A Missing Child

Chapter 5: A Missing Child

A young boy stood atop the grassy bank of a small stream, his eyes closed in concentration. With a grunt, he threw his hands forward and suddenly, a boulder nearby rose up into the air. It defied gravity, hovering effortlessly in midair.

Nathan stood still and silent, his face a mask of concentration as he carefully manipulated the boulder with his unseen power. His hands were outstretched to either side, and though he made no physical contact with the rock, it moved steadily in response to his every thought, turning in larger and larger circles.

He brought his hands down and the boulder began to lower itself to the ground, feeling the strain of the effort on his body and mind.

When the big rock finally touched the ground, he let out a slow breath. The energy it had taken to perform such a feat had drained him completely. Despite this, he was proud of his accomplishment as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"I did it!" Nathan let out a triumphant cry as he turned to his partner, Growlithe. The pup had gotten hold of a chew toy and was tearing it apart with gusto.

"Woof?" Growlithe barked in confusion, his head cocked to one side.

"Never mind," Nathan sighed as he flopped onto the ground, exhausted after a long day of training.

After he received his trainer ID yesterday, Nathan skipped going back to the orphanage and instead chose to spend the night in the dungeon he had already conquered. With only two days left before his graduation, he wanted to give some last-minute training and finish up exploring the dungeon.

It was late in the afternoon. Nathan decided it was time to wrap up his training for the day. He returned to the dungeon one last time to retrieve the dungeon core, as nothing of value remained.

With the core in hand, he nodded in satisfaction and stored it away in his Inventory before setting off. Behind him, the dungeon slowly began to disintegrate.

The return trip was eventless. Nathan pulled into the bright pink and white building of the Pokemon Center, a place he was all too familiar with.

While his Growlithe was being seen by Nurse Joy, he went to buy some snacks for the kids at the orphanage. After Nurse Joy finished tending to his friend, Nathan expressed his gratitude before taking off on the road once again.

The sun was setting as Nathan arrived at the Oxnard's Orphanage. He could already tell that something wasn't right, as the atmosphere seemed incredibly gloomy. Even when he greeted his foster siblings and handed out the treats, there was a strange sense of unease among them.

Everyone had gathered around Miss Cole, the orphanage matron, who was in tears, her face pale and worn with worry. "What's wrong?" Nathan asked, alarmed by her despairing state.

Miss Cole managed to compose herself enough to explain that one of the children had gone missing two days ago during an outing in the nearby park. The entire staff at the orphanage had been searching for the girl day and night in vain.

Nathan felt his heart sink at the news. He had grown up with these kids and knew them all as if they were his own family.

"Don't worry, Miss Cole. I'll go look for her," he said, "Have you reported this to the police?"

"Yes," the matron sobbed through her handkerchief, "but they're preoccupied with another case. They said they'd look into it, but nothing yet."

"Do you have something I can track Lily down with?"

"Yes, just wait, I'm getting it for you." Miss Cole hurried upstairs and then rushed back down a minute later with a yellow and blue patterned scarf. She handed it to him, saying it was Lily's favorite.

Nathan took the scarf and held it close to Growlithe. "Hey boy, you think you can track her with this?"

Growlithe gave a few sniffs and barked to signal that he had found a scent. Nathan let out the breath that he had been unconsciously holding. Without that clue he wouldn't have known where to look for Lily.

The puppy then darted towards the door and Nathan turned to Miss Cole, whose eyes were glazed with tears. "Looks like Growlithe found her trail. I'm heading out to find her."

"Be careful out there," she said, her voice thick with tears.

Nathan nodded. "I will. C'mon, Growlithe!" and off they went from the orphanage.

The streets were devoid of people as they ran through the streets of the city. As Growlithe took the lead, Nathan whispered a silent prayer for Lily's safety. "Please be well."

Night had fallen as they moved away from Viridian City. The stars shone brightly against the inky night sky, but even this darkness was not enough to slow them down. They had grown accustomed to traveling after dark during their training.

The trail Growlithe was tracking was becoming more difficult to follow as they walked deeper into the woods, but his loyal companion never faltered. After an hour of trekking through the darkness, Nathan caught a glimpse of something in the distance.

He motioned with one hand for Growlithe to remain quiet, then tiptoed forward, the soft grass muffling his steps. The moonlight revealed the pale figure of Lily slumped beside an old pine tree.

As he stepped closer, he noticed her arms were bound tightly with a rope and her face was gaunt and thin, clearly starved. She was kidnapped?!

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps approaching. Nathan quickly retreated to hiding, pressing close to the ground and peering through a group of bushes.

A cluster of dark figures emerged from the trees and moved towards them, dragging something large that seemed to be struggling. Upon a closer look, Nathan noticed they were Pokemon, secured in nets.

The figures then chucked their cargo next to the unconscious girl with raucous laughter echoing through the night air. Nathan squinted at them and realized with a start that they wore the familiar black uniforms of Team Rocket, an imposing red R was emblazoned on each chest.

Nathan watched with a heavy heart as Team Rocket left with their captives, Lily among them. He could make out the weak, motionless form of the girl being carried away. His jaw tightened and he signaled to Growlithe to follow them.

Growlithe, who was still in the shadows, seemed to understand and moved swiftly yet silently in pursuit. Eventually, they reached a clearing where cages constructed of steel were clustered around several campfires.

