Chapter 24: Just Desert

Harper and her group of friends arrived at the northern exit gate of Castalia City. As they got closer to the gate, they started to feel the heat of the desert. The blazing sandstorm outside made things worse, causing everything to heat up.

"I’ve never been through a desert before," said Harper.

"There’s a first time for everyone," said Pedro laughingly. "I once walked through the Mexican desert, so I’m used to stuff like this."

"I’m glad you are here to guide me through this," said Harper. "With my Pokémon stolen, if I tried to walk through this desert without you, I would become an emotional mess."

"I’m sure you wouldn’t become an emotional mess," told Pedro. "You are a very strong woman and I’ve seen you go through much worse. Remember when you lost your first gym battle. Even though you thought about giving up, you didn’t. You were strong enough to get up and fight on. You’re a very strong person when you want to be."

"I think you’re right," said Harper. "Let’s get going. I wonder if I can catch myself some new Pokémon to replace the ones that were stolen from me. I did buy some new Pokéballs just before we left the city, so I have plenty of balls to throw out. I really need new Pokémon."

"So do I," said Brandon, "I really miss my Pokémon, but I’m glad I still have my Bulbasaur."

"I am more affected," said Harper. "My Pokémon team was far greater than yours. My loss is far worse than your one. You should stop complaining."

Harper wasn’t being mean to Brandon since she was telling the hard truth. Since starting this journey, Brandon had lost most of his battles. By catching some new Pokémon, especially on more advanced routes, he would be able to make up a new team far better than his old one. Harper on the other hand had such a top-rated team that she wondered if she could replace her old team with a new one. She hated the idea of beginning from scratch again.

She approached the sandy desert. The wind was blowing in her face. She used her face to cover her eyes. The nurse back in the Pokémon centre was right, the desert was a very dangerous place. She looked at Pedro. He had expertise in Hoenn. He knew perfectly well she was having troubles. He could see the look on her face as she was about to brace for the storm.

"Don’t worry," he said, "I’ve brought some goggles for you so that it did not get sand in your bountiful eyes."

He got out of his band two pairs of goggles – one for, and one for her. Her goggles were pink and very girly, while his ones were blue. She knew he was the right person for her. He thought of everything. Brandon didn’t have much common sense, so he brought along a goofy-looking gasmask.

"You look like a dork," said Harper

“At least I’m not going to get sand in my mouth,” Brandon said.

“You would be right,” Pedro said, “but I also got to headscarves to put over our nose and mouths.”

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They wandered into the desert. It was quite different to see what was in front of them due to the sandstorm. A few pieces of sand hit Harper now and then. They didn’t hurt at all, but they were an annoyance. Luckily her goggles shielded all the damage the sand could do to her eyes.

She looked around the plains. There were in the distance old, ruined buildings. They were made of old clay bricks, but most of the walls were crumbling. Eventually, the road ended, and they were forced to trudge through sand. They continued walking, looking left and right to make sure no wild Pokémon would come out and attack them.

In the distance, she could see something. It was a shadowy figure but the closer she got she realized it was not just a shadow but a Pokémon. The closer she got the more she could see what type of Pokémon it was. When she got about a few feet from it she sussed out what it was. She knew completely what type of Pokémon it was. No matter what anyone else was going to do, she was going to catch that Pokémon. It was a crocodile-type Pokémon.

"Stand back," she said, "this one is mine."

"You have more Pokémon than me," said Brandon.

"Do I look like I care," said Harper. "Plus, I am the better trainer here."

She grabbed from her pockets a Pokéball. She had only two balls left since the other ones were stolen. When they reached the next town, she knew she had to replace them. She hoped this one would do the job fine and be a great new addition to her new Pokémon team. Once she’d caught this one, she would only need three more before she had a complete team.

"Tepig," she said as she drew out her Pokéball, "I choose you!"

The Sandile trotted up to the Tepig. It was growling and ready for a fight. The Pokémon was a mustardy yellow colour with black stripes up its body. It had a long-pointed snout that could easily snap something into its mouth. Its black binuclear-like eyes, which helped it look through a sandstorm, stared viciously at Harper's Tepig.

It leapt at the pig-like Pokémon, attempting to bite the other Pokémon. Tepig was able to leap out of the way in a dashing hurry. The Sandile turned around and attempted to perform Sand Attack. Sadly, and to Harper's disappointment, this attack worked, causing Tepig to become blind for a moment. The Sandile then dug down into the ground. While waiting for the attack, Tepig was able to wipe its eyes with its paws, getting the sand out of its eyes. This was enough for the pig to see the Sandile launch out of the ground. Again, Tepig was able to dodge the attack. Irritated, the Sandile started to growl even more. In a desperate attempt, it jumped at Tepig and tried to crunch its mouth into the pig's Pokémon’s leg. This however didn’t have the effect it wanted, and instead caused the Sandile to catch on fire. As it was whimpering in pain, Harper took out a spare Pokéball and threw it out at the wild Pokémon.

The ball started to wobble. They stood waiting patiently for the result. Harper held her breath not knowing if she was ever going to catch another Pokémon. Then the ball glowed for the second and then it stopped moving. There were no more nudges. Harper took a sigh of relief breath. She had caught the Pokémon. It was hers now.

They then walked a bit and then came across another Pokémon. Harper was feeling tired, so she let Brandon catch the next one. To his disappointment, it was a Trubbish. Harper giggled at that. At least she did catch the pile of rubbish. Brandon felt very sick. He tried to keep it in. He even wished he had swallowed it, but out came a yellow spew.

"Ewe, gross!" Harper exclaimed. "I’m not cleaning that one up."

"It’s not my fault," said Brandon. "I just hope I don’t have to use it in a battle.”

"Does us a favour, and don’t," said Harper, "since I do not want to see the foul thing near me, do you understand?"

"I understand," said Brandon.

"Good to hear," she said.

After that, they continued their way to the next city. To the left of them was an old mining camp. Once she had retrieved her Pokémon, Harper decided that they would explore there next. But first, she wanted her Pokémon back. The next city was basically a giant theme park., so Harper wondered what adventure was going to happen there. In the distance, she saw the Ferris Wheel. She knew where she had to go first.