Too Much is a Problem [Solo]

[King of Cats]

"The early bird is known to catch the worm." Shiroyasha said to his party of Pokemon. The group was standing in a clearing just west of New Bark Town. They weren't quite on the Route yet, but were in between the town and the road. Shiroyasha was standing in front of his two Pokemon, giving an animated tell of what he expected out of his Pokemon on the trip to Cherry Grove. "You two need to focus on what I am saying." Shiroyasha said to his to two young Pokemon as they were playing smack-a-mon with each other.

The leader of the team, Amidamaru was certainly a character. He was a tall Charmander, well built and filled with sharp teeth in his mouth. Amidamaru wore a green handkerchief around his neck. He looked cool and his personality matched. Amidamaru was a proud Pokemon who considered his trainer an idiot. Amidamaru was strongly against following Shiroyasha and would frequently burn him with blasts of fire from his mouth.

Next to Amidamaru was his newfound friend. Craig the Geodude. Craig was abandoned at the adoption center, and Shiroyasha had taken him in. Shiroyasha had gone to the adoption center with Amidamaru, hoping to find someone to befriend the Charmander, and as it would happen, Craig rushed the pair at the adoption gates. Craig was a delightfully cheerful Pokemon. He made quick friends with Amidamaru in the adoption center, and when it came time for the Geodude to interact with Shiroyasha, the trainer was pleasantly pleased. Craig was bold and playful, a perfect companion for Amidamaru. Shiroyasha quickly signed the papers to adopt the Geodude, and named him Craig.

This was set to be Amidamaru's first adventure with Craig. The two had gotten a long well at the adoption center, but Shiroyasha had kept them both locked inside of their boke balls since then. Unleashed in the wild, Amidamaru and Craig were having fun. Amidamaru stood overtop of the rocky Pokemon, slapping the top of Craig's bald head with his claws. Amidamaru was enjoying himself, picking on the little guy, and Craig was laughing from all the tickles.

"H-hey! Stop it! Stop it! Hahaha!" Craig said to Amidamaru. The taller Pokemon continued to viciously scratch at Craig, and that was when Shiroyasha had had enough. "Knock it off you two!" He yelled.

Amidamaru snapped his neck over at his trainer and let out a vicious hiss. The Pokemon who were gathering around Shiroyasha, looking for a meal ticket, scurried away when they heard the frightening roar of Amidamaru. "Take a hike already! Stinky human, stupid human, sorry human. I wish- Craig!" Amidamaru had stopped tickling Craig and was now with his hands on his hips, staring at Craig. "Craig, you gotta help me do something with this guy. He's a total pain in my arse. Being around Shiroyasha gives me fleas, and I don't even have fur. Please buddy, ole pal, cmon guy, help me tank this square so we can be free and roam the world together. El mano to el mano. What do ya say Craig?" Amidamaru did his best to smile.

Before Craig could answer Amidamaru, Shiroyasha snapped his fingers loudly. "Focus you two!" Shiroyasha was at his wits end with these Pokemon and the trip hadn't even started.

Now standing on his two hands, Craig look at Amidamaru in the eyes. "Just this once.. distract him for me." Craig fell back to the ground with a loud ker plunk.

Turning around to face his trainer, Amidamaru did his best not to smile. If Shiroyasha saw the Charmander crack a grin he would know that the two Pokemon were up to something. Amidamaru stayed stone faced, even putting on a bit of a pout. He wanted Shiroyasha to think that he was being obedient, and not that he was about to make his great get away. The noble charmander bowed his head and kicked his feet into the dirt.

Shocked by his pokemons sudden obedience, Shiroyasha couldn't help but smile. He was finally breaking free of the nightmare that was a trainers pokemon disrespecting them. "That wonderf-" A rock came flying through the air from Craig. It soared swiftly and landed right square in the middle of Shiroyasha's forehead. His skin split open and blood started spurting all over as he fell to the ground motionless. Shiroyasha was out cold and his still body was collecting dust as his two Pokemon scampered off.

