Chapter 15: Pinwheel Forest

"We must go and stop them!" said Pedro. His curly locks made him look rather cute, Harper thought. His heroic boldness gave Harper the butterflies. She felt a bit dizzy, but she soon smacks out of it – she had something very important to do. She had to save this town from those stupid Team Plasma people. Pedro was right; they couldn’t allow them to take off with a stolen precious object.

"I agree," she announced. She walked to comfort gym leader Lenora, who looked rather distressed. "Are you ok?" she thought it best to ask.

“I think I’ll be better once the object is returned,” Lenora said. “Oh, and I forgot, here’s the badge you earnt.” Lenora handed the badge to Harper.

"Yes!" she said, examining the shiny badge. "Now where were we? Yes! Do you need any help? We’re pretty good at helping." Back in Pallet Town, Harper once helped an old lady moves things into her new home. Harper knew doing good deeds made her feel good and show how much of a good person she is. She won an award for that.

"That dragon's skeleton was gifted to me by my grandfather. I don't think I could go any longer without that. While I don’t want to put you in danger, please find that dragon's skeleton and bring it back to me! I would kindly reward you for it," she said. Harper smiled – she liked rewards, especially if they are yummy chocolate.

"Yes!" she said bravely. "We’ll help you."

"Thank you," said Lenora.

So, they dashed their way out of the gym, and towards the inner part of Pinwheel Forest. With how fast they were running, Harper felt like a racing car driver. Pedro was the fastest runner in the group, so he led. Next was Harper, who was almost as fast as Pedro. And Brandon was tailing on be bind, but that was because of his massive yellow backpack slowing him down.

They came to the forest. Although there was a concrete pathway leading through the forest, they decided to ignore it. Brandon was an expert in tracking people, and he said Team Plasma went off the beaten track.

"They went into the bush," Brandon explained as he studied the ground. "We must act first since these marks tell me they were here maybe five minutes ago! They can’t be far!"

Knowing they didn’t have time to waste, they ran faster than they had ever run before. Harper didn’t want to disappoint the lovely Lenora. She was very nice to Harper, so she was eager to repay the favour.

They dashed through the scrubland, trying to avoid any wild Pokémon trying to ambush them – they didn't have the time for that. They soon came across a log that could be used as a bridge. Harper stared at it in fear. She shook her head as her heart began pumping hard. She was about to turn around when Pedro approached her to see if she was alright.

and start and started to break down and cruelled into a foetus poison – she was scared out of her

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"I'm scared of small spaces," she said. "I have claustrophobia."

"Oh!" he said in surprise. "I never knew you had a phobia like that? Why didn't you ever tell us? We could’ve gotten you treatment that could help you in situations like this.”

"I’ve thought about getting help, but even doing that scares me,” she said. “Come on, we don’t have time to discuss this. You must go on without me!"

"No!" said Pedro. "We don’t leave anyone behind!”

“Why must you be liked that?” Harper express. “Go now, while you have the chance!"

“We don’t leave friends behind; that’s a rule,” Pedro paused before confessing. “I have feelings for you!”

Unexpectedly, he kissed her. The kiss was tinder, and Harper felt a rush of excitement inside of her. She was unaware Pedro had the same feelings for her as she did for him. The thought gave her butterflies.

"I know," she said also. “But we can discuss this later. You must go now! I’ll stay here and guard. I know you’ll succeed without me.”

"Yes," he said in anxiety. "I must go. Take care.”

Leaving Harper after confessing his love for her, felt strange. But Pedro knew there was no point in forcing her through a tight space. Landon and Pedro darted through the log and further into the forest. The tree branches kept getting in their way, making it hard to see what was in front of them. But with a machete made things much easier, since it allowed Pedro and slash through the forest – he learnt this at school as a child. They soon arrived at where the Team Plasma members were hiding.

"Give up your stolen goods and we’ll let you go!" Pedro remarked. "Hand it over now!"

"Never!" yelled the Team Plasma member. "We stole it fair and square. If you want our stolen goods back, you’ll have to battle me for it! Sandile, let's show them who's boss!"

His Pokémon was beside him, and it leapt forward to battle. It was some mustard-brown crocodile with black stripes. It looked as if it hadn't been fed in days and was ready to eat whatever it saw first, even if it was another Pokémon.

"Mudkip, let's teach these punks what happens to people who commit a crime!" Pedro said. He was extremely pumped up. He wanted to show this meanie a lesson or two. "This is your last warning. Hand it over or face my wrath!"

"Certainly not! Sandile… ATTACK THEM NOW!"

As Mudkip charged toward the Sandile, the Sandile concentrated and magically formed a protective shield around itself. The Mudkip spat a burst of water at the Sandile, but the attack was simply reflected by the invisible shield. Standing tall, the Sandile concentrated even more. It was able to enter the Mudkip’s mind, tormenting it. Although the Mudkip was unsure what had occurred, it was unable to use its water spit attack again. It had come to come up with another strategy. Grabbing a handful of mud, the Mudkip threw it at the Sandile. This was ineffective, however.

The Mudkip started feeling a tingly sensation. It began to glow a bright light. It was evolving, transforming into a Swampert. The new evolved Pokémon struck the Sandile with its hammer-like arm, which hit the Sandile so hard it was knocked out. The Team Plasma member began to panic. Knowing he was in trouble, the man ran off, leaving the dragon's skeleton beside.

"Well done," said Harper as she charged in to hug Pedro.

"Let's go back and give this back to Lenora," he replied.

So, after getting their Pokémon healed at the Pokemon Centre – the nurse had drunk another V, so she was all over the place that Harper was surprised her Pokémon were even healed properly. They gave Lenora the stolen object back, which she was incredibly grateful for.

"Thanks, guys," she replied. "I don't what I would’ve done without you all. Thanks very much. I hope to see you around someday."

"We’ll sure will," said Harper. "Once I’ve caught a flying Pokémon, I’m sure we can return now and then to see you. Gosh, I love this place. The warehouse look does suit it.”

"Well, thanks. See you around."

And they went back to the Pokémon centre for the night. Harper was excited since tomorrow was going to be a busy day. She was going to be sad to say farewell to this town though.