Nathan's stomach churned as he spotted dozens of Pokemon, imprisoned alongside several frightened-looking children. The guards were patrolling the perimeter in pairs, accompanied by a single Pokemon. Nathan's fists clenched as he watched the camp from his hiding place.

Before he could decide his next move, however, he heard a voice call out from the camp. He peered into the darkness, recognizing the speaker as one of Team Rocket's grunts. "Hey everyone! It's time to move out, so let's get these cages loaded up and head back to base."

Nathan's heart dropped as he watched the grunts go about moving the cages and loading them into the parked trucks. He had thought of taking on Team Rocket alone but realized that it would be impossible - there were too many of them for him alone to fight off.

Realizing he needed help if he was going to stand any chance at rescuing the captives, Nathan whispered something to Growlithe before retreating away from the camp. He had a plan - crazy as it was - but it just might work.

XXXXX

Two men were seated on logs around a crackling campfire, sparks rising high into the night sky. They were discussing the day's events while passing a bottle between them.

"So, what are you going to do after this?" the first man asked, rubbing his hands together to keep them warm.

The second man took a large swig before replying, "I'll take my bonus and head to a bar to find a nice girl."

The first man let out a laugh. "Ah, that's–" His comment was cut short by the dull thud of something hitting the ground.

"Did you hear that?" he asked, standing in the direction of the noise.

The other man likewise got to his feet, equally surprised. "Yeah. Let's go take a look."

The two men looked around, searching the darkness surrounding their campfire. All they could make out was the dim light of the moon, which shone through the trees.

Then, they saw it. There was an odd-looking object a few feet away from them. It was big and oval shaped. The two men slowly stepped closer to it, eyes wide with curiosity.

"What is it?" the first man asked, taking out his flashlight to get a better look.

The light revealed a strange creature, almost like a giant bug. Its body was mostly covered in a thick, black exoskeleton, with bright yellow stripes running along its back. Its head was large, and it had two bulbous eyes which shone in the moonlight.

"It's a Kakuna," the second man said, recognizing the species. "Do you think it fell from a tree?"

At that moment, the silence of the night was broken by an unnaturally loud buzzing sound. The two men stiffened and slowly raised their heads, staring in disbelief at the hundreds of Beedrills hovering in front of them. Their glossy red eyes were fixed on them, filled with nothing but pure hatred.

"What the!?"

The two men scrambled, running for the safety of the nearby trees. But they were too late - the Beedrills were already upon them, and their stings filled the night air with a sickening sound. The angry swarm descended upon the camp, throwing it into a state of disarray.

The Beedrills had been "summoned" by Nathan, who was now perched atop a tree overlooking the camp. Meanwhile, Growlithe was running from cage to cage, releasing all of the imprisoned Pokemon.

No longer held captive, they turned their anger toward their previous captors. Chaos ensued as Team Rocket desperately tried to fend off their onslaught.

A smirk played over Nathan's lips as he watched his devious plan unfold before him. It seemed that this time, Team Rocket's schemes had come undone - thanks in no small part to the Beedrills.

However, there was still one thing left to do - free the children.

Rushing down from the tree, Nathan shouted out orders to the freed Pokemon. He pointed at Team Rocket and told them to keep them busy while he got the children out of their prison.

With a stone, he smashed the lock and opened the door. The kids within were congregated in a corner, frozen in fright. Then, a little girl stood up and ran to him, her golden hair swaying as she ran. She threw her arms around him in an embrace, trembling with relief.

"Nathan! It's you!" Lily cried, her voice trembling with emotion. "I was so scared when they took me away."

"It's alright, you're safe now," Nathan said comforting the little girl.

He stepped away from her and knelt in front of the small gathering of children. Gently putting a hand on each of their shoulders, he reassured them that everything would be okay and that he would take them back to safety.

"Now get in the truck. We're leaving soon," he commanded, and they hastily scrambled into the cargo area.

Nathan glanced back at the camp and saw Growlithe, breathing a stream of fire toward a Zubat. He let out a sharp whistle and waved an arm in the air. "Time to go, Growlithe!" he called.

"Woof!" Growlithe barked and swiped his paw at the nearest Team Rocket member, before darting off towards Nathan.

On his way, he shouted something up to a bird who had been swooping down from the sky and firing off powerful gusts of wind from its wings. It gave a quick nod of understanding and deftly banked in the opposite direction to follow Growlithe.

Nathan climbed into the driver's seat and noticed the keys already there. He cranked the ignition, and the engine roared to life.

"You got this, Nathan," he murmured to himself. "Keep your eyes on the road and hands on the steering wheel. Just like you remembered."

He barely registered the orange fur of Growlithe jumping into the back of the truck followed by a smaller brown figure. Who's that?

His curiosity was stirred, but he pushed it aside – this wasn't time for questions. Without another thought, he pressed his foot down on the gas pedal and the truck lurched forward into the night.

Flames glowed in the night sky, reflecting off the windscreen as Team Rocket was driven from the camp. Nathan looked back with a satisfied grin before turning his attention back to the road ahead of him. Viridian City was their destination.

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The main character in our story is the same age as Ash when he first left Pallet Town. Until next time. Bye!

Info Card:

Pokemon: Growlithe (Male)

Level: 18

Type: Fire

Ability: Flash Fire

Held Item: Charcoal

Moves: Ember, Howl, Bite, Helping Hand, Will-O-Wisp