บท 20: 1,2,3
"I challenge you!" a young girl said, jumping up onto a log and pointing a finger at Ash.
Ash looked up. "Oh, hi! Sure!"
He paused, as an idea came to him. "Tell you what."
Rummaging through his available Pokeballs, he released Charizard and Ivysaur. "Pick one of my Pokemon. I'll just use that one."
Casey scowled. "Don't patronize me!"
"What? No, I'm not!" Ash denied, holding up his hands. He liked Casey. "It's just... okay, yeah, I kind of am."
"With good reason, though," Brock said.
While they'd been talking, Casey had blinked and looked closer. "Wait a sec... oh, great. You're Ash Ketchum."
She slumped. "Yeah, I've got no chance."
Lucario walked over, and placed a paw on her shoulder. "If it helps," he said, focusing a little aura to make sure she could understand him, "that's how everyone starts out. You should have seen Ash when he first set off."
"Hey!" Ash snapped. "I wasn't that bad... was I?"
Misty chuckled. "You set my bike on fire. Twice."
"So, win or lose, take it as a lesson."
"Thanks," Casey said. "Okay... can I pick any of them?"
"That's kind of the point," Ash agreed.
"Okay." She thought for a bit. "Charizard."
Everyone stared at her.
"What?" she asked.
"Seriously?" Ash checked. "Charizard fights legendaries."
"Yeah, yeah, hurry it up!"
Charizard lumbered forwards, as she sent out her Chikorita. "I feel kind of bad about this."
"Hey!" Chikorita said. "You may be a fully evolved Fire/Flying type who was in a winning League team, but that's no reason to act like you're definitely going to win this!"
"It really, really is, though."
"Vine whip!" Casey ordered.
Charizard let the vines hit him with a faint thwik noise, then theatrically fell over.
"Stop overacting!" Ash said.
"Fine." Charizard raised his head, and launched a carefully limited Ember at Chikorita.
As Charizard was holding back considerably, it didn't actually knock her out – instead, it merely sent her flying, scorched, and she bounced to a stop next to Casey.
"Pidgey!" she said, undeterred.
"If you train that so it evolves, it becomes really cool," Ash contributed.
"I know, I saw your Pidgeot on TV," Casey agreed, as Pidgey flew in circles chirping and Charizard ignored him. "How come you don't have her here?"
"She's training in the Orange Islands."
"Huh. Cool." Casey pointed. "Sand-attack!"
Charizard flung up an arm against the shower of dust and grit. "Okay, annoyed now. Wing attack!"
He stood, raised his wings, and clapped them together in front of his chest with a slap sound.
Casey's Pidgey went tumbling backwards beak-over-tail, and she recalled him. "Okay, Ratatta! Go! Go Electabuzzes!"
"Cute scarf," Charizard said, blinking reddened eyes as he peered at the Ratatta.
"The team does terribly, though," Ash pointed out.
Casey glared Cuts at him.
"What?" Ash looked around for support. "I don't follow baseball, but even I know the Electabuzzes do really badly."
Ratatta snarled at him, then ran up to Charizard and tackled him.
As Ratatta weighed about the same as Charizard's left toes, this had very little effect.
"Are we done yet?" Charizard asked, and fired another Ember.
It hit Ratatta dead on, resulting in a plume of smoke.
"Piece of cake," the Fire-type said. Then frowned. "Eh?"
A slightly tattered black-and-yellow scarf skidded to the floor, broken in half.
The smoke parted, revealing Ratatta. She was panting heavily, but gave Charizard a surprisingly vicious look.
Then she jumped forwards.
This time, when she made contact, it most certainly did have an effect. Charizard went skidding backwards, crashed into several of the trees at the side of the road, and came to a halt with an incredulous expression on his face.
"What the heck was that?"
Shaking his head, he focused on the Ratatta as best he could with his impaired eyesight. "Ember-"
"Quick attack!" Casey said quickly.
The Normal-type Pokemon darted across the intervening space, clocking Charizard one on the snout just before his Ember fired.
He sneezed out a gout of flame and smoke, stumbled, and fell over backwards.
"...what just..." Ash said, blinking. "Charizard? The heck?"
Ratatta glowed, and evolved into Raticate. A second flare of light over by Casey indicated her Pidgey had just evolved as well.
"It's a move called Endeavor that's stronger the weaker the user is," Casey said. "I don't have very strong Pokemon, but they're fast, and my focus sash means Ratatta gets a chance to use it!"
Charizard sat up, rubbing his head. "I feel very, very embarassed."
Ash shook his head, and walked over to Casey. "That was really impressive," he told her, shaking her hand. "Good work. Hopefully Charizard won't underestimate any Ratatta any time soon."
"No kidding," Charizard muttered.
"That's fine!" Casey said, looking at her new Raticate and Pidgeotto. "Well, hope to see you again some time!"
"Me too."
"And now I get to tell everyone I beat a League Champion!" she added.
Lucario smiled. "You walked into that one, Ash."
"Forest full of bugs," Misty said, wincing.
"I thought you were okay with bugs now?" Ash asked. "'cause if not, we could do the whole thing again..."
"No, I'm fine." Misty shook her head. "Really... I'm not afraid of bugs any more, I just don't usually like them. Pinsir are kind of ew."
"Oh, fair enough." Ash nodded. "Well, I suppose we can be ready to handle Bug types. Everyone send out what they've got that's effective against them?"
Out came Charizard again. Misty contributed with her Kabuto, which sat on her head like an unusually rocky beret, and Brock released Geodude.
"No Ninetales?" Ash asked.
"No, she's busy." Brock shrugged. "She said she had an appointment, and – well, who am I to argue?"
In the tall grass somewhere north of Fuchsia, paws beat a tattoo on hard ground.
Hooves started, thundering away, and then there was a roar and a flash of fire.
Teeth flashed near Ninetales' throat, and she went limp. Then, as Growlie stepped off her, she rolled upright. "Very nice. That makes it, what, five to two in my favour?"
"Five-three, I thought," Growlie corrected.
"That's right, yes. Forgot the one in the blind canyon."
She padded over to him, and rubbed up against his flank. "That's one thing I like about you, love. Never afraid to treat me as a Pokemon, not just a female."
"I've got no choice, you win more than half the time," Growlie replied with a bass chuckle.
Ninetales flirted a tail. "I try. I try. Now, what else did we have booked?"
"Well, James tells me that he managed to get us on the list for coralling a herd of Tauros. That should be fun." Growlie winked, and Ninetales smirked in appreciation – a good run and a good challenge, perfect to get the blood pounding.
"Then there's a meal in the evening. Jessie suggested this lovely restaurant overlooking the harbour – sea food."
The elegant fox licked her lips. "I'm hungry already."
Then she frowned. "The table is booked in our name, right?"
"Oh, I make the mistake once and you never let me forget it," Growlie said, without any real sting to it. "Yes, it is. One reason Jessie recommended the restaurant is that they have a Psychic-type on staff, they're used to translating for Pokemon."
Ninetales nodded – attention to detail was important. "And the other reason?"
"She says it's very romantic." Growlie blushed slightly. "After that recommendation, how could I say no?"
