Last time on Pokemon: Johto Quest! After some training outside of Goldenrod City, Eddy evolved into a Flaaffy! But Emily had gone through what could be considered a nightmare after eating some Rare Candies she obtained from Arthur’s Arcade. Thankfully, she was saved by what she believed to be Arceus.
Emily found herself laying on a green hospital bed in a white room with a window near the door, wondering where she was. Then, she looked to her right. There, she saw Eddy sleeping on a row of plastic chairs, wet trails running down his face from tears long gone. She also spotted a wooden night stand with a giant water bottle on top.
“Eddy?” she asked.
Eddy awoke and sprung to his feet. With a smile, he leapt onto the bed and gave her a hug before bolting from the room. Moments later, he returned with Officer Jenny and a nurse.
Officer Jenny and the nurse stared open mouthed at Emily, who was now guzzling the water. Officer Jenny grinned at the nurse as she held out her hand. The nurse groaned, placing at least five thousand Poken in her palm.
“Hi Emily!” said Officer Jenny.
Emily stopped and gasped. “Officer Jenny? Wh---”
“Uh. W-Well, I heard you got yourself into some trouble.”
Emily excitedly recounted her meeting with Arceus, noting that it saved her and did an uncanny Officer Jenny impression. She sighed upon finishing. “Sorry I didn’t get a picture.”
Officer Jenny laughed. “Oh don’t worry about it.”
“This is a weird room.”
“That it is. Who knew Goldenrod’s Pokemon Center had this giant basement?” Officer Jenny turned to the nurse. “Do all Pokemon Centers have this?”
“I believe so,” the nurse replied. She then walked over to Emily and performed a variety of tests to determine if she was ready to leave. “Okay. You’re all set!”
Emily shot her fist into the air. “Yay!”
“Alright Emily. Come with me,” Officer Jenny said.
Emily did just that, with Eddy following behind. As they walked, Emily finished off the water bottle and soon disposed of it. Outside of the Pokemon Center, Officer Jenny knelt down and looked Emily in the eye.
“Emily, why did you run?” Officer Jenny asked in a very quiet voice.
“I wanna see Daddy,” Emily answered.
“Why?”
“I miss him and wanna say sorry.”
Officer Jenny chuckled. “W-What are you gonna apologize for?”
Emily informed Officer Jenny about what the clerks back in Basswood City said. “I’m why Mommy and Daddy aren’t together anymore and why Mommy was so mean.”
Emily’s lip quivered and her body shook, her eyes seeming as though tears were about to fall from them. Officer Jenny and Eddy hug her tightly.
“Emily, none of this is your fault. Sometimes, people just stop loving each other,” said Officer Jenny.
“Oh. Is Mommy mad at me?” Emily asked.
“Would you like to find out?” Officer Jenny offered.
Emily nodded and Officer Jenny pulled out her phone. Once she heard the voice of Emily’s mother on the other end, she handed Emily the phone, saying her mother was on the line.
“Hi Mommy,” said Emily.
“Hi Emily!” her mother replied.
Emily repeated her question from earlier.
Her mother giggled. “No. I’m actually... Well, I’m just happy you’re alright. By the way, I saw you battle Morty on TV yesterday.”
Emily beamed with joy as her eyes widened. “Yeah! I was great wasn’t I?”
“Not a fan of Morty lying about you but... You were amazing.”
“Yup. Seven more badges and I get to see Daddy in the Nidoran region.”
Her mother laughed. “Speaking of that, I know I’ve been getting better but... I think you should be with your dad.”
Emily’s balloon of joy slightly deflated upon hearing her opinion. “Oh. Well, can I call you?”
“Yes. Wait! Did I ever teach you how to use a phone?”
“No.”
Emily’s mom walked her through the process of using a phone, giving her best effort to ensure her instructions were as simple as possible. After Emily and her mom said their goodbyes to each other, Emily handed the phone back to Officer Jenny.
“Alright! Who’s in the mood for food?” Officer Jenny asked.
Emily and Eddy’s hands shot up in unison.
After grabbing a bite to eat from a nearby burger establishment, Emily asked Officer Jenny if she could obtain her very own phone on their walk through the city. Officer Jenny nodded happily. A little while after, Eddy, Emily, and Officer Jenny arrived at a small phone store with a sign on top of its doors that spelled out, “Blaze Mobile.” Once inside, the trio headed to the counter. After Officer Jenny spoke with the clerk for a while, she turned to Emily.
“Okay, I got you the same model phone I have,” said Officer Jenny. “What color case do you want for it?”
Emily gasped. “Green! Get green! It’s my favorite!”
The moment Emily was handed her new phone, she bolted out of the store and down the street while holding it up.
“I got a green Blaze phone!” Emily shouted.
“Is it just me or are their ads getting weirder?” a passerby wondered.
Moments later, Emily rammed into the sliding glass doors of a brown and orange building and landed on her back. Her head throbbed and she felt a little dizzy, but she was still able to get up and pick her new phone from off the ground and place it in her pocket.
“Automatic doors aren’t working right. Push the button,” said a voice coming from the inside of the building.
Just as she was about to do so, Officer Jenny and Eddy caught up to Emily.
Officer Jenny laughed. “I guess you like your new phone.”
“Yeah. Thanks for getting it for me,” Emily replied.
“Oh you’re welcome Emily.”
Emily then pushed the button and entered the building with Officer Jenny and Eddy. The inside of the building resembled a softball stadium that looked as though it was designed by a little girl. White sand and pink grass covered the field as rows of baby blue seats overlooked it and advertisements for local businesses and products like Moo Moo Milk populated nearly every inch of wall space. Eight young women wearing pink shirts and pants, as well as baby blue visors, stood on the field passing softballs to each other while one other woman took a nap on one of the dugout benches. The word “Miltanks” was spelled out on their shirts and visors. One of these women ran over to Emily.
“Hi there! Welcome to the Goldenrod City gym,” the woman said.
“A gym? Well then I’m ready to battle the leader!” Emily replied. Then she turned to Eddy. “Are you ready, Eddy?”
Eddy gave her a thumbs up.
“Then let’s go!” said Emily.
“Wait a second,” the woman said. “Aren’t you a little young to---” Emily pulled the badge case from her bag and showed the woman the badge inside. “Oh. My apologies. I’ll let the gym leader know you’re here.”
The woman pulled out her phone and did just that. Once she finished, she instructed Emily to give the leader five minutes. She then looked over at Officer Jenny.
“Let me guess. You're a fan of Officer Jenny from that Ash and Pikachu show aren’t you?” the woman asked.
“Since I was a kid yes,” Officer Jenny responded.
“Nice. I like that show too. Well, I’d love to stay and talk, but I gotta get back to what I was doing.”
The woman then jogged away from the group and over to another woman who was standing around.
“Emily,” said Officer Jenny. Emily turned to her and Officer Jenny lowered her voice. “I’m gonna get going now. But before I do, I wanna say good luck to you, good luck to Eddy, and good luck to your other Pokemon. Whether you win or lose, I’m gonna be cheering for you. Your mom’s number and my number are in your phone, so if you need to talk to us, we’re one call away.”
At nearly the exact same time, Emily and Eddy gave Officer Jenny a hug, almost becoming teary-eyed as they did so.
