Catching Squirtle

Leaf bit her lip. They weren’t going to listen to her. She had to stop this somehow. There was nothing she could do to the ninja, not with that level of skill.

But she could remove the other half of this fight. She gripped the Pocket Monster Ball in her fist. One touch on one of the runes, and it would pull the monster in. Or it was supposed to, right?

Leaf wound back. No time for a gentle touch, but this thing was covered in spots. She squinched one eye shut and held her arm out to help her aim. Waited for the turtle to stop moving for just a moment, it was waiting for the ninja to make its move, and she threw it.

The turtle caught a glimpse of the PMB, its head turned and its eyes went wide. And then the ball touched.

The turtle turned into a mass of red light, for just a moment. And then it was sucked in. Leaf and the ninja looked at the ball, neither really sure of what happened next.

The rune on the ball, the one facing up, glowed red. The ball wiggled once.

Leaf and the ninja shared a glance. It wiggled again.

The ball wiggled a third time, and the red glow faded to orange.

The ninja took a few deep breaths. “You could do that the whole time?”

Leaf walked up and snatched the ball off the ground. “I was trying to the whole time.”

- Chapter 6