She nipped his ear affectionately. "Makes perfect sense to me. Now, where are those Tauros?"
"That was them over there, the ones we startled." Growlie indicated them with a nod of his head.
"Well, no time like the present," she decided. "Race you!"
"It's nice to see this place functioning normally," Ash said, looking around. "No random crazy sap-mining scheme or whatever they were doing."
"Yeah, Team Rocket showing a bit of restraint is really smoothing our way," Brock agreed. "I can see one problem, though – how are we going to find the right Heracross?"
As he spoke, a couple of the Bug/Fighting Pokemon moved from one tree to another, generally moving away from the interlopers.
Ash replied by closing his eyes, feeling for a familiar aura.
After several seconds, he pointed. "I think he's over there."
"Right." Misty tapped her Kabuto. "Hear that? If any bugs are coming at us from other directions, feel free to defend us."
"Misty," Ash asked, puzzled. "You do know Kabuto is on your head, right?"
"...yes?" Misty replied. "He does weigh quite a lot, he's hard to miss."
"Well... if you don't like bugs..." Ash gestured. "How much more bug-like could you get?"
"Not a Bug type, actually a shellfish." Misty shrugged. "What's the problem?"
"...forget it."
A jet of water sent a Spinarak flying backwards.
"Well done!" Misty said, scratching the reanimated fossil's cephalon. "That's just right!"
It made a clicking noise, leaning into the scratch as much as it could given the fact it was covered in an exoskeleton.
"Okay, that's the one." Ash pointed. "Ready for this?"
"This is very demeaning," Ivysaur muttered. "Okay, here we go."
He stepped out of the bush, and cleared his throat. "Oh, dear. I appear to be a Grass type. Which means that I have sap going to waste."
Half a dozen Heracross began walking over at once.
"Well, that part worked." Ivysaur began backing away nervously. "Next part of the plan, please?"
Pikachu bounced up from the bush. "Thunder wave!"
Electricity arced across the six Bug types.
"Great!" Ash announced, coming out of the same bush, and stepping over to one particular Heracross. "Okay... here goes."
He put out his palm, exhaled, and touched Heracross.
The Single Horn Pokemon twitched, then shook the paralysis off and stood. "Ash! What happened?"
He looked over at Ivysaur. "And is he still tasty?"
"No nibbling the flower!" Ivysaur said, folding his leaves up around it. "You have terrible self control!"
Lucario picked up the other five Heracross, and carried them off back to their original tree. "Better luck next time," he informed them, then dropped a Lum berry into the mouth of one and giving it a small pile of other berries.
It looked at him, then the berries, shrugged, and started to unparalyze its friends.
"I think I understand," Ash's Heracross said. "So... time travel..."
He shook his head. "Oh well. So long as it's with you, it doesn't matter. Let's go!"
Ash grinned. "Glad to have you back. Just – don't pester Ivysaur, okay? There's other places to get sap."
"But it's so tasty..."
A Caterpie went pinging off a nearby tree as Kabuto fired another Water Gun. Misty praised him effusively.
"He's new," Heracross added, pointing.
"Misty picked him up in the Orange Islands," Ash said. "They were kind of everywhere at the time."
"Interesting."
"Oh – that reminds me." Ash rummaged around, and got out a red/white standard Pokeball and a Net Ball. "Any preference?"
"I'll take the normal one."
Ash held it out, and then sealed the deal.
Behind him, a large rock slammed into a tree, nearly knocking it over.
"Whoa!" Misty said. "Okay, was that Ancient Power? I like this trend."
"What is it with building roads through deep forests?" Ash asked. "Well, you know... not roads so much as... paths..."
"It wouldn't be so bad if there was a route cut through the forest, but there's not." Brock shook his head. "It's environmentally protected, after all. Oh well. Suppose we have to go through."
"There were ghosts here, right?" Ash sighed. "This is one of those times it'd be really nice to have Noctowl back, it's right up his street."
Lucario stepped forwards. "I'm sure it is. But I can not only see ghosts, but punch them."
"Well aren't you the all-purpose Pokemon," Pikachu said, shaking his head. "Can you make toast?"
Lucario's response was to charge up a fire punch, making his fist smoulder with heat.
"Fair enough. I'll have two slices."
The travellers stepped out of the forest, into a clearing.
"Finally!" Ash said. "Which way's Cherrygrove City?"
We're still in the forest, Dexter said promptly. This is another illusion.
Lucario's palm glowed, and a Dark Pulse shot out. The clearing shimmered and vanished, and a Gengar appeared rubbing its head.
"Ruin our fun, why don't you..." it muttered.
"You get enough fun already," Misty said. "This is a major route, for some unfathomable reason."
"Agatha likes us," the Gengar informed her. "She made sure they didn't knock down the trees, and her sisters hire out Hoothoot for a nominal fee."
It glared at them. "But someone didn't get a Hoothoot, so rather than having fun with illusions everyone's going all out to try and trick you."
"That might not be the best plan," Brock said.
Dexter bleeped. Speaking of... Brock, you have an email with an attachment. Email reads: Sorry I stayed out so late, we were having too much fun.
The transmitter lit up, and then a Pokeball dropped out. The 'ball opened, releasing Ninetales.
"Do you even pay attention to curfews?" Brock asked. "What time do you call this?"
"I said I was sorry," Ninetales muttered, not looking very sorry. "We lost track of time."
"That was two days!"
"There was a lot of time to lose track of." She picked up her Pokeball and tossed it up to him with a sure flick of her muzzle, then turned. "Oh, is that a ghost?"
"You people are terrible at this," Gengar muttered, and slunk off. "You're supposed to be scared..."
"Do you think that Gengar would feel better if we told him we'd met Giratina?" Ash asked.
"I haven't," Misty pointed out.
"Yeah, but still." Ash shrugged. "It might have helped."
"Dark pulse!"
A Gastly bounced away, looking glum, and the latest illusion dissolved.
"Finally!" Ash said. "We're out!"
Lucario blew on his paws. "About time, I was getting cramp."
And there's Florando city, Dexter supplied. A small city on the way to Cherrygrove.
"What's this place's thing?" Misty asked.
There's a Pokemon Exhibition, which is what they call a contest around here.
Ninetales looked interested. "Actually, that sounds like fun."
She turned to Brock. "Could Steelix and I do that thing we practiced?"
"Assuming he's fine with it, sure," Brock agreed. "We should give you a brush first, though, so you look your best."
"I see the problem," Pikachu said, watching as one of the Bellossom flubbed her jump again and came down badly. "You're just not pushing off from the groud hard enough, so you don't have the time to do the full flip. It's when you realize that that you're having trouble."
Bailey frowned. "What did he say?"
"That your Bellossom is having trouble jumping high enough," Ash summarized. "Pikachu does a lot of aerial combat, so he's got a bit of experience at this."
"He does seem skilled," Bailey agreed.
Left unsaid by both Pokemon and trainer was that it had actually been Bailey herself who'd taught him some of his dodge technique building blocks.
Time travel could make your head hurt.
"Do they know Petal Dance?" Ash asked, an idea coming to him. "Perhaps they could use that as a finisher."
