stolen, so...”
    “Oh, no bothers.” the man said. “If it’s Mt. Moon fossil, it would have come to be here anyhow.
    “So you mean all the fossils from Mt. Moon were already coming here?” Chas asked.
    “Yes!” the man said.
    “Oh, okay.” Chas said. ‘Good. Technically, I didn’t ‘steal’ it... I ‘couriered’ it.’ Chas dropped his backpack to the floor and dug around through it, pulling out his small, larger-than-fist-sized chunk of rock. “Well, I found this one in Mt. Moon, and since it’s rightfully yours, here you go.”
    The man picked up a tiny scope and peered at the fossil through the scope. “Oh!” he exclaimed. “That is Dome Fossil!”
    “What’s a Dome Fossil?” Chas asked.
    “It is fossil of Kabuto, a Pokémon that is already extinct!” the man answered.
    “Oh. Neat!” Chas said. “So I found a fossilized Pokémon! Cool!”
    “Ah, coolness is even more!” the man said. “My Resurrection Machine will make that Pokémon live again!”
    Chas was stunned for a moment. “What do you mean?” he asked.
    “My Resurrection Machine extracts the DNA molecules from fossils and can clone into living Pokémon!” the man said. “Like in that movie, ‘Triassic Park’.”
    “That’s cool!” Chas said.
    “You wish for me to clone Kabuto?” the man asked.
    “Oh, yeah! Go ahead!” Chas said.
    The man started walking over to a small machine on a desk. “This take a while.” he said. “Come back tomorrow in the morning.”
    “Oh, yeah, okay!” Chas said. “C’mon, Shel! Let’s go!”
    “Squirt!” Shelbert said, following his excited trainer out of the room.
    “Isn’t that neat?” Chas asked. “They can actually clone an extinct Pokémon from that fossil I got from Mt. Moon! Awesome!”
    Just then, Chas stopped. “Irt?” Shelbert asked.
    Chas reached into his backpack and pulled out a shining, golden chunk of rock. “I almost forgot; the guy in the Pewter City museum... Schecky, I think... he told me to bring this to a Pokémon lab. And now that I’m at one...”
    Chas ran back into the room. The man looked up at him. “I take a little time.” he said. “You go now, come back tomorrow.”
    “No, I have something else for you.” Chas said. He walked up to the desk and planted the Old Amber down. “The guy at the Pewter City museum wanted this to be examined.”
    Again, the man looked at the ancient piece of rock through his scope. “Incredible!” he said. “This is piece of Old Amber! It contains the DNA of extinct Pokémon called Aerodactyl!”
    “Aerodactyl?” Chas asked. “That sounds like a dinosaur, or something.”
    “I will set to work on this also!” the man said. “Come see me in the morning!”
    “All right!” Chas said. “C’mon, Shel! Since we’re stuck on this island for the rest of the day, we might as well get a hotel room or something.”
    “Irtle.” Shelbert said, following Chas, once again, out of the room. Together, the two of them left the Pokémon Lab, and set out in search of a nice, comfy hotel bed. (Which Shelbert was looking forward to; finally, Pikachu wasn’t around to take up as much of the bed as possible! Shelbert could FINALLY get a good night’s sleep!)

-----

    “Squirt!” Shelbert complained, getting kicked by Chas’ foot again. Shelbert slapped at the foot, but reflexively, the sleeping boy kicked again, knocking Shelbert off the bed for the third time. Shelbert stuck his head out of his shell (he had pulled it in when he fell off the bed), and gave Chas a mean look. He then went over to the plush lazy-boy recliner in the corner, climbed up on that, and started to fall asleep.
    But Chas’ snoring was keeping him awake. “Squir irrrr irtle...” Shelbert grumbled, pulling himself inside his shell to block out the noise.
    It didn’t.

To Be Continued…

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