After a few minutes had passed, a small, grey platform rose from under the middle of the field. On that platform was a young woman with pink hair sporting clothes similar to the ones the other women in the gym had. Standing beside her was a two legged, pink and black cow-like creature with a beige udder containing four squirters wearing a baby blue visor. Upon laying eyes on Emily, she squealed and dashed towards her, shoving at least a couple of women out of the way in the process, the cow-like creature not following too far behind. Then, she scooped Emily up and hugged her tight enough to force her tongue to stick out and her eyes to bulge.
“You are so… Cute!” the woman exclaimed. She soon let go of Emily and took a closer look at her. A moment later, she slightly leapt back and pointed to her. “Wait a minute! I’ve seen you before. You’re the kid who jumped off the building last night.”
Emily stared at the ground as she dug the tip of her shoe into the floor. “Yeah I ate some Rare Candies and everything got weird and scary.”
“Ah. That makes sense.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Only Pokemon are supposed to eat that because, last person who ate some... Well... Let’s just sa---”
“Don’t worry. I’m not gonna do that again.”
The woman laughed. “I sure hope you don’t. Oh! I should probably introduce myself. I’m Whitney, the Goldenrod City Gym Leader.” Whitney gestured to the cow-like creature. “And this is Miltank.”
The Miltank mooed as it waved to Emily and Eddy. Then, Emily introduced herself and Eddy before pointing to the Miltank.
“Wait a minute! I thought that guy said Miltank was supposed to have five squirters,” said Emily.
Whitney giggled. “Oh that’s Steve for ya. He’s never right about anything.”
“Oh. Can we battle now?”
Whitney smashed her palms together, which produced a thunderous clapping sound. Then, a piece of the gym wall flipped over to reveal a scoreboard. Atop the scoreboard were words that spelled out “Home Run Challenge.” Below them were two spaces for scores stacked on top of each other and to their left were words such as “Challenger” and “Miltank.” In one corner of the scoreboard was a spot for a timer. Eddy and Emily’s jaws were agape as their eyes grew wide.
Whitney pointed her thumb to the scoreboard behind her. “Neat huh?” Emily and Eddy nodded. “Alrighty Emily, here’s how it’s gonna go down. If you get more home runs than Miltank within two minutes, then we’ll battle you. Fair warning about Miltank though. During our games, she’s a home run machine!”
“What if I don’t get more?” Emily asked.
“Then come back tomorrow and try again.”
“Alright! Let’s do it!”
“Awesome! Let me go get the equipment.”
Moments later, Whitney returned with two bats, a large bag of softballs, and a pitching machine. Once she handed Emily and the Miltank their bats, she placed the pitching machine on the mound and snapped her fingers, making an outlet rise up from the right side of it.
“Alright Emily, step up to the plate because you’re going first,” Whitney said after she plugged in the machine. Emily made her way over to the plate in front of her. Whitney turned her attention to the others. “If your name isn’t Whitney, Emily, or Miltank, to the stands!”
Eddy and the other young women headed towards the seats. Once everyone was seated, Whitney snapped her fingers and the scoreboard lit up. Whitney counted down from three and the second she completed the countdown, she flicked on the machine and dropped a ball into it. The ball hurdled towards Emily. She swung, but it was a miss.
When another ball flew towards Emily, she swung, but this time, the bat made contact with the ball. Instead of ending up in the seats like Emily had anticipated, it careened towards the pitching machine, exploding the moment the ball crashed into it, forcing Whitney to dive to the ground. Eddy jumped from the stands and anxiously bolted towards Emily, leaping in front of her moments later to shield her from any shrapnel that was about to fly her way.
When the dust settled, Whitney slowly picked herself up and looked over the pile of debris that used to be a pitching machine. Her lips quivered and one of her eyes began to twitch as she tried her hardest not to let tears flow.
Emily hung her head. “Are you okay?”
“Three... Hundred... Thousand... Poken,” Whitney muttered. She then laughed as she spun around to face Emily. “You know what? Forget the challenge. Let’s just battle.”
“What?” every other person in the gym shouted.
Eddy and the Miltank just scratched their heads.
“Yup,” Whitney replied. She then snapped her fingers once more and the scoreboard deactivated and went back into hiding. “Cameras on!”
Within seconds, cameras all over the gym activated in near perfect unison. Once all the cameras were turned on, Whitney ran towards the absolute edge of the gym’s sandy area and turned to face Emily when she arrived. She snapped her fingers twice in succession and a holographic crowd rapidly filled a majority of the seats.
“Ladies and gentlemen!” Whitney announced enthusiastically before going on to introduce herself and Emily to the audience.
Emily waved to the cameras and those in the stands. Soon after, Whitney pulled a black and yellow ball from her belt.
“Alright! Come out Furret!” said Whitney.
Then, with a spin, she tossed the ball. A large, beige, ferret-like creature emerged from it. Its paws, stripes running from its belly downward, ears, and sides of its head were brown. It smiled as it chirped.
“Hmm. Who am I gonna send out?” Emily wondered. Then she turned to Eddy. “Do you wanna go first again?”
Eddy politely shook his head. Emily turned back to Whitney, pulling Julie’s Poke Ball from her belt and throwing it. When Julie came out of her ball, she studied her surroundings, noticing Whitney and the crowd in the stands. Julie shivered and panted for just a moment. Then, she darted towards Emily and leapt into her arms. Even with Emily holding her tight, her lips still quivered and tears still fell from her eyes.
“It’s okay Julie. They’re nice,” Emily whispered as she stroked the top of Julie’s head.
Julie started to whimper, making Emily sigh. Moments later however, a spark of inspiration had burst within her mind. Emily turned to Eddy once again. As she nudged her body in the direction of Whitney, she silently mouthed the words, “Ask her for something.” At first, Eddy paced around in circles with his hands behind his back, his mind failing to produce an idea for what to ask for. Then, upon looking at one of the advertisements in the gym, he froze on a dime. He barreled towards Whitney, fearing that he would forget his idea if he didn’t get to her fast enough, and the instant he was at Whitney's side, he tugged on her shirt.
Whitney looked down. “Can I help you?”
Eddy then pointed to the advertisement for Moo Moo Milk. Whitney giggled like a schoolgirl and ruffled his wool, whistling to the Miltank shortly after. The Miltank grabbed a container of Moo Moo Milk from the room behind her and tossed it at Whitney, who caught it without flinching, and gave it to Eddy. With the container in hand, Eddy walked to Emily and when he was close to her, he twisted open the cap and held it up to Julie.
After giving it a sniff, Julie took a couple of slow, cautious sips. Then, her eyes widened and suddenly, she slurped it all down within a matter of seconds, not even bothering to lick away the little milk beard she now possessed once she finished. With the silliest grin she could muster, Julie sprung onto the field, gave Eddy a high five, and readied herself for battle.
“Alright Julie! Use Razor Leaf!” Emily commanded.
“Furret! Quick Attack!” said Whitney.
Furret crashed into Julie in the blink of an eye, causing her to fly backwards, slam into Emily’s stomach, and knock a little wind out of her. Emily breathed a relieved sigh, thanking her lucky stars that Julie wasn’t very large. Julie got back on her feet, panting and stumbling a bit as she did so.
“Julie! Use Razor Leaf again!” said Emily.
“Furret! Use Flamethrower!” Whitney shouted.
“What?” Emily shrieked. Just as the Furret took a deep breath in, Emily flailed her arms. “Dodge it! Dodge it! Dodge it!”
Julie didn’t hesitate to comply the moment the flames exploded from the Furret’s mouth. She then whipped the leaf on her head around like a helicopter blade, sending hundreds of extremely sharp leaves hurtling towards the Furret. As the leaves sliced the Furret, it screamed and closed its eyes while performing a little dance.
