章節 6: 14,15
Misty snapped her fingers. "Oh, yeah, I was going to ask!"
She turned to Ash. "Do you have any ways of making someone else focus better? I know that Aura stuff you've got us doing involves meditation and stuff, but…"
"Can't think of any," Ash apologized. "Except Aura Purge, but that's mostly if you've got some kind of trauma, not if you just need to focus… why?"
"It's Psyduck," Misty explained. "We're heading to Hop-Hop-Hop town, and-"
"Sorry, to where?" Riolu interrupted. "That's the name of a place?"
"Apparently," Ash answered. "We were surprised last time, too."
"Anyway, I do love him, but… he's difficult to deal with," Misty summarized. "He's either completely brainless or ridiculously powerful, sometimes both."
"You didn't get a handle on him by the end?" Brock asked.
"He was… getting a little bit better," Misty replied. "He could do Water Gun on command, but… he was still Psyduck."
"Did you try aspirin?" Ash asked.
Misty stared, then groaned. "No."
"Well, it might work," Brock said. "Or Persim Berries, if he's just permanently confused."
It is possible both will work, but I do not think it is likely, Dexter said. Psyduck all have constant headaches, though Golduck do not. It might be physiological.
"Actually, now I think about it…" Ash rummaged in his bag. "Where did I put it… uh… aha, here we go."
He held out a CD in a container. "It's a Calm Mind TM, Sabrina gave it to me."
"I've never really understood how those work," Brock admitted.
Pokémon can be transmitted over the internet and you are worried about the functioning of a TM? Dexter asked.
"Mostly, I'm not sure how you use them," Brock replied. "Pokémon might be able to be transmitted over the internet, but they don't have disc drives."
Searching, Dexter informed them. I have only found two usage references. Method one: use the instructional videos on them.
"Hmm," Misty said. "That might work, but then again, Psyduck."
"He's not exactly focused," Pikachu agreed. "What's the second option?"
Apply directly to forehead.
"Well… it's worth a try?" Misty shrugged.
I also wish to report that I have found an Unovan site explaining how to remove the usage limit on Technical Machines, Dexter told them. I have already applied it to this one, so it will not be one use.
"Right!" Ash said. "Now, onwards to Hop-Hop-Hop Town!"
He made a face. "Who named that town, anyway?"
When they arrived in Hop-Hop-Hop town, they went straight for the Pokémon Centre.
The Nurse Joy managed a smile, but she was clearly under strain. "I'm afraid we might not be able to help you out much, if you have any need for check ups… we're overloaded. Pokémon throughout the town are falling asleep."
There was a yawn and a thud as Riolu joined the list of Pokémon throughout the town that were falling asleep. Pikachu didn't, though, mostly because he'd been eating Chesto Berries for the last half an hour.
Once was enough.
Ash smiled, then changed into his cap and transferred Aaron's Hat to Riolu. The Dark-subtype from the hat seemed to work, and Riolu stirred within a minute before getting back up again.
"Wow!" the Joy said, her strain melting away into enthusiasm. "So that's all it takes to cure it?"
"Well, uh…" Ash began. "This isn't really an 'all'…"
"Nurse Joy, you've noticed the most important thing about what's going on!" Brock said. "And your deductive skill's only surpassed by your beauty!"
Misty sent out Goldeen. "Get to the point, Brock."
Brock looked nervous. "The hat's a special one that blocks Psychic powers. That proves it's either a Pokémon doing this, or a powerful human psychic."
Pikachu raised his paw. "We could find out where to go by timing how long it takes Riolu to fall asleep when the hat's taken off? That sounds scientific, especially if we do it in lots of different places."
Riolu held onto the brim of the hat in both paws. "But I don't wanna be a piece of scientific apparatus!"
"What would that be called," Brock asked himself. "An oneirometer?"
"I have a better suggestion for what it would be called," Misty said, reaching for a Pokéball. "A Starmie!"
Starmie levitated into the air. "Hiya!"
Pikachu shook his head. "No sense of scientific discovery from you people."
Some minutes later, a door opened with a thump and a number of arrayed salarymen looked around in confusion.
"Who are you?" one of them asked.
"I'm Ash Ketchum, but that's not the important bit right now!" Ash replied. "What's important is that you're putting humans and Pokémon through an experience they shouldn't have to face right now! Or at all!"
He waved around the room. "I get it, you have trouble sleeping. I do sometimes! But there's ways to deal with it. Like, uh, shorter work hours or something? I swear that should be an option. Or taking sleeping pills?"