"That sounds like a good idea, thanks." Bailey looked at her Bellossom, and Bella nodded – she knew the move.
"Can you teach Belle, Bella?" Another nod. "Thanks."
Brock cleared his throat, as the curtain rose. "Once, long ago, there was a village terrorized by an eight-headed Dragon, of a kind long since gone from Johto."
Steelix rumbled out of the backstage, Double Teams beside him to give the illusion of multiple heads, and let loose a gout of dragonbreath.
"The village feared and loathed the dragon, but there was nothing they could do – none of their own Pokemon was powerful enough to fight it, and these were the days before the gyms. Until, one day, a travelling Ninetales came to the village."
Brock's Ninetales came on from the side of the stage, a cloak over her obscuring all but her muzzle and the tips of her supple tails.
"The villagers begged for her help," Brock went on. "She said – for she was skilled enough in the arts of the mind to make her speech understood – that she was but one Pokemon, and that she could not promise that she would succeed. But the plight of the villagers moved her, and so she agreed to help."
Ninetales paced around the stage, approaching Steelix.
"When she approached the terrible dragon, he laughed, seeing only a Pokemon in a cloak." Brock warmed to his story, and Steelix joined in with a booming laugh. "He asked of her – did she really think she could defeat him? He had terrorized them for a hundred years!"
That was Ninetales' cue. She stood tall, and fire washed over her – incinerating the cloak, and producing a puff of white smoke which obscured her for a moment. As it rose and faded, the audience saw her closely for the first time. A marvellously turned out, beautifully groomed example of her species.
"Ninetales threw off her cloak, and revealed her true nature. 'I have lived nine times that long,' she said, and sprang into battle."
Brock fell silent for a minute, as his Pokemon launched into a very realistic fight. Ninetales leapt about the stage, fire spilling from her nine elegant tails and crackling into fireworks-style bangs and bursts, and using the occasional illusion to mislead her opponent.
For his part, Steelix roared and snarled, pantomiming repeated close-but-not-quite attacks on Ninetales. One by one, his double-team illusions were hit and vanished, until there was just his real self left.
"Finally," Brock resumed, "the dragon had lost seven of its eight heads. Only one remained. But Ninetales was tired from her long fight, and the dragon saw a chance."
Ninetales panted, tails drooping and flanks heaving, putting on a very convincing impression of severe fatigue. Some of the spectators gasped.
"The dragon spoke up, voice silky and subtle. It told her that it would leave, and trouble the village no more. It spoke of her clear exhaustion, and how further combat would be to neither of their advantage. If it left now, as it intended, she would be a hero and the saviour of the village."
"Ninetales listened. And when the dragon was done, she said one thing only."
Brock let the silence linger for a few seconds.
"'Then I am saving another village.'"
As soon as Brock said that, Ninetales leapt at Steelix, and there was a dazzling Flash.
When it faded, both Pokemon lay on the stage, unmoving.
"The village found them, the next morning. They gave Ninetales a hero's burial, and remembered her as their patron and saviour."
"I've never heard that one before," Misty said afterwards. "Did you come up with it?"
"No, it's a story my father told me when I was young." Brock shrugged. "I don't know if he came up with it."
"But it could have been made for us," Ninetales said happily, looking at the ribbon tied around one of her tails. "That was fun!"
2
"We can probably save you a lot of time and effort, miss," Brock said, nodding respectfully. "Your little Snubbull is a bit overwhelmed by all the pampering."
Snubbull looked up at the trainers, and then nodded to her owner.
"Oh!" Madame Muchmoney blinked, and looked down at her Pokemon. "Really? I thought... but you've had everything you wanted, sweetums."
Snubbull shook her head, and started talking. "I've not! You've given me everything you think I want, but most of it isn't what I want, it's just what you guess I want – and you don't bother to see if I actually like it!"
She gestured wildly. "I don't actually like Winthrop much! I mean, he's alright to play with, I guess, but you've engaged me – and Pokemon don't normally even do weddings! I'd rather have rice balls than the kind of too-complicated food you give me! And I just want to play fetch, rather than have my nails painted and my teeth shined to a high gloss!"
Snubbull finished, and stood there panting.
Everyone blinked.
"Lot of rage bottled up in there..." Pikachu said, slightly stunned, and Snubbull stuck her tongue out at him.
"Um... sorry, schnookums, but I didn't understand that," Madame Muchmoney said.
Misty hummed. "Summarized... she'd rather play and have simple food than be pampered and have gourmet food, and she'd rather you checked whether she liked something before doing it."
Snubbull nodded her grudging approval of the summary.
"Oh, my..." The rich woman's hand went to her mouth. "I had no idea!"
She knelt down, extending a hand to Snubbull. "I'm so sorry, dearest. Mummy does love you, though – and I'll try to make sure you get what you want."
Snubbull considered that. Then she looked up at the friends. "Can you tell her that I'd like a doorflap? That would help a lot."
Ash relayed the message, and added his opinion. "I think she mainly wants it so she's got the choice – what she really wants is the freedom to do what she wants sometimes. Perhaps you should organize a battle with that other Snubbull?"
Seeing how her Pokemon reacted to that prospect – with great interest – Madame Muchmoney avoided voicing her first reaction, and thought about it. "I see. Well... I'll put Jeeves on it."
Snubbull nodded, and walked over. She put her hand in Muchmoney's. "If I go missing, you know why."
Ash decided not to translate that.
"Not far to go now," Ash commented.
"Yeah, we're only a few days walk from Violet City," Brock agreed.
"No, something much more important." Ash smiled. "Pretty soon, we're going to see a little wild Chikorita..."
"Who will then promptly turn into a Bayleef and attempt to flatten you," Pikachu sniggered.
"I may have not heard about this?" Lucario asked.
"It is hilarious," Pikachu assured him.
"Yeah, why did she keep doing that..." Ash mused. "I'm sure we can ask her."
For reasons Ash was unable to fathom, Pikachu found this positively uproarious.
"Hey, look!" Brock interrupted, pointing. "A Stantler. It's a little fawn, I think."
Misty peered at the bushes. "I remember this. Wasn't it hurt?"
"Yeah, I think it is," Brock agreed. "We should try not to startle the little guy, though."
"Why?" Ash asked. "I can't quite-"
The fawn looked up suddenly, hearing the approaching humans. Its antlers glowed slightly, and a horde of stampeding adults appeared out of the trees.
Ash gaped. "Whoa! Run!"
"Not so fast," Brock said. "Stantler produce illusions if they feel threatened."
The herd ran towards them, hooves drumming on the ground and making it tremble slightly.
"I really hope you're right, Brock!" Ash said, closing his eyes as they approached. "Oh. Huh, yeah, you are."
The lead stag reached them – and phased right through.
"Couldn't see them with Aura Sight?" Brock asked.
"Couldn't see them with Aura Sight," Ash confirmed. "Now, how do we convince him that we're here to help?"
Misty hummed. "I think I've got an idea. First, we should give him some space..."
Stantler peered out of the bushes, looking out for trouble. At least the humans had left, though they hadn't been scared off by his illusions – he didn't think so, anyway.
