The Pokémon flew out of the Pokéball. When it stopped glowing, Eric could see a crystal-like dragon Pokémon. Eric's Pokédex began to talk. "Dracoquartz, a crystal Pokémon. It is slow but very strong. This Pokémon can lift 50 times it's own body weight. It is fabled that the Dracoquartz can evolve, but this has never been proven,"
The crowd cheered him on as he recieved his new Pokémon. Anxious to test his, new Pokémon, he left the building and searched for a gym. He saw a computer that was a map of the city. He typed in "Gyms" and the computer said, "There are over 200,000 gyms in Pewter City, the closest one from this position is here,". The computer showed him the way to the nearest gym. He went the way it told him to go and he saw a building with a sign in front of it that said,"Brock XXVIII(28^th's) Stone gym. Intermediate level only.". Eric entered and saw a gym that symbolized the Pokémon that were used there. It was a rocky place indeed. Many Pokémon trainers were either chatting, excercising thier Pokémon, or battling.He could see a boxing ring in the middle.In the far distance he saw a man standing on top of a tall rock. Eric knew that he was the gym leader. As he walked over to fight the leader, a 14 year old girl stopped him. "Hey! If you wanna fight Brock XXVII, ya gotta fight me first!" she said. Everybody else in the gym moved backwards to make room for the fight. "Have you ever fought in a gym before, kid?" the girl asked. "No," Eric aswered. "In a gym battle, both trainers choose their best two Pokémon to fight with. There is also a two minute time limit. So fight fast." She explained.

"My two Pokémon will be.....Golem and Demonix!" she yelled. "Mine will be.......Drowzee and Dracoquartz!" Eric said (and as he said this the rest of the gym laughed). Eric kept cool because he knew how good his Pokémon were. Eric followed the girl into the large boxing ring.A box with colored lights (the kind you see everyday on the street) lowered from the ceiling. A man rushed into the room and said,"Ladies and Gentlemen, in this corner, wearing the official Brock XXVII Stone Gym uniform, Miss Doomsday Dottie!!". The girl got mad," I prefer you call me Dottie, not Miss Doomsday Dottie,". The announcer was so immersed in his announcement that he didn't notice her."And in this corner, wearing something that probably came from a thrift store......uh what is your name?"

"Eric Ketchum," Eric answered. "Derek Catchthem! Due to popular demand, we will forego the national anthem.......Now......LLLLLET'S GET READY TO RUMBLLLLLLLLLE!!!!!" he yelled. "Okay, you redneck! Golem, GO!" Dottie yelled. "Psycho! Go!" Eric said. The fight started quicker than he thought. The Golem had already tackled Drowzee. "Psycho! Use the ropes!" Eric said. Psycho (being as smart as he is) used the ropes of the boxing ring to fling himself at the Golem. Psycho knocked Golem to the floor! "No! Golem.....oh.....uh...." Dottie said (or should I say she tried to say because at this point she was panicking so much that she could barely talk). "Ok, do it Psycho! Confusion now!" Eric said. To the rest of the people in the gym, the just say a bright red flash. But to the Golem, confusion distorted his vision and he couldn't see anything but odd geometric shapes. The Golem fell to the ground."ONE! TWO! Skip a few! NINE! TEN! HE'S OUT!" the announcer said. Dottie was crying but she managed to say,"Demonix....go,". The huge, snake like Pokémon came out and lunged itself at the Drowzee. "Psycho! Dodge!" Eric said. The Drowzee dodged, but the huge monster was still after him. Round and around they went, the Demonix chasing Psycho. Eventually the Demonix caught the Drowzee in his jaws. Psycho squealed loudly with panic(if you've ever head a guinea pig squeal, that's what it sounded like). The Demonix threw Psycho in the air. Eric aimed the Pokéball at the airborne Pokémon and called him back. "Ok you punks........Dracoquartz! GO!!" Eric yelled. The huge fearsome Pokémon came out. It was huge.....it's teeth were dazzling white and sharp as diamond saws.....it's claws were like razors......it's stone armor covered it's whole body......Eric was proud to have this Pokémon. To Eric's surprise, the audience was laughing (some people actually laughed so hard that they passed out). The announcer said," Well folks, what you're seeing is not a half-time show, but the trainer actually brought out a Dracoquartz!". In about five seconds, the Demonix tapped the Dracoquartz with his tail. The Dracoquartz fell over, crying.