"We can't shorten our work hours," one of them said. "That would be terribly disrespectful."
"Not the point," Ash grumbled. "And you decided to have a Pokémon hypnotize you? I guess that would be okay if you'd just had them hypnotize you, but instead they're pushing out strong enough psychic energy that it's driving the children in town crazy and making Pokémon all over the city pass out."
"It is?" another salaryman asked. "My goodness! We'll have to stop right away!"
"How did you not notice?" Riolu asked. "It's been going for days."
"Riolu's got a point, how did you not notice?" Ash replied.
"In our defence, we've mostly been either at work or asleep for the last few days," the first man admitted. "You may have a point about work hours."
"But even if you did need artificial help, there's loads of options!" Ash replied. "You could have got a Pokémon to use Sleep Powder or Spore. Or Grass Whistle, or Sing… or Yawn, that's a move that should work… or you could have asked a Cresselia to help, right?"
"I don't think that's an option for most people," Pikachu pointed out.
"Maybe, I guess…" Ash replied, dubiously. "Uh… hey, you're not asleep now, so you must want to get to sleep, right? Unless this is a club for talking about how much sleep you're not getting."
"Um," the second man said.
Ash sent out Ivysaur. "You have a sleep move, right?"
Ivysaur used Grass Whistle.
"Nice," Riolu said. "Why didn't you use that against Gloom?"
"I was very, very embarrassed after that battle," Ivysaur said. "So I started connecting with my ancestors. I've got a lot of them."
"Doesn't everyone have a lot of ancestors?" Pikachu asked. "Except for, you know, some specific Legendary Pokémon."
"I meant in variety terms," Ivysaur clarified. "I know, at minimum, of a Charmeleon, a Sableye and a Skarmory in there… other Pokémon have a family tree, I think mine is more of a kudzu or Tangela or something."
"There we go, Psyduck," Ash said, backing off. "You remember us now, right?"
Blank stare.
"Any idea if he knows Amnesia?" Brock asked. "Or is that just natural?"
The stare shifted to Brock.
He shivered. "That's actually quite creepy… does he blink?"
Misty put her hand on her chin. "I've seen it, once?"
Ash took the TM out and slapped it on Psyduck's forehead.
He blinked.
The TM flashed a few times, matching flashes appearing in Psyduck's eyes, then he slowly fell over backwards.
"...did that work?" Misty asked. "I don't know if that worked… he did blink though."
She leaned down. "Uh… are you okay, Psyduck?"
Yes, thanks.
Misty fell over backwards.
"That actually worked?" Ash asked, mostly in disbelief.
It did indeed, Psyduck confirmed. There was a very user friendly interface, it compartmentalized things, and I now have a sort of mental switch that lets me go between having a calm mind and using Calm Mind the TM. It's convenient.
"I wonder if that's Calm Mind specific," Brock said, thinking out loud, then shrugged. "Well, now you have a more, er… stable Pokémon, Misty."
Though it's still going to give me a headache to actually use attacks, but… I'm okay with that, Psyduck decided.
Misty had got back to her feet. "Right! Now, the next thing for you, mister, is swimming lessons!"
Er, I mean, ow the pain the pain my head is aching.
"Nice try."
"I think I've lost track of what we did next," Ash admitted. "What was it next?"
Next, you-
Brock interrupted. "Next, we go and visit Suzy, and hopefully I can borrow Vulpix from her."
Ash grinned, recognizing Brock's tone. "You've really been looking forward to seeing her again, huh?"
"Both of them," Brock replied. "Suzy, well, Suzy's famous of course, and as for Vulpix…"
He sighed. "The little darling's a hard hitting Pokémon, and cute as a button. Steelix, Geodude, Crobat… they're all great, and I love them, but Vulpix is the softer approach and sometimes you long for the softer approach."
Ash thought about it hard. "I guess that's more the kind of thing May or Dawn would understand, but I get it, I think… I'm way more of someone for battles, anyway."
He looked mildly troubled. "Actually, I didn't have anyone with me in Unova who was into that kind of thing. I wonder if Unova even has something like Contests… I wouldn't expect Iris to do any of them though…"
Pikachu sniggered.
"Yeah, it wouldn't go well," Ash agreed. "Still, I take your point about Vulpix. She's got a good Flamethrower."
"That was easy," Misty said, as the trio of humans left Scissor Street with Vulpix cradled in Brock's arms. "I swear that took longer last time."
"Yeah," Brock agreed. "It's amazing how much more free time we have without Team Rocket getting involved every time we turn around… I think we're basically done with Celadon now, right?"