But they had left. Perhaps that meant they had been scared off?
With a faint rustle of leaves, he moved further back into the undergrowth and nibbled at some of the nearest twigs. They didn't taste great, but they helped him feel a bit less hungry.
He'd been feeling all kinds of aches since yesterday. The ache of loneliness, because he was lost and away from his herd. The ache of fear, without the protection of the adults. The ache in his leg, from an injury he'd gotten trying to climb a steep slope. And the ache of hunger, the one he could at least deal with.
"Excuse me?"
He looked up, startled, and saw a strange Pokemon gliding overhead, threading a path between the trees.
"Hello, I'm Togekiss. Are you alright?"
The Stantler shook his head. "No – no, I'm not. I'm lost, and hurt, and... I'm afraid."
Swallowing, he looked up at the Togekiss as she came down to land. "I've never seen a Pokemon like you before."
Togekiss smiled. "That's a pity! Togekiss are nice. You can trust me about that, because I'm a Togekiss, and we're nice."
"That doesn't make sense," Stantler said, frowning. "If you were lying, then Togekiss wouldn't be nice."
"You're a clever one," she told him with another smile. "Oh, dear, that leg looks awful."
At the mention of his leg, Stantler drew it up against his body, instinctively trying to protect it.
"Don't worry, some of my friends can help with that. Would you be willing to let them?"
"Your friends?" Stantler asked, dubiously. "Who are they?"
"They're the humans you saw earlier. They're nice, really – one of them knows Pokemon medicine, and he said he'd give you some food if you wanted it."
Food. That sounded very tempting.
Like all Stantler, this one was quite wary and suspicious. But this white-and-coloured Pokemon seemed to radiate trustworthiness.
Anyone she liked couldn't be too bad, could they?
"Alright," he said, eventually. "But – just him, okay? I don't want to be trapped."
"There we go," Brock said, voice calm and soothing.
For once, he was using his small talent in Aura to help the Pokemon understand him – such a young one wouldn't have had time to learn the language without the extra cues Aura granted. "That should have cleaned the wound – luckily, not much dirt got into it."
The fawn nodded, legs trembling just slightly. "What now?"
"Now I'm going to apply a potion. Sorry, this is going to sting a bit."
Stantler nodded again, face set in anticipation.
Brock adjusted the angle of the spray bottle slighly, then pressed the trigger. Stantler hissed with pain, and one leg involuntarily kicked a little, hitting Brock's knee.
"Oh no!" the fawn said, gasping. "Sorry, I-"
"Don't worry," Brock assured him. "It's fine, it doesn't matter. You don't kick hard enough to make me stop."
The Big Horn Pokemon swallowed, and let Brock investigate his shin a little longer.
"That looks like it's healing nicely," Brock pronounced, and pressed a dressing on it before adding a bandage and winding it on. "That should hold until it's healed, as long as you don't try and scrape it off."
Stantler examined the white cloth, amazed. The pain was already fading, replaced by a deep, slow heat which felt... clean.
"Now, you've got a choice," Brock said. "You can choose any of these. Either I can give you your food now, and you can leave and we won't follow you. Or you can get your food and eat it here, and then leave. Or you can stay the night, get breakfast, and leave in the morning – or we'll help you back to your herd as much as we can. Ash – my friend – has a Pokemon who can fly, so he can help search."
The young Stantler absorbed that choice.
"I... I guess I'm not sure. Can I give you an answer later?"
"Of course," Brock replied. "The important bit is that we won't keep you if you want to leave. But I do have to call my friends over now, is that okay?"
Stantler nodded. "I think so."
"Thank you – and let me know if you're worried, so we can help with that." Brock stood, and waved. "Okay, guys, come on over!"
Hesitantly, the fawn licked at the outer coating of a rice ball.
"It's nice, isn't it?" Togekiss asked.
"Yeah, I guess it tastes nice..." Stantler agreed, and took a small bite.
His eyes widened. "Yeah, this is good!" The ball of seaweed-wrapped rice and bamboo vanished in the twinkling of an eye.
"...well, someone's hungry!" Togekiss said. "Do you want more?"
"Yes, please!" The Stantler blushed. "Uh, that is, if you've got some to spare – I don't want to be too... too... well, impolite, I think."
"Don't worry." Togekiss passed him her dinner. "I can get more, Brock's still cooking."
Stantler looked up, chewing the second rice ball, and watched the interactions of the other Pokemon with the humans of this group.
"What's that big orange Pokemon?" he asked, swallowing his mouthful. "The one that – the big human... Brock?"
Togekiss nodded.
"The one he's cooking with."
"That's Ash's Charizard," Togekiss supplied. "He's very strong, and a little arrogant – but he's got a good heart."
"A little hotter, please?" Brock asked, putting more oil in the frying pan, and Charizard hrumphed before making his tail flame heat up more.
Brock laughed. "You're going to be the one eating about a third of this, you could be a bit more enthusiastic!"
"I'm not a cooker," Charizard grumphed.
The Stantler surprised himself with a giggle.
"And the big blue one – whoa!"
The source of Stantler's surprise was clearly evident, as Ash and Lucario bowed, took stances and started sparring.
Small pulses of Force Palm slapped out as they went back and forth, dodge-parry-block-riposte-high-low-body blow, and the occasional flash of green showed Protect shields snapping up on short notice.
"They do this most nights," Togekiss informed him. "The blue Pokemon is a Lucario. They're usually found in Sinnoh, which is a long way to the north. The human is Ash, his trainer – and, as you can see here, training partner."
"Wow. I didn't know that any humans knew Pokemon attacks." Stantler watched for a couple more minutes, as Ash and Lucario clashed repeatedly, before turning away with some effort to look over the remainder of the camp.
"I know what a Heracross is, and what Pikachu are," he said, after a moment. "But what are they?"
Togekiss followed his gaze.
"The green one is Ivysaur, another of Ash's Pokemon. The brown one with all the legs is Kabuto – he doesn't talk much."
Stantler nodded.
"And the human there is my mother, Misty," Togekiss finished.
At that, the fawn turned to look at her. "Your what?"
"Oh!" Togekiss blushed slightly. "She hatched my egg, and raised me. I think of her as my mother."
That, too, Stantler took in – not without a slightly startled expression.
"I think most of the others are off looking for good wood, so that we can set up a campfire for the night without relying on Charizard." Togekiss pointed. "Look – there. There they are. That's Psyduck, and Politoed, and Ninetales."
She shrugged, making Stantler look over at her again.
"Going to a new region is always strange," she said. "We leave old friends behind, and we meet new ones – but we're travelling with our friends, too, and never truly leave anyone behind."
Stantler returned to his food, looking thoughtful.
A few minutes later, footfalls made him look up.
"Hello," Ninetales said, keeping her lips carefully over her teeth to avoid startling him. "I understand you use illusions."
"Uh – yes, I do." Stantler nodded quickly. "Why?"
"Well, Ninetales use illusions as well, sometimes." She smiled again. "I was wondering if you could give me a few tips? I'm a bit rusty."