WordCount: 745

[King of Cats]

Running as fast as they could, Amidamaru and Craig made off into the early morning horizon. They ran and ran, praying with all of their hearts that Shiroyasha would stay asleep, and, well, asleep wasn’t quite the right word for it. Shiroyasha was unconscious though, that much was certain.

After running for what felt like hours, Amidamaru slowed down and came to a halt. He wasn’t getting tired, but he was worried about his friend. Craig wasn’t exactly equipped for running, himself just a rock with arms, and Amidamaru was a caring soul who took notice of his friends. ”Craig, slow down. I think we are good.” Amidamaru turned around to face the Geodude. ”You did a great job there. I knew you had the aim, you just- POW! That was good. Mad respect, big dawg” Amidamaru stuck his fist out for Craig to pound it.

After showing solidarity with Amidamaru in their running away, Craig flopped on the ground with his arms outstretched. The rock pokemon was thoroughly winded and he had wanted to brake a break ten minutes ago, but he was no wimp and pushed through it. Geodudes were known for being remarkably resilient and Craig was top contender for most resilient Geodude of the bunch. He had pushed on for as long as a Geodude could push on, and finally he was getting his reward.

As Craig caught his breath, Amidamaru rambled on. He was an incredibly fit Pokemon and could have ran for another hour if he had to. ”So what do you think? Did we kill him? Not that I care..” Amidamaru looked nervous. He was an obstinate Pokemon, but not above the law. He feared what would happen to killer Pokemon, but at the same time he wasn’t too worried about Shiroyasha. He continued on with his talk, ”I figure we just live in this forest from here on out. Route uh… twenty five. Something like that. We can chill here, hunt caterpie. You like caterpie right?” Amidamaru paused for a moment. It hadn’t occurred to him just what a Geodude ate. After taking a second to try and remember just what Shiroyasha fed Craig, Amidamaru continued on with unwavering confidence. ”So let’s keep walking around. We’ll find some food. I can go hunting, you should…. Uhh… suck on a rock or something until we find you a berry.” Amidamaru straightened his neck tie and turned back around. Calling to Craig, who was starting to roll uptight again, ready to continue walking with the leader of the pack into an unknown mystery.

---

After the duo walked for a long couple of hours, they began to wander into civilized land. There were little trails that Pokemon left from scurry about the forest, and as Amidamaru inspected the tracks he was one hundred percent sure that he and Craig were on the lead to a Pokemon village. Amidamaru made lots of "oohs." and ["ahhs,"[/color] as he led Craig toward the village.

Walking up to what was clearly a nest of Rattata burrows, Amidamaru started talking to stony-faced Craig, this time with an authoritative tone. "Alright bro, you need to fit in. I doubt there's any geodudes in this forest, keep cool and help me fit in with the people. Ooh! Look, there's someone!" Amidamaru swished his fiery tail in the direction of where he had just seen a Rattata scurrying from one hole to another. "Let's accost them!" Amidamaru had a devilish grin plastered to his face. The Charmander finally free.

Ever since Amidamaru could remember, and that was early in his egg stage, he had always been bound by some kind of force. When he was an infant it was the eggshell, but then he got hatched in the breeding center and there were all sorts of rules and examinations to pass. Life always felt boxed in for Amidamaru, but luckily for him, the Charmander was a rare breed and there was high value in Amidamaru as a starter Pokemon. Amidamaru was destined to sit in a poke ball after his breeding qualifications were met. Again, in a prison. Amidamaru hated it. Life seemed like a prison to him, and when he was finally let free, he had a rosy disposition. That was, until he met his trainer. Shiroyasha was a green horn, young buck. He was totally fresh out of the gates as a Pokemon trainer. Amidamaru saw himself becoming a champion, not some peon's flunkies. To say he was disappointed in Shiroyasha was an understatement. 