The announcer said,"ONE!TWO!THREE!FOUR!FIVE!SIX!SEVEN!EIGHT!NINE!" the announcer paused for a few seconds knowing that the Dracoquartz would never get up."TEN!!" he finally said. The audience roared. "YOU LOSE KID!" Dottie said. Eric called the Dracoquartz back into the Pokéball. Eric walked out of the gym. A few seconds after he left, an old man came up to him."Wait, young lad! You don't have any idea what a good Pokémon you have there!" he said. Eric said,"What, the Drowzee?". "Nonono....well, the Drowzee is an excellent Pokémon, but I was referring to your Dracoquartz!" the old man said. "How could he be great? He sucks! I'm taking himto a pawn shop, maybe I can get 2 yen(1/50th of a cent) for him. "Haven't you young 'uns been taught that Pokémon evolve?". Eric said,"Oh yeah, you're right!".

"Well, the Dracoquartz CAN evolve, but it's not easy. Why I remember a fable from my young days that they just don't tell kids anymore. It goes like this: Once there was a boy who was walking to Mt. Moon. He stopped at a Pokémon center and saw a salesman. He bought a Magikarp from him for 5000 yen(about $50). You might say now that that was a great price but at that time, Magikarps were the weakest Pokémon around. He took his new Pokémon with him everywhere. He never won a single battle, but he sensed that the Magikarp was special. So instead of making it battle, he raised his Pokémon as a pet. He changed his title from a Pokémon trainer to a Pokémon breeder. As he travelled around the world, he would use any extra money that he got to buy rare candy for his Magikarp. And if you don't know, rare candy raises a Pokémon up a level. So after many months, the Magikarp began to evolve! Nobody at this time knew that the Magikarp could evolve. When it turned into a Gyrados, people were scared. The Gyrados was very powerful. The trainer went to every town and got a badge. After he had collected all 8 (there were only 8 then instead of the 40 badges we have today), he visited Pokémon League. He fought all four Elite trainers, Lorelei the Ice trainer, Bruno the Fighting trainer, Agatha the Ghost trainer, and Kain, the Poison trainer. After he beat all four, he became League Champand was chosen to lead the Elite Four. Do you know who this person was? His name was Lance, the Dragon trainer! He left Pokémon League to go to the Safari Zone to catch some more Dragons. He remained the leader of the Elite Four for 10 years, until he was beaten by two trainers, whose names history never recorded."

"I've heard of Lance before, but my parents said he did something very amazing, but they never told me what that was." Eric said. "He did! He was the only person who ever saw the legendary Mewzero!" A chill went down Eric's spine. "Mewzero?" Eric said. "Have you heard that name before?" The old man said. "I heard it in a dream, but I had no idea that the Mewzero was a real Pokémon!" Eric said. The old man gasped,"Lance had dreams like that too! Did it involve a ceremony in which a man in a blue tuxedo handed you a scroll?" the old man asked. Now Eric was really spooked."Yes" Eric said.

"Mymymy......the Mewzero has finally chosen another person..." the old man said. "Old Man, what is the Mewzero?" Eric asked. "The Mewzero is the Mother of all Pokémon. When God created Earth, when he put all the animals on the land, he added an extra animal that would create a kingdom of special animals. That animal was Mewzero. It created 150 animals called Pokémon to live in the land," the old man said. "Wait a minute. My school teacher said there were over 700 Pokémon species." Eric said. "Ah yes, most of the Pokémon you know of were created by scientists in laboratories. Well....where was I.....oh yes, The Mewzero created a copy of itself and we call that Pokémon Mew. The Mewzero hid itself in the ocean and began an eternal sleep. The Mewzero sent out a dream for someone who was psychically powerful to recieve. It is uncertain why the Mewzero sent out a dream. Lance saw the dream and began his quest for an answer. Lance was led to a cave that led to the lair where the Mewzero slept. After many days, he found the secret door that led to the Mewzero. After he had seen what he saw, he went to tell everybody what he saw. He went back and no one ever saw him again. Well, enough of these stories, it's time to train your Dracoquartz!"

Will Eric's Dracoquartz evolve? Find out next time in Part 7 of the Adventures of Eric Ketchum!