Stantler blinked, then stood up – finding it easier already, the pain in his leg becoming a distant memory. "Sure! Uh... what do you want help with?"
"I find it hard to do more than two or three images at once. How do you do that?"
"Well..." Stantler moved his antlers, making the air resonate in them. "I guess I never thought about it very much. I just... picture the herd, all as one lot."
"Fascinating," she said. "Can you show me?"
Brock smiled, seeing Ninetales helping to keep the fawn's mind off his injury.
It was nice of her to be so considerate.
Charizard banked, roaring, and a flock of Pidgey scattered in all directions.
He chuckled, a little lick of flame coming from his mouth, and rolled with wings folded in. Three entire revolutions, and then he brought them out again and went from precipitous dive to steep ascent in a few powerful wingbeats.
"All right, you've had your fun!" Ash called, laughing. "Now, take us up a bit!"
"Spoilsport." Charizard rocked left and right a bit, chuckles reverberating in his powerful chest, and then rose further into the air.
From this high, Ash could see for miles. There, in the distance, was what had to be Violet City – their next gym destination.
It was a little too high to see something as small as a Pokemon, though, unless it was something enormous.
Ash steadied himself, and held up the projector. "Dexter?"
Set up. Dexter materialized, and began pacing the dragon and his rider. This could take a few minutes.
"That's fine," Charizard replied. "Ash – I was meaning to ask, and this is as close as we're going to get to being alone..."
What am I, a tuning fork?
"No, you're usually in his pocket." Charizard shrugged, introducing a small hiccup in their flight path. "Like I say, as close as we're going to get."
I suppose.
"What is it, Charizard?" Ash asked, worried. "You're kind of making me feel a bit apprehensive..."
"Yeah." Charizard cleared his throat. "Ash... I want to go to the Charicific valley again, when we get there."
Ash blinked.
"That's it?"
Charizard made a confused noise.
"Charizard, of course!" Ash assured him. "I wouldn't dream of trying to stop you."
"But – I wasn't sure if you were going to be safe," Charizard said, wincing. "And without me, and without Pidgeot, you'll be groundbound again. For the first time since Viridian." Charizard sighed. "But I wanted to see Charla again, so... I don't know."
"If you ever need to ask, the answer's still going to be yes, Charizard." Ash patted him. "We can get along without you."
He paused. "If you insist, though, take one of the transciever beacons, like Butterfree and Lapras have. That way, if I absolutely need your help, I can get you."
"I'd actually feel a lot more comfortable with that, to be honest," Charizard agreed. "Thank you."
"Thank you, Charizard," Ash replied.
If I may? Dexter interrupted. I have located a herd of Stantler. Location fixed – they're about two hours' walk away from where we left the others.
"Thanks," Ash said. "Okay, Charizard, back down we go."
"I keep telling you guys to learn some of this stuff," Ash said, walking blithely along the surface of a pond next to the road.
"Yeah, but neither of us have much Aura at all," Brock pointed out. "I mean, we can translate Pokemon just fine, but you've got crazy amounts of the stuff."
"Water walking doesn't take much, really," Ash replied. "Besides, the airslip trick Riolu worked out is even cooler – and just as useful, especially in a sandstorm or something."
"Alright, I guess," Misty said, hesitantly. "I doubt we'll ever be able to fight, but if these tricks are easy, I suppose we should learn them."
"Are all humans like this?" the Stantler asked, blinking.
"Ash is not like all humans," Lucario replied proudly. "He's a little nicer than most, stronger than almost all of them, and brave to the point of insanity."
Stantler nodded. "I see."
After a moment, he spoke up again. "What's Sinnoh like?"
Lucario walked on for a few seconds before answering, trying to come up with a good answer. "When I was there, I was quite young. I was a Riolu, not a Lucario. And... it's colder, generally. The air is crisp and clear, even in autumn, and in winter there's heavy snow which covers the land in a blanket of white."
His voice became a little faraway. "There are mountains on the horizon in all directions, from the kingdom I was born, and it seems like every day was a new challenge, bright and full of promise." Lucario smiled, in a melancholy way. "I've not been there in a while, but I do look forward to when we eventually go. I love travelling, especially with Ash, but it'll be nice to see home again."
"So you know you're going there?" Stantler queried.
"Yes," Lucario confirmed. "After travelling around Johto, then we're going to Hoenn, and eventually Sinnoh."
"Hoenn?" By now the fawn was a little awed. "Where's that?"
Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, and took up a position next to Stantler. "I can answer that for you, if you want."
"Are you from Hoenn, then?" Stantler was amazed to be around so many exotic Pokemon, and probably would have believed Pikachu if he said he was from the moon. (It wasn't completely ridiculous, after all.)
"No," Pikachu replied, shrugging. "But I've been there. It's further south, and a lot warmer. There's a lot of Fire types there, and only the highest mountains have snow on them."
"I look forward to it," Lucario said with a smile.
"Here we are," Brock said, as they emerged onto the coppiced field. "There's your family."
"Thank you," the Stantler said, peering forward and seeing the horns of some other Stantler. "I was so lost..."
"Not a problem at all." Brock bent down. "If you don't mind, I'll take that bandage off now."
The fawn offered his leg, and Brock cut it away with a pocket knife, taking care not to catch any of the fur.
When the scrap of cloth came away, the dressing was a little dirty, but the skin was healed and already regrowing some fur.
"There you go, little guy," Brock told him.
Stantler looked back at him for a moment, then cantered off.
"Well, that's that," Brock said. "Nice to know all that studying was worth it."
Ash smiled. "Yeah, helping people and Pokemon is really worthwhile."
"Momma! Momma!"
The doe Stantler looked up, astonished. "Dear one! I thought we'd lost you!"
"I thought I'd lost you, too," the fawn said, nuzzling his mother. "But – some really nice humans helped me!"
He glanced back quickly, then took a longer look.
A mixture of frown and smile crossed his face, and he very visibly thought something over for a few seconds.
Then he looked over to the largest buck in the herd. "Excuse me!"
The stag, who had looked up along with the rest, nodded slightly. "What is it you want, young one?"
"I..." Swallowing, the fawn looked up and straight at his father. "I want to go with the humans."
"Why?" The question was simple, and asked in tones of brassy strength.
"Because... because, talking to them, I've learned so much about the world. About other places, other regions – I've heard about a place where it never snows, I've seen a human who walks on rivers, and I've met a Pokemon who's from hundreds of miles further north." Stantler's eyes shone. "I want to go there. I want to meet more Pokemon from everywhere in the world."
The stag considered that, calm expression giving no clue to his thoughts.
"Wait!"
The friends turned around, and saw the young Big Horn Pokemon galloping down the path towards them.
Slowing to a stop, Stantler panted for a bit, and then faced Brock. "I want to come with you."
Brock broke into a smile. "You do?"
"That is – if you'll have me," Stantler added, sounding a bit unsure.
"If you're certain you want to," Brock said. "If you are, we'd love to have you."
The watching humans and Pokemon made their agreement fully clear.
"I'm sure." Stantler nodded firmly. "You're going to all these amazing places – I want to see them."