Not quite. Brock, why not get Vulpix something from the department store?
Misty jumped.
"Psyduck!" she complained. "I'm glad you can express yourself now, but are you going to keep doing that?"
I hear it's all the rage for Psychic Pokémon these days… not that I am one, but it's honorary or something.
"Huh?" Ash asked.
Nothing.
Brock thought about it, then shrugged. "Well, we've got time… what do you say, Vulpix, sound good?"
She thought about it for a moment, then gave his finger an affectionate nibble.
"So… is that a yes or a no?" Brock asked, laughing. "I missed you too."
Vulpix flicked her ears, then nodded.
In Celaon Department Store, Vulpix paced along the aisles.
"Okay, so, what do you want?" Brock asked.
Vulpix glanced back at him, did another ear-flick, then went back to loping from one aisle to the next. Checking what was down it, looking up at the listings, then going to the next.
She knew it was supposed to be here somewhere. This wasn't a new idea for her, but it had always been a maybe-yes maybe-no… but now she was back with Brock, and she wanted him to succeed.
She liked him.
So it was an easy choice.
Or maybe it just freed her to do what she'd always wanted to do.
Finding the right aisle, she darted down it, then sat and pawed at a label.
Brock's eyes widened (presumably) and he crouched down, making sure she was seeing the same thing as he was, then picked one up. "You're sure?"
Vulpix barked. "Yes!"
"It's your choice," he said. "Just give me a moment to buy it."
Brock still looked nervous. "Ready?"
Vulpix nodded, in mild exasperation.
"I told you I wanted this five minutes ago! You won't change my mind, and I'm not making a choice I'll regret later."
She swallowed slightly, trying to calm down. "Brock, I… well. It's time for me to grow up."
"I get it," Brock told her. "And I mean – I actually get it. I understood you there. I… that means she really feels it strongly, right, Ash?"
"I think so," Ash replied. "You're doing great, Brock."
Brock nodded, choked a little, then put down the Fire Stone.
Vulpix paced over to it, with a slow and reverent gait, and studied herself in its reflection for a long moment… closed her eyes, and gently pressed her nose against it.
Then-
Whoosh.
She flowed smoothy into her new form, body growing in height and width and length all at once, and a stream of fire licked around her as her tails twisted tightly into a single mass. When they unravelled again, there were no longer six short red tails but nine long white ones, their tips tinted with the last hints of orange on the whole of her coat.
Caged fire played over her form, accentuating her fur in a slightly unnecessary but very pretty display of Will-O-Wisp.
They were all staring, and Ninetales put a paw to her muzzle.
"It's still me in here, silly. And it doesn't look bad on me, no?"
"Well, uh…" Ash began. "If you want to get involved in Contests, Brock, I don't think I'm taking part in the same ones any time soon..."
"Ready?" a voice whispered.
"I don't know," another one replied. "Something's missing…"
"We should do the motto," a third said. "It doesn't feel right without a motto."
"Fine, fine," the first one hissed. "But we gotta do it quick an' quiet!"
"...huh," Ash frowned. "Hey, can you hear something?"
He got Dexter out. "Is that a Pokémon?"
"That's right!" Meowth shouted, springing out of the nearest bush, and snatched Dexter from his hand before sliding to a halt on the other side of the road out of Celadon. "I guess you're lookin' for this?"
Oh, this is just brilliant. I've actually been stolen… kidnapped… I demand a lawyer! Both to resolve this situation and to determine if I count as property-
Meowth shook Dexter.
Shutting up now.
"Hey, give him back!" Ash shouted.
Okay, so you see me as a-
Meowth shook the Pokédex again, this time more severely, and flicked him with a claw. Right, right, shutting up, will do.
James popped up from the same bush. "That's right, Ash! We've got your Pokédex!"
"But we know you won't just surrender now," Jessie agreed. "So, prepare to fight!"
"While we run off at the speed of light!" James concurred.
Ash, Brock and Misty broke into a run, then so did Jessie and James, and James' Abra materialized in between them.
Unfortunately for you, I'm not going to get any sleep until this is sorted out.
His eyes opened, and flared purple. Psywave!
A blast of psychic force and air pressure slapped out, hitting the friends, then Pikachu sparked briefly and hurled a Thunderbolt at Abra.
He promptly teleported out of the way.
"Oh, that's going to be annoying," Misty grumbled. "What do we do?"
Abra flung another Psywave at them, and they all ducked down. Riolu put together an Aura Sphere, then threw it, and Abra just teleported out of the way three successive times before appearing on the other side of them.
