Chapter 6: Friends in Need

The grasses leading out of Anvil City's west gate were tall and dense, not allowing travellers access by bicycle. Instead of their usual mode of transport, Matt and Sydney instead put on their hiking boots and started to make their way to the next town on foot. The two had stocked up on supplies and healed their pokemon before they had left the city, so they were well prepared for any tough challenges that lay ahead.

Matt checked on Sydney after about thirty minutes of solid walking. She was looking at the floor, like she always did, and seemed to be pondering over something. "Hey, what's up?" Matt inquired. Sydney looked up, her daydream slipping away. "Oh, I was just wondering about those two trainers we battled," she looked at the floor again. "They left Anvil yesterday, I wonder how they're doing." Matt looked ahead, but all he could see was the dense foliage, even on the horizon. He began to think if there was an actual path at all, or just this stretch of marshland and plains. Sydney, on the other hand, was again lost in her thoughts, that separate world that she continually visited and lived. Matt always thought that she must feel quite lonely, what with not socialising with others and keeping to herself. But, the more he saw her in her far-off state of mind, the more he thought he was the lonely one. She did, after all, seem content and happy. He was the one alone; not speaking with anyone or anything, real or not.

Upon this reverie, Matt frowned and put his head down too. He considered calling on one of his pokemon to talk to, or to scout ahead. He decided it would be best to scout, in an attempt to find a quicker route through the grassland. Matt reached down to his belt and pulled off one of the pokeballs. He threw the sphere into the air and released the pokemon inside. After the white flash had disappeared, a creature with white fur and a large scythe on it's head stood awaiting instruction. "Absol, scout ahead to find a quicker route through this grass. Use cut attack to help too." The Absol nodded and dashed off ahead, cutting a swathe out of the tall vegetation. Sydney approved of her brother's idea and released a pokemon too. Her choice looked like a purple cat, with a forked tail. "Espeon, follow Abol's lead, but search northwards." The Espeon let out a cry of agreement and her eyes flashed white, before leaping off to the north. Matt and Sydney decided to follow Absol's path, stepping over the sliced stems and chopped leaves. Just at that moment, a loud cry of pain could be heard in ahead of them. It sounded human.

Matt glanced at Sydney, before running off in the direction of the shout. Sydney called for Espeon to return, waiting behind until she came back. Matt was listening intently for any more sounds, human or pokemon. He could then make out a growling noise, coming from his right. He turned and pushed his way through the grass, into an area of flattened grass. He saw a couple of men, standing in the centre of the circle, standing over two unconscious teenage boys. Absol was standing by the edge of the circle, growling and leering at the strangers. The two turned around to face Matt.

They wore white and black uniforms, with a large G in the middle of the suit. Their matching hair was turquoise in colour and cut short, in a bowl cut. Matt immediately suspected something. "Hey, what's going on here?" He yelled. He looked back at the two trainers on the ground, he immediately noticed the cowboy hat on one of their heads. No! Robbie and Shock! He looked closer, and saw a lighting bolt tail poking out of the grass. Not Zap too! The man on the left spoke, "look, another foolish trainer." His accomplice looked down at the boys on the floor, then to Absol. "We could take all of them actually, then the boss will be very pleased." The two nodded and picked two pokeballs from their belts. Matt was confused by their words and actions, but they had obviously knocked out Robbie and Shock, and were going to do the same to him. He ordered Absol to take a defensive stance, then picked another pokeball. He threw it into the air and a Blastoise appeared in front of him. The two strangers hesitated, before throwing their pokeballs too.

The two pokemon that appeared both looked like discs of metal with yellow eyes; a pair of Bronzor. Matt chuckled, these two weren't as intimidating as they appeared; Bronzor weren't effective against Absol, and would be weak to his Blastoise too. He ordered his team swiftly, "Blstoise, Bubblebeam! Absol, Dark Pulse!" Blastoise put the pressure on with a harsh blast of bubbles, while Absol released a wave of dark energy straight at the Bronzor. The two attacks hit and weakened the opposition, making them reel backwards. "Now! Water Gun and Shadow Ball!" Blastoise fired a strong jet of water at the Bronzor on the right, while Absol shot an orb of darkness at the other. The attacks hit and the two Bronzor fainted without unleashing a single attack. Astonished, the two strangers scowled at their opponent, before returning their pokemon and running out of the circle of grass.

Matt thanked his pokemon and returned them to their pokeballs. He made his way over to Robbie and Shock, both of which were still out cold. He checked their pulses and shifted them into more comfortable positions. Suddenly, someone burst into the circle from behind him. He turned around, reaching for Blastoise's pokeball, before he saw Sydney and Espeon. She looked exhausted, she must have been searching everywhere for him. She gasped as she saw Robbie and Shock and rushed over to their sides. "Matt, what happened!" She whispered. He looked over to where the two white uniformed strangers had gone. "I followed Absol here, there were two guys standing over them. They'd knocked out these guys." Sydney frowned, unable to believe what she was seeing and hearing. "Where are they now?" She asked. "I beat them in a battle, then they ran off," he explained. "weird thing is, they looked at Zap and Absol and said 'we should take them all', and something about their boss being pleased." Sydney frowned even deeper, before putting her hand to her mouth, "You don't think that they meant to take the pokemon, do you?" Matt shook his head, "no idea, but they certainly aren't friendly." He stood up, "we'd better watch out for them in the future. Never know what they might be up to."

Sydney returned her curious Espeon and reached inside her pack for some potions. She'd never tried any on a human before, but it just might work. She sprayed a little of the potion onto each of the bruised lumps on the trainers' heads, before doing the same to Zap. The two conscious trainers waited patiently, hoping that their friends would wake up. Zap stirred, before jumping up and looking around hurriedly. He saw the two trainers and cheered a happy cry. "Chu! Raichu!" He smiled and crackled his cheeks in welcome. Sydney crouched and patted the Raichu's head, "aw, you're so sweet." Zap smiled again and jumped over to Shock, jolting him into consciousness. The younger teen bolted upright and yelped in pain. "OW!" He then realised the two trainers standing next to him. He stared, confused, up at them, "wh- what happened?"