"Fine by me." Brock rummaged in his bag, and retrieved a Pokeball. "Just touch the button on the front," he said, placing it on the floor. "We won't mind if you decide not to."
Stantler advanced the last few steps, wavered for a moment, then pressed his hoof against the button.
With a white flash, the Pokeball activated, and caught him.
Brock waited only long enough for the capture to register before releasing him again. "You alright?"
"Fine," Stantler insisted, head swaying back and forth slightly. "Does that always feel like that?"
"Not sure." Brock glanced at Ninetales, who flirted her tails.
"Just the first few times."
"Well, there you have it." Brock smiled, and rubbed Stantler's head. "We'll take good care of you."
3
"Well, at least it's not snowing," Ash said, breathing the crisp mountain air. "Grass-types don't like snow much."
"Not that I think Chikorita would mind," Pikachu added. "She is one tough Pokémon."
"Yeah." Ash scanned the slopes. "Can't see... wait a second."
Walking forwards, he looked closer. "There. Just on the edge of where I can see. A point of green light."
"I'll take your word for it," Pikachu said. "How long do we have?"
"Brock said they were renting everyone skis for a day, so that long. Should be easily enough time."
"That looks kind of scary," Stantler said, watching as Psyduck went down the slope with arms flailing.
"He's fine," Togekiss told him. "Psyduck's not very graceful, but he is very powerful. He just doesn't always bother using his psychic powers if he feels he'll be fine without."
"I see." Stantler didn't, not really, but he had an inkling.
Ninetales came next, tails waving like a banner in the wind as she steered herself down the ski slope. Crobat flew alongside, matching her speed as best he could, and their combined wakes did interesting things to the snowy dust of their passage.
Misty was using Seadra to help her steer, and the watery Pokémon was making good use of his high swimming speed to keep them moving down the slope at a rapid clip.
(Yes, it wasn't water. But he didn't care much.)
Once they'd gone past, and the wash of their passage had faded, Stantler looked a bit confused. "Isn't someone missing?"
Togekiss floated a bit higher, then came back down again. "Here he comes."
Brock came into view around the bend, wobbling a bit.
He'd lost his left ski somewhere, and was balancing along on just the right.
"Shouldn't we... help him?" Stantler asked, as his new trainer went past on one ski and at high speed.
"He'll be fine," Togekiss assured. "He's got Geodude with him, who can make sure he's in no trouble."
She looked back into the lounge. "Want some more food? It's complimentary."
"Compli-ment-ary?" Stantler repeated.
"It means we can have as much as we want." Togekiss waved her wings. "I'm going to have a bit more, and then go and have a fly."
"Okay." Stantler looked down at his hooves. "I don't think I can do the ski-ing, though..."
Togekiss followed his gaze. "Hmmm... you're right. Well, I know what we can do instead. I'll get some of the others, and we can have a snowball fight!"
Whatever plan Ash had to reconnect with Chikorita had forgotten one important detail about her.
She was monumentally stubborn as a Chikorita, and had in fact been game to fight Charizard back when they'd first met.
So, it was a battle. Not to capture her, just to get close enough to touch her.
And it took some doing.
"Get back here!" Ivysaur shouted, vines whipping out.
Chikorita's razor leaves slashed out and cut one vine, and Ivysaur grimaced and pulled the other one back. While he did so, Chikorita ran a bit further, then turned and began slowly charging a Solarbeam.
"Isn't it overcast?" Pikachu asked, blinking.
"It's still doable, just takes a long time to charge," Ivysaur replied. "Okay, Grass isn't working."
His flower flashed, and the ground underfoot creaked and rumbled. A small number of rocks responded, ramming together into a miniature but respectable boulder, which then shot off towards her.
Just before the Ancientpower arrived, Chikorita fired. The Solarbeam blew the Ancientpower into fragments, and then went on to hit Ivysaur – who grunted, and took the attack with relatively little damage.
"I'm not fast enough," he said reluctantly. "Anyone else want to tag in?"
"If I may." Lucario walked forwards, past Ivysaur. "You are very impressive for a wild Pokémon, Chikorita."
She looked mulish, and the tiny plants in a ring around her neck unfurled slightly.
Lucario examined the result as he advanced. "Sweet Scent, I see."
His fists flashed into fire, and he rubbed them together until a flame built and held on the palm. With a careful breath, a blaze of flame came out and touched the edge of her Scent cloud – igniting it, resulting in a soft whoomth of an explosion and a sweet-smelling cloud of transient smoke.
A little startled but unharmed, Chikorita replenished the cloud of scented pollen. Lucario advanced through it, moving with purpose around the edge of the cloud and burning it off a little faster than it was replenished.
Chikorita stopped replacing it as Lucario got close, and stared up at him defiantly. "Do you expect me to give up?"
"No. I respect you more than that." Lucario paused, then punched upwards.
Chikorita had just enough time to wonder what that had been in aid of when the spiral of hot and cold air activated. She was whirled into the air by the sudden updraft, and went flying thirty feet into the air.
Lucario hadn't tried to target it too specifically, so the spiral of wind tugged at him as well, but he weighed over ten times as much and merely had to check his stride slightly. His arm snapped out as she came back down, and caught her as gently as possible.
"There," Ash said, touching Chikorita's neck.
Her slightly sullen attitude changed to shock and then relief, as she recognized the boy before her – and then the light of evolution flowed over her, as all that she had done and been since applied itself in a flash of sudden energy.
When the light faded, Bayleef stood there, looking none the worse for wear despite the battle.
Then, predictably, she glomped Ash.
"Yeah, I missed you too..." Ash chuckled weakly. "Ow?"
"Sorry," Bayleef said, not sounding very sorry. "What happened?"
"Time travel," Pikachu summarized. "It's more complicated, but let's work with time travel for now."
"I see... I think." Bayleef frowned. "It was Ash, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, me again," Ash admitted.
She blinked. "Did you just understand me?"
"Yeah," Ash agreed. "Honestly, whenever I realize I can do it, it makes me amazed all over again... but talking to my Pokémon all the time, really talking to them..." He smiled. "It's really precious, but at the same time it's kind of become normal. Which is fine, but it might take some of the wonder out of it."
"Basically, it's because Ash is an aura user," Lucario supplied.
Bayleef looked over at him, and jumped. "You're new!"
She shook her head. "No, right, I did see you before. You were the one who beat me just now, that's right. Sorry, getting confused."
"It's fine, we've all had it," Ash reassured her. "Though – I had a question."
"Ask away," Bayleef said, looking around and rolling her neck to stretch it.
"Why do you keep jumping on me?" Ash asked. "None of the others really do that as much..."
Bayleef blushed suddenly. "Well... uh... I like you."
"So do the others," Ash replied, frowning. "I don't understand."
Pikachu fell off Ash's shoulder, and burst out laughing.
Ash glanced down at his starter, vaguely confused, then back to Bayleef. "And why is this funny?"
"No, I mean... like you like you." Bayleef shuffled her feet.
"Still not seeing what-"
Lucario interrupted him. "As entertaining as this is, I think I can cut to the chase. Bayleef. Would you say that it is in the same way that Charizard likes Charla?"
Bayleef blushed again, then nodded.