“Alright! Use Swords Dance Julie!” said Emily.
Julie trotted in place and once she finished with a little spin, her body turned red while upward pointing white arrows covered her from head to toe and traveled towards the ceiling.
“Razor Leaf!” said Emily.
Julie performed the move once more, except this time, the leaves sliced the Furret much harder thanks to the dance.
“Now use that purple mist move!” Emily instructed.
“You mean Poison Powder?” one of the women in the stands shouted.
“Oh that’s its name?” Emily asked as she turned in the direction of the woman’s voice.
“Yeah.”
Emily returned her attention to Julie. “Okay do that!”
Julie forcefully spat a thick cluster of purple mist from her mouth.
“Use Flamethrower to destroy it!” Whitney commanded, pointing to the mist.
A large beam of fire had burst from the Furret’s mouth and broke through the mist.
“Julie get out of the way!” Emily urged.
Julie leapt to the side, but the beam of fire still kissed the side of her body, causing her to shriek painfully.
“H-Hang in there Julie!” said Emily. “Give it another Razor Leaf!”
Though she clenched her teeth and started to struggle with standing up, Julie complied. Once she completed the move, the Furret fell to the ground, black spirals replacing its actual eyes. White sparks flew out of Julie as she bounced and squealed. Then, she went rigid as she became engulfed in a white glow. Emily shut her eyes for a moment.
When she opened them, she noticed that Julie was now much bigger than her and Eddy. She also had a longer neck, a light yellow body, and a larger, much sharper looking leaf growing from out of her forehead. The buds around her neck had also transformed into medium size, cigar-shaped leaves. Emily cheered. Eddy smiled and clapped. The crowd went wild. Julie beamed, yet quietly wept at the same time, for in that moment, she felt as though she had proven to those in the stands and those at home that she wasn’t the worst starter.
---
Outside, a Hypno peered into one of the windows behind the gym’s seating areas. Its tongue slowly slid along its lips while it smiled at Emily.
---
Moments later, Whitney clapped her hands, a wide grin stretching across her face. She felt exuberant enough to power a massive city for a long time.
“Ladies and Gentlemen! It’s Miltank time!” Whitney announced with great enthusiasm.
The crowd whooped and hollered, with one of the young women leaping to their feet, which were surrounded by empty beer bottles, before taking off their shirt and swinging it above their head like a lasso. The Miltank strutted towards Whitney as she smiled and winked to the crowd. Moments later, Julie skipped over to Eddy and gently bit down on his wool, dragging him to where Emily was soon after. During all of this, Eddy concealed most of his face within the wool around his neck and fidgeted with his hands, wondering why Julie was doing this and wondering how he would perform with a live crowd laying their eyes upon him. When Eddy and the Miltank stood face to face with one another, Emily returned Julie to her Poke Ball.
“You got this Eddy!” Emily cheered.
“Miltank! Use Attract!” Whitney ordered.
“Eddy use Thunder Wave!” said Emily.
Eddy spat a small jolt of electricity and while it did hit the Miltank, causing its movements to be slowed, it didn’t prevent the hearts from hitting Eddy. After that, hearts flew from Eddy’s body and a strong desire to give the Miltank flowers and hugs immediately grew within him.
“Oh no!” Emily shouted with her hands on her head.
She took two quick yet deep breaths. On multiple occasions, Emily commanded Eddy to either use a move or dodge one of the Miltank’s moves. Each time however, he would just stand there, staring lovingly at the Miltank, or get pounded by a move like Stomp. Eventually, he panted and his body felt extremely sore, nearly teetering on the brink of being down for the count.
“Miltank! Use Rollout!” said Whitney.
“Eddy! Thunderbolt! And actually do it this time please!” Emily requested.
The Miltank had burst into a jog and just before it could leap and curl into a ball, Eddy shook his head and with that, his attraction to the Miltank ceased to be and thrusted his arm in the Miltank’s direction, sending a large bolt of blue lightning barreling towards her. The lightning struck the Miltank, causing a puff of smoke to manifest and send her soaring backwards into the wall as she released a pained cry. Upon harshly colliding with the wall, she gradually slid down it like a drop of water on a window and landed face first on the ground.
“Miltank! U-Use Milk Drink!” Whitney called to her.
The Miltank soon rolled over and gradually sat up. Then, she started suckling one of her squirters. Emily, Eddy, and the crowd all screamed like they were witnessing the destruction of the world.
“Oh like you’ve never done this!” Whitney said with her eyebrows furrowed and her hands on her hips.
As Emily continued to watch Miltank, she gradually went from screaming to nearly retching.
“Okay that’s it! Eddy, finish her off before I vomit!” Emily yelled.
“Miltank! Use Stomp!” said Whitney.
Eddy dashed towards the Miltank and lunged toward her throat. However, the Miltank sprung up and stomped on him. Eddy squirmed and grunted as the Miltank stood on him, hoping that he’d be able to escape if he kept doing it enough. But then, something dawned on Eddy and he stopped.
He thrusted his arm as hard as he could towards the Miltank and released a blue lightning bolt larger than the one that came before it. The bolt sent both of them flying as a cloud of smoke engulfed part of the gym. Everyone in the gym went rigid and didn’t dare to breathe as they looked on, hoping that the smoke would clear up quickly.
Suddenly, the Hypno from outside smashed through the glass with its whole body, dashed down the stairs between each seating section, and dived over the railing. As the Hypno sprinted towards Emily, Whitney and Emily turned around. But before they could even think of fleeing, one of the Hypno’s arms began to glow pink as it pointed in Emily’s direction. Emily’s body became bathed in a pink light and she flew towards the Hypno, her screams echoing through the gym.
Whitney bolted toward Emily and grabbed hold of her legs. But they soon slipped from her hands and within the blink of an eye, the Hypno caught Emily by the collar, threw her over its shoulder, and ran for the entrance. The other women jumped onto the field and grabbed a Poke Ball from their belts. But the Hypno looked back and aggressively waved its now glowing arm, bathing Whitney and the other women in light and forcing them to collide into the walls behind them and black out.
Outside the gym, the Hypno took two lefts and leapt over a couple of small white fences like an Olympic hurdle jumper moments later. The Hypno dashed into the forest once it was on the other side of the second fence.
“I-I hate you!” Emily repeatedly shouted, timorously kicking and scratching the Hypno as they went deeper into the forest.
But the Hypno’s pace didn’t slacken, nor did its grip on Emily loosen, for it was far too focused on getting to its destination. Eventually, Emily and the Hypno arrived at a clearing and the Hypno placed her down. Emily thrusted her arm towards one of the Poke Balls on her belt. But her arms quickly became stuck to her sides as a pink glow engulfed her body and she was lifted off of the ground thanks to the Hypno.
Then, with a ghastly smile on its face, the Hypno raised its coin on a string and started swinging it back and forth in a slow, rhythmic manner. As it swung, glowing rings emerged from it and as each ring hit Emily, it became more difficult for her to keep her eyes open. When her eyes finally shut, the Hypno stopped and Emily fell to the ground. The Hypno silently giggled before rushing to her side and picking her up.
Then, it began raking its fingers through her hair. Its smile gradually evolved into a grin the longer it continued to do so. With great care, it soon knelt and laid her body out on the ground, trying oh so hard not to cackle and alert anything that might’ve been in the vicinity. The Hypno’s fingers moved in the direction of Emily’s belt. It soon grabbed onto it. Before it could do anything, it suddenly stopped and quickly looked away when it heard loud rustling and chirping in the distance.
