"Goodbye Josh." Said Hayla as the group prepared to leave.
"Wait," exclaimed Josh, "Take these. I used to be a Pokemon trainer but I quit a while ago. Take these two Charmanders, they will be better off with you."
"Thanks! See-ya!" exclaimed Trent.
"Let's see," said Hayla as she chose Pokemon, "I'll use Oddish, Hitmonlee, Geodude, Gyarados, Abra, and Squirtle."
The group had traveled to The Pokemon Center outside of the Rock Tunnel. They entered the tunnel to Lavender Town and walked a little more than half way through, when a voice stopped them.
"Hey Rookies, let's see how bad your Pokemon skills are." Snickered the voice. It was a Pokemaniac. Pokemaniacs were obsessed with Pokemon info. They had no respect for anyone that wasn't as smart as they were. No one was as smart as they were. "Remember rookie, once you call out a Pokemon, you can't call it back till it faints. Go Geodude!"
"Go Squirtle!" Hayla replied.
"Umm…forget it." mumbled the Pokemaniac as he called back Geodude and ran off.
As Hayla, Trent, and Hitmonlee laughed, another voice cut across.
"Grronix!" it boomed. Hayla didn't need to see it to know what it was.
"Yes! An Onix!" she shouted, "Squirtle, weaken it with Water Gun attack!"
The water gun weakened the gargantuan rock snake, but not enough to capture it. It then tackled Squirtle with such a force that Squirtle fainted.
"Hitmonlee, what are you doing?" shouted Hayla as Hitmonlee jumped into action. Hitmonlee used every move it knew until finally Onix was weak enough to capture.
"Pokeball, go!" yelled Hayla.
In one split second, before the Pokeball hit, Onix lashed out with its huge tail. It smacked Hitmonlee flying into a wall of the cave. Hitmonlee hit the wall and fainted on impact. Then the Pokeball hit Onix, captured it, and it was sent to the P.C. Hayla rushed to Hitmonlee's side.
"I guess I have to use the ring." Hayla sighed, "Trent, hold my hand." She said as she scooped up Hitmonlee. The ring flashed, and soon the group was in Lavender Town.
"Sweet! I didn't know the ring could do that." Exclaimed Trent. They rushed to the Pokemon Center where Nurse Joy put Hitmonlee on a stretcher and wheeled him into the emergency room. Hayla stood by the door, still as a statue.
"Hayla, uh, I'm going back to the tunnel. I want to catch a Zubat."
Hayla said nothing as Trent left. Trent quickly caught a Zubat, then another Pokemon jumped out of the darkness. It was a Machop.
"This'll cheer Hayla up." Said Trent. He captured it and headed towards the Pokemon Center.
Back at the Pokemon Center, a strange blue gas was spreading through the building.
"I'm so tired." Said Hayla as she fell over into a deep sleep.
"Prepare for Trouble." Ringo laughed.
"Make it double." Star giggled.
When Trent returned, he found Hayla sitting on the front step of the Pokemon center with waterfalls pouring out of her eyes.
"What's up? What's wrong?" asked Trent.
"T-Team Rocket broke in. T-they took Hitmonlee!" Hayla stuttered.
"Zubat, go! Find Hitmonlee. When you do, bring back someone to help us rescue him." Commanded Trent.
"Zubat, I'm counting on you." Wept Hayla
"No matter what, I swear we'll find him." Trent said trying to comfort Hayla.
That night, Hayla didn't sleep. She sat outside the Pokemon Center while questions buzzed through her head. Was Hitmonlee okay? Where was he? Would Zubat return? All of these questions will be answered in the next fanfic.