"...oh, right..." Ash said, blushing himself. "I never... that explains a lot, I guess..."
He sighed, then looked at her. "I... I'm flattered, I guess. And I do like you – love you – but the same way as the rest of my friends, human and Pokémon."
Bayleef nodded, looking a bit glum. "I kind of guessed. I think I worked it out a long time ago. But – still. It's how I feel."
"...this got a lot less funny," Pikachu decided.
Ash was silent a moment longer, then stood. "Bayleef, I don't think... I can't be quite what you want, because I don't have feelings for you that way. But I can be a friend. Would you like that?"
Bayleef looked down for a moment, then back up again. The smile on her face was a little forced, and her eyes were wet, but she nodded. "I think I'd like to be your friend, Ash."
Ash and his Pokémon went up to the ski resort themselves, deciding they had enough time to join in with their friends. The resultant snowball fight was quite impressive, especially when Stantler essayed an illusion and had everyone throwing them a foot to his left for a minute or so.
Eventually, though, the friends headed back down-slope.
"What's next?" Brock asked, as they crossed the tree-line into light forest.
"Hmmm..." Ash looked ahead. "There's Cherrygrove city, but there's nothing much to do there... Dexter?"
Nothing of importance until Violet City. You may as well head straight there.
"Excellent."
Ash blinked. "Who said-"
His eyes went right. "Suicune?"
"The very same." The lithe Pokémon essayed a small bow.
"Wow..." Stantler said, gaping. "You're a legendary."
"I am." Suicune looked him over. "You're a Stantler."
"That's right..."
"He's new, but I think we're quite pleased with him so far," Brock added. "He wants to see the world."
"A most noble goal. I have seen much of the world, and it never fails to astonish me." Suicune smiled, then returned her attention to Ash. "If you have some time free... well, chosen one, catch-as-catch-can."
With that, she turned north, and broke into a lope. A hundred feet away, she turned and looked behind her, then beckoned forwards.
Ash stood frozen for a moment, then grabbed a Poké ball from his belt. "Charizard! Let's follow her!"
The orange Fire-type materialized in a flash of white light. Charizard sank to the ground as Ash returned Lucario and Bayleef – to save weight – and then collected Pikachu and jumped aboard.
Brock, Misty, and their companions watched as orange shape followed blue shape over the nearest ridge, and out of sight.
"Well... what do we do now?" Misty asked.
"Maybe we should head to Violet City..." Brock suggested. "I guess he'll go there eventually?"
"It's about the best we can do, I think."
"She is very, very fast," Charizard grunted, wings beating the air in steady whams. "I'm going as fast as I can, and we're only making up ground very slowly."
"Right." Ash patted his flank, and bent low to reduce the air resistance. "Okay, try and gain height without losing her. We can dive down for speed, and then Pikachu can try to slow her a bit."
"Got it." Charizard's flight tilted up very slightly. "Keep an eye on her, can you? I need to concentrate."
As the smallest, Pikachu bent over Charizard's side, and spotted the moving blur of blue. "I can see her from here, yes."
"Good. Let me know when you're losing her."
Suicune hopped from rock to rock, balancing for a moment on a tiny point before jumping further, and ascending a low ridge without breaking stride.
High overhead, she could see the cream belly and red-orange wings of the trainer's Charizard. A powerful Pokémon, from what she had heard.
She had also heard the Pidgeot was far, far faster – so, knowing he wouldn't be able to keep up if she went at full speed, she was making it a merely difficult challenge.
Well, okay, very difficult.
Another glance overhead, and she saw the Charizard was no longer climbing.
In fact, he was diving shallowly – trading height for speed, accelerating towards her and gaining a slight speed edge.
Excellent.
This was why she had argued he was worthy.
But – why make it easy?
Suicune glanced around, and spotted a valley which led to a riverbed. She loped over to it, then began running upstream towards the north – the river flashing to pure, sparkling clarity as she ran along.
"Okay, this could be tricky," Ash said, eyes forward. "Charizard, can you break through the tree cover?"
Through the branches, he could see the flickering blue shape which was Suicine. Charizard was currently angled to hit the river considerably ahead of her, estimating by eye where she would be when he reached it so their paths would intersect.
"Yes, I can," Charizard replied. "Flare blitz, if nothing else. But I won't be able to fight – I'd make it through, but not cleanly."
"That's okay." Ash touched his three full Poké balls. "We've got others to do any fighting."
"Got it."
The ground came up with surprising speed. One moment, it was distant and the trees looked like toys, the next everything was approaching and the branches went from sticks to thick logs and then Charizard burst into flame-
Ash's teeth clicked together painfully as Charizard hit a big tree, sending it crumbling and crashing to the ground. There was a moment of clear air, and then he slammed bodily into another large tree and came to a crunching, rumbling stop.
Jumping clear, Ash returned him and released the rest of his team. Ivysaur and Bayleef went to either bank, and Lucario joined him and Pikachu on the water surface.
Suicune looked up, then around at the flaming barricades which had dropped across the river both upstream and downstream. "Unorthodox, but effective."
"That's my fighting style!" Ash grinned.
"Is your Charizard okay?"
"I don't know," Ash replied, grin replaced by a frown. "But I hope he is."
"As do I." Suicune's face set. "But I am not caught yet."
"Thunder wave!" Ash called. Pikachu nodded, and fired out a potent blast of electricity.
With incredible grace, Suicune jumped, and was in mid-air at the moment the attack reached her. Water blasted outwards in a sparkling blue wave, and the attack was mostly soaked up by that rather than connecting with her.
What got through crackled along her flank, and concentrated on her legs.
"Power whip!" Ash added, and the two Grass-types lashed out.
Suicine dodged, slower than before, towards the eastern bank of what was becoming a small lake. She let Bayleef's whips grab her, then took one in her mouth and bit it in half.
Ivysaur's whips got to her before she could sever the other, and she raised a paw and tugged with all her might – pulling him off the bank and into the water with a splash.
Lucario had not been idle. He ran forward, palm sparkling with electricity for a Thunderpunch, and delivered it as Suicune divested herself of the last vine.
Suicune took the blow without complaint, and kicked out with her forelegs at Lucario. He took them in a grip, and his feet glowed brightly as he tried to hold her. "Pikachu! Now!"
Pikachu fired his Volt Crash.
Suicune released another of the instant waves of water, and the attack grounded not only into her but also into both Ivysaur and Lucario.
Before the steam and smoke cleared, Ash was squinting. "Is everyone okay?"
"I think so," Ivysaur coughed. "I can replace those petals either way."
"I'm fine," Lucario supplied, voice trembling a bit. "Is she-"
"I'm afraid not," Suicune informed them.
The air cleared, revealing her atop the wooden dam upriver. She was clearly favoring one leg, and looked very tired, but was unmistakeably conscious.
"Very close, but no. A gallant effort, chosen."
She cocked her head. "We will meet again – and I don't know what the result will be."
Suicune turned to go, then turned back. "You might want to get out of the river bed. I'm going to destroy the logs."
Ash returned those of his Pokémon who were most hurt, and clambered up to the east bank with Pikachu.