The commotion caused Emily to slowly emerge from her slumber. Soon, her eyes bulged and her heartbeat quickened upon seeing the Hypno gripping her belt, remembering the talk her father gave her about how to recognize and know what to do when someone touched her in a way that she didn’t care for. Emily delivered a forceful kick to the Hypno’s stomach, digging a trench with its body as it slid on the ground away from her. Emily jumped to her feet and threw one of the Poke Balls from her belt as though she was aiming to smash the world record for the fastest pitch. Gnasher emerged from the ball and howled, making its body turn red while upward pointing white arrows flew in the direction of the sky once it finished.
“Gnasher! Burn it with Flamethrower!” Emily said as she gestured to the Hypno who was in the process of standing up.
Gnasher took a quick breath in and forcefully expelled a funnel-shaped beam of fire from its mouth. It immediately struck the Hypno. It screamed through clenched teeth as the blast engulfed its body. Then, the blast stopped. The Hypno panted quietly.
“Alright Gnasher! Bite ‘em!” said Emily.
Gnasher bolted towards the Hypno, its mouth open and its fangs glowing. The Hypno thrusted its now glowing arm in Gnasher’s direction. Nothing happened to Gnasher however and when it was only mere inches away from the Hypno, the Hypno bounced out of the way and Gnasher slipped into some nearby bushes. The Hypno hastily surveyed the area, wondering where its enemy went. Suddenly, Gnasher pounced out of the bushes and forcefully sank its fangs into its arm. It yowled as bursts of intense pain shot through its veins, causing it to drop its coin on a string. Gnasher began shaking it around like it was nothing more than a chew toy, resulting in the Hypno’s pain growing increasingly intense.
---
Back in Goldenrod City, Eddy dashed out of the gym with Whitney in tow, downing the last of a Moo Moo Milk.
“Did you see that Hypno?” a man asked, pointing in the direction of the forest.
Whitney and Eddy hopped over the fences and disappeared into the forest.
---
At the clearing, the Hypno finally managed to break free of Gnasher’s tight grasp. It sweated and panted even louder than before as it sprung to its feet.
“Finish it off with Flamethrower, Gnasher!” Emily shouted.
Gnasher once again took a quick deep breath. But before it or the Hypno could do anything, a giant, blue jolt of lightning slammed into the Hypno, causing it to fly back and smash trunk after trunk of every tree it crashed into. Then Eddy, with a smile on his face, delivered a warm hug to both Emily and Gnasher, thankful to know that they were both alright.
---
The Hypno landed in a pond of orange and green water with empty barrels floating along the surface like lilly pads. A sign posted on its shore read, “If you dump, you’re a chump.” Once the Hypno rose from underneath the water, a pang of dizziness and nausea soon took hold of it. Its fur and skin quickly disappeared as if being eaten by microscopic insects that hadn’t had a meal in days, revealing more and more the Hypno’s muscle layer. The Hypno’s yells of pain sounded more like loud choking, which only grew when its nose and eyes fell into the water. Soon, the Hypno went quiet and its body became limp, which was now nothing more than a lump of muscle with small tears exposing the bone underneath.
---
Back at the clearing, white sparks flew from Eddy and Gnasher several times as they danced happily, Emily and Whitney clapping. Then, Emily noticed the coin on a string and put it in her pocket. When the sparks stopped flying, everyone stood back and closed their eyes when Gnasher’s entire body began to glow. Moments later, everyone opened their eyes.
Gnasher was now taller and possessed a longer snout. There were two silver bands above each paw which were tipped with small claws. There was no longer a skull between its eyes. Instead, a smaller skull was nested in the middle of its chest as the tips of a white rib hugging its throat almost touched it. Three ribs protruded from its back and its tail now resembled a long, skinny arrow. Replacing its ears were small, white horns similar in shape to ram horns. When it howled, it was deeper and prouder than ever before. Its body then turned red as white arrows flew upwards. The creatures in the forest shuddered and rushed to their burrows upon hearing its howl.
“Dang! Two evolutions in one day! Can you believe that Eddy?” said Emily.
With wide eyes and his hand over his heart, Eddy shook his head.
“Gotta be honest. Wasn’t expecting to see a female Houndoom today,” Whitney said with a laugh as she pointed to Gnasher.
Emily put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. “How do you know it’s a girl?”
“See its horns? If it was a male, they’d be a lot bigger.”
“Oh! Where did the Hypno go?”
Gnasher sniffed around. Then, she barked and gestured to the path of broken trees. She jogged toward Emily, bit down on her shirt collar with great care, and lifted her up.
Emily chuckled. “It’s okay, Gnasher. My legs work.”
But Gnasher started briskly following the path of trees, with Eddy and Whitney in tow. Gnasher set Emily down when they, along with Eddy and Whitney, eventually arrived at the orange and green pond. When Emily caught sight of the Hypno’s body, she shook. A sense of lightheadedness washed over her as she retched. Eddy winced with his mouth agape. Gnasher curled her body around Emily and Eddy, hoping that the warmth would bring comfort to them. Whitney stroked her chin, wondering if the Hypno deserved such a fate and if it was the same Hypno she’d heard about from the residents of Goldenrod City.
Her mind drew a blank however and she turned to Emily. “Emily, what did the Hypno do to you?”
Emily explained what happened to her at the clearing. After hearing Emily's explanation, a fiery rage intense enough to incinerate all of the forests in Johto in mere seconds burned inside of her, thinking about what the Hypno had done to her and how it indeed deserved its fate and more. On the outside though, she sighed heavily and hugged Emily, Eddy, and Gnasher, tears forming in her eyes.
“Guys, you destroyed something very evil and I’m very proud,” said Whitney. She then put great effort into mustering up a smile. “Also, I got a plan.”
The quartet arrived in Goldenrod City some time later, each with smiles plastered on their faces. They stopped and turned around when they were near the entrance of the gym. Emily cleared her throat.
“Hey everyone! Look at what me and my Pokemon did!” said Emily.
Whitney then raised the pole of the sign from the pond with the Hypno’s body nailed on top. The onlookers whooped and hollered and broke into a frenzied dance. Other citizens came out of their homes and businesses, wondering what all of the fuss was about, but soon joined in when they saw the body of the Hypno. The women from Whitney’s gym were wheeled out from the Pokemon Center and attempted to mimic the others while laying in their beds.
Eventually, the whole city took part, all except for Eddy, who stood on the side of the gym, rubbing his arm and looking from side to side, fretting about his non-existent dance skills. But then, he looked at Emily and Gnasher, who danced in a way that suggested that they never danced a single moment in their lives yet smiled and laughed anyway. Soon, he walked away from the gym which soon turned into a jog, as he smiled and began to dance with everyone else. Then, Emily released Julie from her Poke Ball and, after looking around, trotted in place with great enthusiasm.
“Oh by the way,” Whitney said to Emily, “you won.”
“No way! Are you kidding?” Emily exclaimed.
“Nope. Hold on a second.” She then ran into the gym, coming out with a diamond-shaped yellow and white badge, a TM that read, “Facade” on the front, and a large stack of Poken moments later. She then handed them to Emily, who beamed as she rubbed the Poken against her cheeks. She screamed to the heavens and repeatedly hopped in place. Soon, she showed her prizes to Eddy, Gnasher, and Julie, who cheered wildly. She then put everything away. “I was gonna give you the TM for Attract but… You’re cute enough already.”
“Thanks Whitney!” Emily replied, giving her a big hug afterwards.