Ash threw one of his own Aura Spheres, countering Riolu's one as it tried to home in on Abra through them, and Brock raised his hand.
"Your hat's not working, Ash?"
"It's not," Ash replied. "There's some stuff about how to do Shadow Ball in Aaron's notes, but it's really awkward and I hadn't even started trying to learn…"
"Starmie can handle him," Misty announced, expanding out the Pokéball and throwing it. "Okay, Starmie, sort us out that Abra!"
"Leave it to mie!" Starmie agreed, spinning around, and launched out a Thunderbolt.
Abra teleported out of the way to dodge, and Ash, Brock and Misty got running.
"How far behind are we?" Brock said. "Ash, can you see?"
Ash shaded his eyes. "Uh, I think-"
Abra teleported in front of them and used Reflect, raising a wall in their path that they all tripped over.
Yeah, no, I can teleport and Starmie can't, Abra pointed out. Not going to get rid of me that easily.
Ash looked back, barely able to see Starmie with how far they'd come, then Psyduck came out of his Pokéball.
"I'll handle this," he announced. "Hey, Abra, want to try teleporting somewhere? I have Disable."
"Are you sure you're going to be okay with this, Psyduck?" Misty asked.
Go on, I'll handle him, Psyduck reassured her.
Pikachu charged up a speculative Thunderbolt, but a Future Sight hit him before he actually could, and the blow sent his attack wide.
"Come on!" Ash called. "Let's go!"
Psyduck, meanwhile, was crossing his eyes.
Calm Mind.
Yes, he was sure he wanted to reactivate his headache. Okay, not wanted so much as accepted it was a good idea, but…
He took a deep breath, and confirmed the choice.
Then used Psychic. A lot.
Abra used Light Screen, angling it enough that the recoil knocked him out of the way rather than forcing the wall back into him as it shattered, then tried Psywave again. Psyduck just launched out another torrent of psychic energy, unable to really do anything much more sophisticated than 'aim' and not great at that, but in the contest of willpower that was going on he easily had the upper hand.
Or wing, or arm, or whatever it was that Psyduck actually had.
A Future Sight hit Psyduck in the back of the head, throwing off his aim and making his psychic powers blast a small but noticeable crater in the ground, then Psyduck wobbled back upright and tried to focus on Abra.
Deciding he was probably looking in the right direction, he just used a wham of psychic force to try and slam Abra down into the ground. It missed, making another sizeable dent in the terrain, then Abra tried teleporting away.
Psyduck might have been more inaccurate than a Pokédex entry describing Tentacruels as having eighty tentacles, but he was quick off the mark when it came to Disable, and Abra's teleport collapsed in a psychic fizzle.
Then Starmie re-entered the battle, spinning through the air like a shuriken, and used Water Pulse. Abra blocked it with a Light Screen, then got hit by Starmie itself as Psyduck used his teammate as a ranged weapon.
I'm not paid enough for this, Abra decided, braking to a halt in mid-air. Psywave!
Since Abra didn't seem to be about to teleport in front of them again, Ash released his two Flying-types.
"Let's go, guys!" he said, and Pidgeot crouched down so Misty and Brock could get on board. Charizard didn't bother, just holding out an arm, and his trainer swung up onto his back.
They took off with a whoosh of wings, and Ash shaded his eyes. "Okay, uh – wait, there's something up ahead, look out Pidgeot-"
Pidgeot reacted just too late, and a rapidly spinning curved bone hit her in the leading edge of her left wing. The powerful Smack Down attack dislocated it with a wrench, and she cried out in mingled pain and annoyance before summoning the strongest Tailwind she could.
Charizard had marginally more warning, and was able to evade the first Smack Down aimed at him, but then two more came at once – their opponent no longer having to split her attention between two targets – and Charizard evaded one but took the other on the tail.
"Down!" Ash told Charizard, as another attack came in, and Charizard dropped to the ground. Pidgeot's Tailwind had already cushioned her fall, and it whirled up to do the same to him, but Cubone's last Smack Down attack came first and knocked out his right wing.
Charizard barely avoided rolling over as he crashed, and Ash winced as he recalled both injured Pokémon again. "Sorry guys, get some rest… what Pokémon was that? Where are they?"
"That was probably a Cubone or Marowak," Brock guessed.
Riolu had been thrown clear, and shook himself before rising to his paws. Then he spotted a glint of movement, and hurled an Aura Sphere into the air where it intercepted a Bonemerang aimed at Pikachu.