Once they were clear, Suicune smashed the first dam with a focused Bubblebeam. The second, already damaged by progressive fire, fell apart as a sudden wave hit it.
When the wave subsided, Suicune was nowhere to be seen.
"...well, that happened," Ash said. "That was close."
Pikachu nodded, and hopped up onto Ash's shoulder, leaving wet footprints on his clothes.
"Hey!" Ash chuckled, then sighed. "Right, let's get to a Pokémon centre. Dexter, where's Violet City?"
Half a mile west, Dexter supplied promptly.
"Guess we wait there for Brock and Misty, then."
Ash hoisted Pikachu up onto the counter, and passed over four Poké balls. "Thanks, Nurse Joy."
"Oh, not a problem." The Joy looked over her new patient, and Chansey ran the scanner over the rest. The results came up on screen, and she blinked. "Goodness. They have had a rough time of it. Falkner?"
"No, I just got into town." Ash rubbed the back of his neck. "I was trying to catch a wild Pokémon..."
Joy glanced up at the screen. "Which one was it?"
"No, I didn't catch her. Came close, though."
"I wish young trainers would be more careful," Joy fretted. "It must have been a strong one, with these Pokémon – and how tired they seem."
Ash nodded. "Yeah."
"Don't worry," Pikachu supplied, as he was carried into the back room for a quick check up. "We all volunteered."
Joy glanced over at her Chansey, who smiled, and assumed it had been something conciliatory. "Well... okay, then, but be careful next time."
"You bet," Ash sighed, going to sit down on one of the chairs.
"Excuse me..."
He looked up. A dark-haired woman with a bun was approaching, looking puzzled. "Yes?"
"Are you..." she paused, glanced over at the desk, and continued. "Are you actually Ash Ketchum?"
"Yeah," Ash replied. "That's me."
"Okay." She frowned. "Sorry, where are my manners... I'm Miss Priscilla, I teach at the Pokémon Academy here in Violet."
"Oh, right!" Ash said, much more enthusiastically. "What is it?"
"Well, I was wondering... are you staying here for a while?"
"A day at least. I'm going to wait for my friends, who are a bit behind me, and then wait for my Pokémon to be recovered before challenging Falkner."
Miss Priscilla looked hopeful. "Would you be willing to stop by at the academy tomorrow?"
"Sure!"
"Class, we're lucky to have a visitor today," the teacher said brightly. "This is Ash Ketchum."
Ash waved. Pikachu, on his shoulder, waved as well.
A hand went up.
"Can we see your Squirtle? He's cool."
Ash blinked. "Uh... that might be a problem, he's training back at home."
"That sucks," the kid said.
Another hand went up. "What about your Pidgeot?"
"She's training in the Orange Islands."
"Snorlax?"
"At home."
"Butterfree? He was awesome."
"Sorry." Ash shook his head. "With his family."
"Kingler?"
"At home."
"Primeape?"
"Training."
"Muk? Tauros?"
"All back at home too." Ash was feeling a bit embarassed by now.
"Do you actually have any Pokémon with you?"
Pikachu hopped down from his shoulder onto a desk. "Hey!"
"Oh, yeah, the Pikachu," someone said. "Didn't you blow up the arena?"
Pikachu thought about that for a moment, then decided to treat it as a plus.
Ash took out a Poké ball and opened it, releasing Lucario. "What about him? He was a Riolu in the League."
"He evolved?" That voice actually sounded a bit disappointed. "He was cuter before..."
After a moment, another hand went up. "Do you have your Charizard?"
Pikachu rolled his eyes. "Finally."
"Let's go outside," Ash suggested, smirking.
Charizard stood on his hind legs, flapping his wings, and blew a small ball of fire into the sky. A faster one followed, which caught up with the first and detonated.
"Wow!"
"He's awesome!"
"That's better," Pikachu said, attempting to bask in reflected glory, but still a bit grumpy. "How cynical are these kids?"
Ash shrugged.
On the field at the centre of the school grounds, Bayleef and Ivysaur fenced back and forth with their vines, neither using anything more spectacular, but still holding the attention of some of the students.
"Mister Ketchum?" someone asked.
Ash looked down. "Yeah?"
"What do you think is your best Pokémon?"
Ash's eyes widened. "Wow, that's a hard question."
"Good start," Pikachu quipped.
After a moment to think, Ash decided what to say. "I don't think 'best' is really a sensible thing to ask, here. I mean – best in what way?"
He rubbed Pikachu's chin. "Pikachu here has been with me for the longest. He's my starter – starters are special, most people never retire theirs."
Ash then nodded towads Lucario. "I raised him from an egg," technically, "so we trust one another a lot as well. He's one of the Pokémon I have with the most diverse move set, so I rely on him a lot. He's saved my life before."
Charizard was next. "He's probably the strongest Pokémon I've ever used in any tournament, and he doesn't mind carrying me – that's really useful, by the way, and fun too." Ash grinned. "If you ever catch a Pidgey, take good care of them, the payoff is awesome."
There were scattered giggles.
"Squirtle is the one who invents moves I've never heard of before. Ivysaur seems to have a skill for every situation. Butterfree's the first Pokémon I ever caught, as a Caterpie. Pidgeot's the second, and the fastest. My Tauros come through in the most unusual situations. Bayleef and Heracross are new, but I'm glad to have them."
He stopped for a moment, then shrugged. "Best doesn't make sense. What matters is that your Pokémon are your friends, and you appreciate them for what they are – use their strengths, work on their weaknesses, and – above all – be their friends."
Ash then lowered his voice slightly, so the kids had to crowd closer. "A bit over a year ago, in Kanto, I met a Pokémon whose trainer had abandoned him for being weak. This guy had told his faithful Pokémon that all it had to do was wait until he came back, as training, and then walked away and left him to die."
The silence stretched.
"Did he die?" asked a black-haired boy.
"No." Ash shook his head. "My friends and I found the Pokémon in time, and got him to the Pokémon centre."
Another pause.
"He was a Charmander."
Charizard emitted a rumbling, purring growl, and Ash reached up to scratch his eye ridge.
"Whoa..." someone said.
"Never give up on a Pokémon. Be kind to them, help them, and they'll pay you back and more," Ash finished.
"Hi!" Ash called, waving. "What kept you guys?"
"You went fifteen miles north, that's what!" Misty replied. "We had to guess where you ended up." She walked over to the Pokémon centre counter, and handed over two Poké balls. "These two have been doing a bit of battling."
"And can you check up Stantler, please?" Brock added. "He's still young."
The little Big Horn trotted up to the counter, looking around. "This building smells... sort of like nettles? It's very clean."
"It's a building where people take their Pokémon to be healed and looked after," Brock explained, patting Stantler. "This is Nurse Joy, and her Chansey. They'll look after you."
Stantler looked at the two nurses, then nodded. "Okay."
"Brock," Misty asked, as they walked over to the waiting area. "Are you well?"
"Fine," Brock replied. "Why?"
"You didn't hit on Nurse Joy."
Brock shrugged. "Wouldn't be right, I've got a call to Philena to make."
The other two trainers exchanged a bemused look.
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