With Emily’s second badge obtained and the evil Hypno slain, what else in store for our heroes? Find out next time on Pokemon: Johto Quest!
Emily found herself laying on a green hospital bed in a white room with a window near the door, wondering where she was. Then, she looked to her right. There, she saw Eddy sleeping on a row of plastic chairs, wet trails running down his face from tears long gone. She also spotted a wooden night stand with a giant water bottle on top.
“Eddy?” she asked.
Eddy awoke and sprung to his feet. With a smile, he leapt onto the bed and gave her a hug before bolting from the room. Moments later, he returned with Officer Jenny and a nurse.
Officer Jenny and the nurse stared open mouthed at Emily, who was now guzzling the water. Officer Jenny grinned at the nurse as she held out her hand. The nurse groaned, placing at least five thousand Poken in her palm.
“Hi Emily!” said Officer Jenny.
Emily stopped and gasped. “Officer Jenny? Wh---”
“Uh. W-Well, I heard you got yourself into some trouble.”
Emily excitedly recounted her meeting with Arceus, noting that it saved her and did an uncanny Officer Jenny impression. She sighed upon finishing. “Sorry I didn’t get a picture.”
Officer Jenny laughed. “Oh don’t worry about it.”
“This is a weird room.”
“That it is. Who knew Goldenrod’s Pokemon Center had this giant basement?” Officer Jenny turned to the nurse. “Do all Pokemon Centers have this?”
“I believe so,” the nurse replied. She then walked over to Emily and performed a variety of tests to determine if she was ready to leave. “Okay. You’re all set!”
Emily shot her fist into the air. “Yay!”
“Alright Emily. Come with me,” Officer Jenny said.
Emily did just that, with Eddy following behind. As they walked, Emily finished off the water bottle and soon disposed of it. Outside of the Pokemon Center, Officer Jenny knelt down and looked Emily in the eye.
“Emily, why did you run?” Officer Jenny asked in a very quiet voice.
“I wanna see Daddy,” Emily answered.
“Why?”
“I miss him and wanna say sorry.”
Officer Jenny chuckled. “W-What are you gonna apologize for?”
Emily informed Officer Jenny about what the clerks back in Basswood City said. “I’m why Mommy and Daddy aren’t together anymore and why Mommy was so mean.”
Emily’s lip quivered and her body shook, her eyes seeming as though tears were about to fall from them. Officer Jenny and Eddy hug her tightly.
“Emily, none of this is your fault. Sometimes, people just stop loving each other,” said Officer Jenny.
“Oh. Is Mommy mad at me?” Emily asked.
“Would you like to find out?” Officer Jenny offered.
Emily nodded and Officer Jenny pulled out her phone. Once she heard the voice of Emily’s mother on the other end, she handed Emily the phone, saying her mother was on the line.
“Hi Mommy,” said Emily.
“Hi Emily!” her mother replied.
Emily repeated her question from earlier.
Her mother giggled. “No. I’m actually... Well, I’m just happy you’re alright. By the way, I saw you battle Morty on TV yesterday.”
Emily beamed with joy as her eyes widened. “Yeah! I was great wasn’t I?”
“Not a fan of Morty lying about you but... You were amazing.”
“Yup. Seven more badges and I get to see Daddy in the Nidoran region.”
Her mother laughed. “Speaking of that, I know I’ve been getting better but... I think you should be with your dad.”
Emily’s balloon of joy slightly deflated upon hearing her opinion. “Oh. Well, can I call you?”
“Yes. Wait! Did I ever teach you how to use a phone?”
“No.”
Emily’s mom walked her through the process of using a phone, giving her best effort to ensure her instructions were as simple as possible. After Emily and her mom said their goodbyes to each other, Emily handed the phone back to Officer Jenny.
“Alright! Who’s in the mood for food?” Officer Jenny asked.
Emily and Eddy’s hands shot up in unison.
After grabbing a bite to eat from a nearby burger establishment, Emily asked Officer Jenny if she could obtain her very own phone on their walk through the city. Officer Jenny nodded happily. A little while after, Eddy, Emily, and Officer Jenny arrived at a small phone store with a sign on top of its doors that spelled out, “Blaze Mobile.” Once inside, the trio headed to the counter. After Officer Jenny spoke with the clerk for a while, she turned to Emily.
“Okay, I got you the same model phone I have,” said Officer Jenny. “What color case do you want for it?”
Emily gasped. “Green! Get green! It’s my favorite!”
The moment Emily was handed her new phone, she bolted out of the store and down the street while holding it up.
“I got a green Blaze phone!” Emily shouted.
“Is it just me or are their ads getting weirder?” a passerby wondered.
Moments later, Emily rammed into the sliding glass doors of a brown and orange building and landed on her back. Her head throbbed and she felt a little dizzy, but she was still able to get up and pick her new phone from off the ground and place it in her pocket.
“Automatic doors aren’t working right. Push the button,” said a voice coming from the inside of the building.
Just as she was about to do so, Officer Jenny and Eddy caught up to Emily.
Officer Jenny laughed. “I guess you like your new phone.”
“Yeah. Thanks for getting it for me,” Emily replied.
“Oh you’re welcome Emily.”
Emily then pushed the button and entered the building with Officer Jenny and Eddy. The inside of the building resembled a softball stadium that looked as though it was designed by a little girl. White sand and pink grass covered the field as rows of baby blue seats overlooked it and advertisements for local businesses and products like Moo Moo Milk populated nearly every inch of wall space. Eight young women wearing pink shirts and pants, as well as baby blue visors, stood on the field passing softballs to each other while one other woman took a nap on one of the dugout benches. The word “Miltanks” was spelled out on their shirts and visors. One of these women ran over to Emily.
“Hi there! Welcome to the Goldenrod City gym,” the woman said.
“A gym? Well then I’m ready to battle the leader!” Emily replied. Then she turned to Eddy. “Are you ready, Eddy?”
Eddy gave her a thumbs up.
“Then let’s go!” said Emily.
“Wait a second,” the woman said. “Aren’t you a little young to---” Emily pulled the badge case from her bag and showed the woman the badge inside. “Oh. My apologies. I’ll let the gym leader know you’re here.”
The woman pulled out her phone and did just that. Once she finished, she instructed Emily to give the leader five minutes. She then looked over at Officer Jenny.
“Let me guess. You're a fan of Officer Jenny from that Ash and Pikachu show aren’t you?” the woman asked.
“Since I was a kid yes,” Officer Jenny responded.
“Nice. I like that show too. Well, I’d love to stay and talk, but I gotta get back to what I was doing.”
The woman then jogged away from the group and over to another woman who was standing around.
“Emily,” said Officer Jenny. Emily turned to her and Officer Jenny lowered her voice. “I’m gonna get going now. But before I do, I wanna say good luck to you, good luck to Eddy, and good luck to your other Pokemon. Whether you win or lose, I’m gonna be cheering for you. Your mom’s number and my number are in your phone, so if you need to talk to us, we’re one call away.”
At nearly the exact same time, Emily and Eddy gave Officer Jenny a hug, almost becoming teary-eyed as they did so.
After a few minutes had passed, a small, grey platform rose from under the middle of the field. On that platform was a young woman with pink hair sporting clothes similar to the ones the other women in the gym had. Standing beside her was a two legged, pink and black cow-like creature with a beige udder containing four squirters wearing a baby blue visor. Upon laying eyes on Emily, she squealed and dashed towards her, shoving at least a couple of women out of the way in the process, the cow-like creature not following too far behind. Then, she scooped Emily up and hugged her tight enough to force her tongue to stick out and her eyes to bulge.