Now that he was free though, Amidamaru had a new lease on life. He wanted to befriend other Pokemon and use them in his quest to evolve and grow power. That is to say, Amidamaru was highly self absorbed. He anted to become a strong warrior at all costs, and represent his species of Pokemon. To show the world that Charmander is the best fire type was his dream, and manipulating the village members was his first tas after escaping the tan skinned, human clutches of his opressor. Amidamaru was geeked. This was his chance to express himself as a free man and Charmander wouldn't waste a beat. He charged the Rattata who was standing out in the streets.

Running on all fours, Charmander barrel rushed the Rattata at full speed. The Rattata, a fellow named George Tintooth, shrieked in terror. Unsure what to do, George was frozen with fear as Amidamaru came stampeding through the dirt road streets, Craig just watched on, his face exceptionally Stony. He couldn't believe Amidamaru sometimes, but he did have an appreciation for the Charmander's fiery passions. 

Stomping through the streets, Amidamaru came nose to whisker with the Rattata. Amidamaru was smiling, his clear blue eyes staring straight into the Rattata's beady little Brown eyes. "Hi. I'm Amidamaru." Amidamaru said to the Pokemon he had just brazenly greeted. 

George the Rattata stammered for a second, taken back by Amidamaru's suddenness. "U-uhm hello there young chap." George said with a strong accent. "I take it your new to Sleepy Hollow?" The Rattata brushed it's ruffle dfur down and sat back on it's hind legs, assuming a taller posture.

Still smiling with every bit of his being, Amidamaru stood up and straightened out his green neck tie. "Alright, Sleepy Hollow. Craig! Come over here, bro!" Amidamaru turned around and waved his claws over for Craig. The Geodude was slower than Amidamaru, but he made his way over by hustling and bustling. Craig was a loyal follower, all it took was a word from his leader and he would serve his purpose. 

"Hey there, I'm Craig." Craig introduced himself. He had a much deeper voice than Amidamaru, and WAY deeper than George the Rattata. "We just esca-" Amidamaru kicked Craig in the backside. 

"We escaped a breeding facility." Amidamaru didn't want to let loose that they had potentially killed their trainer. The Charmander cleared his throat. "Around the way. We left and are looking for shelter. IS Sleepy Hollow friendly?" Amidamaru scratched his head with bewilderment. 

George the Rattata slicked back the three or four hairs sticking out on top of his noticeably thinning hair line, then he said to the two refugees, "We used to be more friendly. There's a weird ghost in Sleepy Hollow, and it's scared everyone into hiding. You see I am the only person out today? I was assigned for patrol. Someone has to patrol the streets and look for signs of the ghost, but whoever goes out on patrol gets an ominous package delivered on their doorstep the next morning. We don't know what's going on." George scratched his plump, rodent belly. "Maybe if you help the village, someone will be obliged to take you in. You could start tomorrow. Stay at my place, and in the morning if I have a dangerous delivery, that'll be your first clue." George looked at both Amidamaru and Craig once over, inspecting their physical forms. "I doubt you will be able to fight the ghost off, but it's worth a shot. What do ya say, Amidamaru and Craig?"

Taking the lead, as usual, Amidamaru held up a claw, indicating that he needed a moment to think it over. 

Huddled up with Craig, the two Pokemon whispered about the quest they were considering taking on.

"A ghost is pretty scary, but we are a fearless group. We can take any haunts, or hexes. I say, let's go for it. We need a place to hide from the police.... Shiroyasha. If, when, he wakes up he's gonna come searching for us. This place could be the spot to hide out. You in Craig?"

"Well it sounds dangerous. If this ghost is a Pokemon, I don't know if we can take em on. It could be a Gastly, or even worse. I guess if you want to take it on, I'll go with you, bro. We need to.... hide. Let's solve the mystery and make some friends in Sleepy Hollow." 

After their pep talk, Amidamaru put his claw forward for Craig to pound it. They were sure to get somewhere fast with good teamwork, and Amidamaru really liked working with Craig. He was a brother from another mother. Amidamaru would do anything for Craig, and Craig had his back just so. The two turned back around to face George simultaneously. The two partner Pokemon nodded their heads triumphantly to George. They were excited to begin their quest, but they had no idea just how much effort it was going to take to free the village of it's ghost problem. 

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