“You are so… Cute!” the woman exclaimed. She soon let go of Emily and took a closer look at her. A moment later, she slightly leapt back and pointed to her. “Wait a minute! I’ve seen you before. You’re the kid who jumped off the building last night.”
Emily stared at the ground as she dug the tip of her shoe into the floor. “Yeah I ate some Rare Candies and everything got weird and scary.”
“Ah. That makes sense.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Only Pokemon are supposed to eat that because, last person who ate some... Well... Let’s just sa---”
“Don’t worry. I’m not gonna do that again.”
The woman laughed. “I sure hope you don’t. Oh! I should probably introduce myself. I’m Whitney, the Goldenrod City Gym Leader.” Whitney gestured to the cow-like creature. “And this is Miltank.”
The Miltank mooed as it waved to Emily and Eddy. Then, Emily introduced herself and Eddy before pointing to the Miltank.
“Wait a minute! I thought that guy said Miltank was supposed to have five squirters,” said Emily.
Whitney giggled. “Oh that’s Steve for ya. He’s never right about anything.”
“Oh. Can we battle now?”
Whitney smashed her palms together, which produced a thunderous clapping sound. Then, a piece of the gym wall flipped over to reveal a scoreboard. Atop the scoreboard were words that spelled out “Home Run Challenge.” Below them were two spaces for scores stacked on top of each other and to their left were words such as “Challenger” and “Miltank.” In one corner of the scoreboard was a spot for a timer. Eddy and Emily’s jaws were agape as their eyes grew wide.
Whitney pointed her thumb to the scoreboard behind her. “Neat huh?” Emily and Eddy nodded. “Alrighty Emily, here’s how it’s gonna go down. If you get more home runs than Miltank within two minutes, then we’ll battle you. Fair warning about Miltank though. During our games, she’s a home run machine!”
“What if I don’t get more?” Emily asked.
“Then come back tomorrow and try again.”
“Alright! Let’s do it!”
“Awesome! Let me go get the equipment.”
Moments later, Whitney returned with two bats, a large bag of softballs, and a pitching machine. Once she handed Emily and the Miltank their bats, she placed the pitching machine on the mound and snapped her fingers, making an outlet rise up from the right side of it.
“Alright Emily, step up to the plate because you’re going first,” Whitney said after she plugged in the machine. Emily made her way over to the plate in front of her. Whitney turned her attention to the others. “If your name isn’t Whitney, Emily, or Miltank, to the stands!”
Eddy and the other young women headed towards the seats. Once everyone was seated, Whitney snapped her fingers and the scoreboard lit up. Whitney counted down from three and the second she completed the countdown, she flicked on the machine and dropped a ball into it. The ball hurdled towards Emily. She swung, but it was a miss.
When another ball flew towards Emily, she swung, but this time, the bat made contact with the ball. Instead of ending up in the seats like Emily had anticipated, it careened towards the pitching machine, exploding the moment the ball crashed into it, forcing Whitney to dive to the ground. Eddy jumped from the stands and anxiously bolted towards Emily, leaping in front of her moments later to shield her from any shrapnel that was about to fly her way.
When the dust settled, Whitney slowly picked herself up and looked over the pile of debris that used to be a pitching machine. Her lips quivered and one of her eyes began to twitch as she tried her hardest not to let tears flow.
Emily hung her head. “Are you okay?”
“Three... Hundred... Thousand... Poken,” Whitney muttered. She then laughed as she spun around to face Emily. “You know what? Forget the challenge. Let’s just battle.”
“What?” every other person in the gym shouted.
Eddy and the Miltank just scratched their heads.
“Yup,” Whitney replied. She then snapped her fingers once more and the scoreboard deactivated and went back into hiding. “Cameras on!”
Within seconds, cameras all over the gym activated in near perfect unison. Once all the cameras were turned on, Whitney ran towards the absolute edge of the gym’s sandy area and turned to face Emily when she arrived. She snapped her fingers twice in succession and a holographic crowd rapidly filled a majority of the seats.
“Ladies and gentlemen!” Whitney announced enthusiastically before going on to introduce herself and Emily to the audience.
Emily waved to the cameras and those in the stands. Soon after, Whitney pulled a black and yellow ball from her belt.
“Alright! Come out Furret!” said Whitney.
Then, with a spin, she tossed the ball. A large, beige, ferret-like creature emerged from it. Its paws, stripes running from its belly downward, ears, and sides of its head were brown. It smiled as it chirped.
“Hmm. Who am I gonna send out?” Emily wondered. Then she turned to Eddy. “Do you wanna go first again?”
Eddy politely shook his head. Emily turned back to Whitney, pulling Julie’s Poke Ball from her belt and throwing it. When Julie came out of her ball, she studied her surroundings, noticing Whitney and the crowd in the stands. Julie shivered and panted for just a moment. Then, she darted towards Emily and leapt into her arms. Even with Emily holding her tight, her lips still quivered and tears still fell from her eyes.
“It’s okay Julie. They’re nice,” Emily whispered as she stroked the top of Julie’s head.
Julie started to whimper, making Emily sigh. Moments later however, a spark of inspiration had burst within her mind. Emily turned to Eddy once again. As she nudged her body in the direction of Whitney, she silently mouthed the words, “Ask her for something.” At first, Eddy paced around in circles with his hands behind his back, his mind failing to produce an idea for what to ask for. Then, upon looking at one of the advertisements in the gym, he froze on a dime. He barreled towards Whitney, fearing that he would forget his idea if he didn’t get to her fast enough, and the instant he was at Whitney's side, he tugged on her shirt.
Whitney looked down. “Can I help you?”
Eddy then pointed to the advertisement for Moo Moo Milk. Whitney giggled like a schoolgirl and ruffled his wool, whistling to the Miltank shortly after. The Miltank grabbed a container of Moo Moo Milk from the room behind her and tossed it at Whitney, who caught it without flinching, and gave it to Eddy. With the container in hand, Eddy walked to Emily and when he was close to her, he twisted open the cap and held it up to Julie.
After giving it a sniff, Julie took a couple of slow, cautious sips. Then, her eyes widened and suddenly, she slurped it all down within a matter of seconds, not even bothering to lick away the little milk beard she now possessed once she finished. With the silliest grin she could muster, Julie sprung onto the field, gave Eddy a high five, and readied herself for battle.
“Alright Julie! Use Razor Leaf!” Emily commanded.
“Furret! Quick Attack!” said Whitney.
Furret crashed into Julie in the blink of an eye, causing her to fly backwards, slam into Emily’s stomach, and knock a little wind out of her. Emily breathed a relieved sigh, thanking her lucky stars that Julie wasn’t very large. Julie got back on her feet, panting and stumbling a bit as she did so.
“Julie! Use Razor Leaf again!” said Emily.
“Furret! Use Flamethrower!” Whitney shouted.
“What?” Emily shrieked. Just as the Furret took a deep breath in, Emily flailed her arms. “Dodge it! Dodge it! Dodge it!”
Julie didn’t hesitate to comply the moment the flames exploded from the Furret’s mouth. She then whipped the leaf on her head around like a helicopter blade, sending hundreds of extremely sharp leaves hurtling towards the Furret. As the leaves sliced the Furret, it screamed and closed its eyes while performing a little dance.
“Alright! Use Swords Dance Julie!” said Emily.
Julie trotted in place and once she finished with a little spin, her body turned red while upward pointing white arrows covered her from head to toe and traveled towards the ceiling.
“Razor Leaf!” said Emily.
Julie performed the move once more, except this time, the leaves sliced the Furret much harder thanks to the dance.
“Now use that purple mist move!” Emily instructed.
“You mean Poison Powder?” one of the women in the stands shouted.
“Oh that’s its name?” Emily asked as she turned in the direction of the woman’s voice.
“Yeah.”
Emily returned her attention to Julie. “Okay do that!”
Julie forcefully spat a thick cluster of purple mist from her mouth.
“Use Flamethrower to destroy it!” Whitney commanded, pointing to the mist.
A large beam of fire had burst from the Furret’s mouth and broke through the mist.
“Julie get out of the way!” Emily urged.
Julie leapt to the side, but the beam of fire still kissed the side of her body, causing her to shriek painfully.
“H-Hang in there Julie!” said Emily. “Give it another Razor Leaf!”
Though she clenched her teeth and started to struggle with standing up, Julie complied. Once she completed the move, the Furret fell to the ground, black spirals replacing its actual eyes. White sparks flew out of Julie as she bounced and squealed. Then, she went rigid as she became engulfed in a white glow. Emily shut her eyes for a moment.
When she opened them, she noticed that Julie was now much bigger than her and Eddy. She also had a longer neck, a light yellow body, and a larger, much sharper looking leaf growing from out of her forehead. The buds around her neck had also transformed into medium size, cigar-shaped leaves. Emily cheered. Eddy smiled and clapped. The crowd went wild. Julie beamed, yet quietly wept at the same time, for in that moment, she felt as though she had proven to those in the stands and those at home that she wasn’t the worst starter.
---
Outside, a Hypno peered into one of the windows behind the gym’s seating areas. Its tongue slowly slid along its lips while it smiled at Emily.
---
Moments later, Whitney clapped her hands, a wide grin stretching across her face. She felt exuberant enough to power a massive city for a long time.
“Ladies and Gentlemen! It’s Miltank time!” Whitney announced with great enthusiasm.
The crowd whooped and hollered, with one of the young women leaping to their feet, which were surrounded by empty beer bottles, before taking off their shirt and swinging it above their head like a lasso. The Miltank strutted towards Whitney as she smiled and winked to the crowd. Moments later, Julie skipped over to Eddy and gently bit down on his wool, dragging him to where Emily was soon after. During all of this, Eddy concealed most of his face within the wool around his neck and fidgeted with his hands, wondering why Julie was doing this and wondering how he would perform with a live crowd laying their eyes upon him. When Eddy and the Miltank stood face to face with one another, Emily returned Julie to her Poke Ball.
“You got this Eddy!” Emily cheered.
“Miltank! Use Attract!” Whitney ordered.
“Eddy use Thunder Wave!” said Emily.
Eddy spat a small jolt of electricity and while it did hit the Miltank, causing its movements to be slowed, it didn’t prevent the hearts from hitting Eddy. After that, hearts flew from Eddy’s body and a strong desire to give the Miltank flowers and hugs immediately grew within him.
“Oh no!” Emily shouted with her hands on her head.
She took two quick yet deep breaths. On multiple occasions, Emily commanded Eddy to either use a move or dodge one of the Miltank’s moves. Each time however, he would just stand there, staring lovingly at the Miltank, or get pounded by a move like Stomp. Eventually, he panted and his body felt extremely sore, nearly teetering on the brink of being down for the count.
“Miltank! Use Rollout!” said Whitney.
“Eddy! Thunderbolt! And actually do it this time please!” Emily requested.
The Miltank had burst into a jog and just before it could leap and curl into a ball, Eddy shook his head and with that, his attraction to the Miltank ceased to be and thrusted his arm in the Miltank’s direction, sending a large bolt of blue lightning barreling towards her. The lightning struck the Miltank, causing a puff of smoke to manifest and send her soaring backwards into the wall as she released a pained cry. Upon harshly colliding with the wall, she gradually slid down it like a drop of water on a window and landed face first on the ground.
“Miltank! U-Use Milk Drink!” Whitney called to her.
The Miltank soon rolled over and gradually sat up. Then, she started suckling one of her squirters. Emily, Eddy, and the crowd all screamed like they were witnessing the destruction of the world.
“Oh like you’ve never done this!” Whitney said with her eyebrows furrowed and her hands on her hips.
As Emily continued to watch Miltank, she gradually went from screaming to nearly retching.
“Okay that’s it! Eddy, finish her off before I vomit!” Emily yelled.
“Miltank! Use Stomp!” said Whitney.
Eddy dashed towards the Miltank and lunged toward her throat. However, the Miltank sprung up and stomped on him. Eddy squirmed and grunted as the Miltank stood on him, hoping that he’d be able to escape if he kept doing it enough. But then, something dawned on Eddy and he stopped.
He thrusted his arm as hard as he could towards the Miltank and released a blue lightning bolt larger than the one that came before it. The bolt sent both of them flying as a cloud of smoke engulfed part of the gym. Everyone in the gym went rigid and didn’t dare to breathe as they looked on, hoping that the smoke would clear up quickly.
Suddenly, the Hypno from outside smashed through the glass with its whole body, dashed down the stairs between each seating section, and dived over the railing. As the Hypno sprinted towards Emily, Whitney and Emily turned around. But before they could even think of fleeing, one of the Hypno’s arms began to glow pink as it pointed in Emily’s direction. Emily’s body became bathed in a pink light and she flew towards the Hypno, her screams echoing through the gym.
Whitney bolted toward Emily and grabbed hold of her legs. But they soon slipped from her hands and within the blink of an eye, the Hypno caught Emily by the collar, threw her over its shoulder, and ran for the entrance. The other women jumped onto the field and grabbed a Poke Ball from their belts. But the Hypno looked back and aggressively waved its now glowing arm, bathing Whitney and the other women in light and forcing them to collide into the walls behind them and black out.
Outside the gym, the Hypno took two lefts and leapt over a couple of small white fences like an Olympic hurdle jumper moments later. The Hypno dashed into the forest once it was on the other side of the second fence.
“I-I hate you!” Emily repeatedly shouted, timorously kicking and scratching the Hypno as they went deeper into the forest.
But the Hypno’s pace didn’t slacken, nor did its grip on Emily loosen, for it was far too focused on getting to its destination. Eventually, Emily and the Hypno arrived at a clearing and the Hypno placed her down. Emily thrusted her arm towards one of the Poke Balls on her belt. But her arms quickly became stuck to her sides as a pink glow engulfed her body and she was lifted off of the ground thanks to the Hypno.
Then, with a ghastly smile on its face, the Hypno raised its coin on a string and started swinging it back and forth in a slow, rhythmic manner. As it swung, glowing rings emerged from it and as each ring hit Emily, it became more difficult for her to keep her eyes open. When her eyes finally shut, the Hypno stopped and Emily fell to the ground. The Hypno silently giggled before rushing to her side and picking her up.
Then, it began raking its fingers through her hair. Its smile gradually evolved into a grin the longer it continued to do so. With great care, it soon knelt and laid her body out on the ground, trying oh so hard not to cackle and alert anything that might’ve been in the vicinity. The Hypno’s fingers moved in the direction of Emily’s belt. It soon grabbed onto it. Before it could do anything, it suddenly stopped and quickly looked away when it heard loud rustling and chirping in the distance.
The commotion caused Emily to slowly emerge from her slumber. Soon, her eyes bulged and her heartbeat quickened upon seeing the Hypno gripping her belt, remembering the talk her father gave her about how to recognize and know what to do when someone touched her in a way that she didn’t care for. Emily delivered a forceful kick to the Hypno’s stomach, digging a trench with its body as it slid on the ground away from her. Emily jumped to her feet and threw one of the Poke Balls from her belt as though she was aiming to smash the world record for the fastest pitch. Gnasher emerged from the ball and howled, making its body turn red while upward pointing white arrows flew in the direction of the sky once it finished.
“Gnasher! Burn it with Flamethrower!” Emily said as she gestured to the Hypno who was in the process of standing up.
Gnasher took a quick breath in and forcefully expelled a funnel-shaped beam of fire from its mouth. It immediately struck the Hypno. It screamed through clenched teeth as the blast engulfed its body. Then, the blast stopped. The Hypno panted quietly.
“Alright Gnasher! Bite ‘em!” said Emily.
Gnasher bolted towards the Hypno, its mouth open and its fangs glowing. The Hypno thrusted its now glowing arm in Gnasher’s direction. Nothing happened to Gnasher however and when it was only mere inches away from the Hypno, the Hypno bounced out of the way and Gnasher slipped into some nearby bushes. The Hypno hastily surveyed the area, wondering where its enemy went. Suddenly, Gnasher pounced out of the bushes and forcefully sank its fangs into its arm. It yowled as bursts of intense pain shot through its veins, causing it to drop its coin on a string. Gnasher began shaking it around like it was nothing more than a chew toy, resulting in the Hypno’s pain growing increasingly intense.
---
Back in Goldenrod City, Eddy dashed out of the gym with Whitney in tow, downing the last of a Moo Moo Milk.
“Did you see that Hypno?” a man asked, pointing in the direction of the forest.
Whitney and Eddy hopped over the fences and disappeared into the forest.
---
At the clearing, the Hypno finally managed to break free of Gnasher’s tight grasp. It sweated and panted even louder than before as it sprung to its feet.
“Finish it off with Flamethrower, Gnasher!” Emily shouted.
Gnasher once again took a quick deep breath. But before it or the Hypno could do anything, a giant, blue jolt of lightning slammed into the Hypno, causing it to fly back and smash trunk after trunk of every tree it crashed into. Then Eddy, with a smile on his face, delivered a warm hug to both Emily and Gnasher, thankful to know that they were both alright.
---
The Hypno landed in a pond of orange and green water with empty barrels floating along the surface like lilly pads. A sign posted on its shore read, “If you dump, you’re a chump.” Once the Hypno rose from underneath the water, a pang of dizziness and nausea soon took hold of it. Its fur and skin quickly disappeared as if being eaten by microscopic insects that hadn’t had a meal in days, revealing more and more the Hypno’s muscle layer. The Hypno’s yells of pain sounded more like loud choking, which only grew when its nose and eyes fell into the water. Soon, the Hypno went quiet and its body became limp, which was now nothing more than a lump of muscle with small tears exposing the bone underneath.
---
Back at the clearing, white sparks flew from Eddy and Gnasher several times as they danced happily, Emily and Whitney clapping. Then, Emily noticed the coin on a string and put it in her pocket. When the sparks stopped flying, everyone stood back and closed their eyes when Gnasher’s entire body began to glow. Moments later, everyone opened their eyes.
Gnasher was now taller and possessed a longer snout. There were two silver bands above each paw which were tipped with small claws. There was no longer a skull between its eyes. Instead, a smaller skull was nested in the middle of its chest as the tips of a white rib hugging its throat almost touched it. Three ribs protruded from its back and its tail now resembled a long, skinny arrow. Replacing its ears were small, white horns similar in shape to ram horns. When it howled, it was deeper and prouder than ever before. Its body then turned red as white arrows flew upwards. The creatures in the forest shuddered and rushed to their burrows upon hearing its howl.
“Dang! Two evolutions in one day! Can you believe that Eddy?” said Emily.
With wide eyes and his hand over his heart, Eddy shook his head.
“Gotta be honest. Wasn’t expecting to see a female Houndoom today,” Whitney said with a laugh as she pointed to Gnasher.
Emily put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. “How do you know it’s a girl?”
“See its horns? If it was a male, they’d be a lot bigger.”
“Oh! Where did the Hypno go?”
Gnasher sniffed around. Then, she barked and gestured to the path of broken trees. She jogged toward Emily, bit down on her shirt collar with great care, and lifted her up.
Emily chuckled. “It’s okay, Gnasher. My legs work.”
But Gnasher started briskly following the path of trees, with Eddy and Whitney in tow. Gnasher set Emily down when they, along with Eddy and Whitney, eventually arrived at the orange and green pond. When Emily caught sight of the Hypno’s body, she shook. A sense of lightheadedness washed over her as she retched. Eddy winced with his mouth agape. Gnasher curled her body around Emily and Eddy, hoping that the warmth would bring comfort to them. Whitney stroked her chin, wondering if the Hypno deserved such a fate and if it was the same Hypno she’d heard about from the residents of Goldenrod City.
Her mind drew a blank however and she turned to Emily. “Emily, what did the Hypno do to you?”
Emily explained what happened to her at the clearing. After hearing Emily's explanation, a fiery rage intense enough to incinerate all of the forests in Johto in mere seconds burned inside of her, thinking about what the Hypno had done to her and how it indeed deserved its fate and more. On the outside though, she sighed heavily and hugged Emily, Eddy, and Gnasher, tears forming in her eyes.
“Guys, you destroyed something very evil and I’m very proud,” said Whitney. She then put great effort into mustering up a smile. “Also, I got a plan.”
The quartet arrived in Goldenrod City some time later, each with smiles plastered on their faces. They stopped and turned around when they were near the entrance of the gym. Emily cleared her throat.
“Hey everyone! Look at what me and my Pokemon did!” said Emily.
Whitney then raised the pole of the sign from the pond with the Hypno’s body nailed on top. The onlookers whooped and hollered and broke into a frenzied dance. Other citizens came out of their homes and businesses, wondering what all of the fuss was about, but soon joined in when they saw the body of the Hypno. The women from Whitney’s gym were wheeled out from the Pokemon Center and attempted to mimic the others while laying in their beds.
Eventually, the whole city took part, all except for Eddy, who stood on the side of the gym, rubbing his arm and looking from side to side, fretting about his non-existent dance skills. But then, he looked at Emily and Gnasher, who danced in a way that suggested that they never danced a single moment in their lives yet smiled and laughed anyway. Soon, he walked away from the gym which soon turned into a jog, as he smiled and began to dance with everyone else. Then, Emily released Julie from her Poke Ball and, after looking around, trotted in place with great enthusiasm.
“Oh by the way,” Whitney said to Emily, “you won.”
“No way! Are you kidding?” Emily exclaimed.
“Nope. Hold on a second.” She then ran into the gym, coming out with a diamond-shaped yellow and white badge, a TM that read, “Facade” on the front, and a large stack of Poken moments later. She then handed them to Emily, who beamed as she rubbed the Poken against her cheeks. She screamed to the heavens and repeatedly hopped in place. Soon, she showed her prizes to Eddy, Gnasher, and Julie, who cheered wildly. She then put everything away. “I was gonna give you the TM for Attract but… You’re cute enough already.”
“Thanks Whitney!” Emily replied, giving her a big hug afterwards.
With Emily’s second badge obtained and the evil Hypno slain, what else in store for our heroes? Find out next time on Pokemon: Johto Quest!