That just made the hidden Cubone switch to him, and he parried a second Bonemerang with a Force Palm strike before having to deal instead with Cubone at close range.
"Go on, I'll handle this!" he called, using Force Palm to avoid being hit in the face by a Bone Club, then manifested a Bone Rush staff and began using that to parry instead.
"Bold of you, young Riolu," Cubone retorted, reaching out to the side and creating her own Bone Rush staff before suddenly swiping down and smashing Riolu's to bits. "Didn't you learn it's part of battling to know when you're outmatched?"
"You're trying to intimidate me," Riolu responded, ducking under a swipe.
He pushed away, backflipping and using a burst of blue light to stick to the ground, then had to defend himself all over again as Cubone closed the distance in a surge of motion.
"I'm trying to warn you," Cubone retorted. "There are important lessons you need to learn about when a battle is impossible, or you're going to suffer badly."
Her Thick Club slammed into the ground just in front of Riolu, knocking him swaying and nearly off his feet, then her second attack caught Riolu's paw and flipped him into the air.
"That's not how this works!" Riolu responded, twisting and landing gracefully. "You don't just give in if something seems impossible. You've got to have hope-"
"Hope?" Cubone repeated, then threw a Bonemerang at Riolu. He broke it with an Aura Sphere, the dust still spraying him, and Cubone launched a Bone Rush staff at him like a spear.
Riolu dodged it, but she came in right on the heels of it, and a lightning-fast strike knocked Riolu onto his back.
"You don't know anything about hope," she said. "Hope isn't some simple force that lifts you up no matter what. Hope is believing things will work out, and you have no right to tell me that I should feel it."
Riolu tensed, then rolled to the side and sprang upright. Darting in close, this time, he lashed out with Force Palm, and she blocked with Bone Club. "And you've got no right to tell me I shouldn't!"
"I'm wiser than you, little Riolu," Cubone retorted. "I've seen too much… and you'll learn, too."
"If that's the lesson, I'll refuse to learn it!" Riolu shot back.
"No, I'm insisting," Cubone said, forming a Bastiodon skull in her offhand as a shield, and bashed Riolu with it before adjusting her grip on her club to make the two weapons work together. "There are some things you can only understand with loss. And I have suffered so much loss."
Cubone grounded her shield, and stared at Riolu with haunted eyes. "I was strong, for my youth, and I was the protector of my family. And I failed. They all died, not a year ago."
Riolu swallowed, involuntarily. That… was a lot harder to dismiss than he was expecting.
"To know what it is to lose something… that brings strength, Riolu. It is not hope that makes me strong, but sheer determination. I will not lose my family again."
"But you can still be made strong by hope!" Riolu shot back. "Ash rescued me when I was in danger, and he's so – he's – I have hope, and it's not just because of him but it is because of him!"
"I am not making my point," Cubone decided. "Riolu, when I say that you cannot win, it is because I am broken inside."
She raised her voice. "I… am the bone of my club."
Riolu asked himself what she meant by that, but then Cubone demonstrated that she wasn't just going to stand around. Her club swept across, one that Riolu only countered with a Force Palm and that still launched him several feet across the clearing.
"My bones are the earth, my skin is the sky."
She manifested a Bone Rush staff, and so did Riolu, and hers smashed his to splinters in a single blow. The backlash knocked Riolu sliding away, and Cubone followed him again as she kept chanting.
"Serving life, understanding death, but on the razor's edge between the two."
"If you're broken and you know it, then why don't you get help?" Riolu asked, back to his feet again.
"My past and future collide on the grassy plain," Cubone said, maybe in reply or maybe not. "All that I am is the bones of the hills."
And suddenly they were somewhere else, a grassy field studded with bones under a rippling overcast sky, simmering with the potential for a storm.
"What…" Riolu began, looking around in shock. "Wait. This… I've never seen something like this from the inside before. This is…"
He turned to Cubone, foot-paws sliding across the grass. "This is the inside of your soul. How did you even do this?"
"Pray you never have to find out, Riolu," Cubone advised him. "Now, go down and stay down."
She darted in for an attack, and so did some of the bones scattered around, and Riolu dove for cover.
He didn't know how this worked, but… there was something Ash had said, while they were talking about his two adventures in Aura Purge.
If you were in a situation like this, intuition was as important as anything else. He'd known what to do, because it had just made sense.
The bones around here weren't all Cubone bones. Most of them weren't even related. And he'd seen her making specific bones like the Bastiodon skull.
So that meant…
Riolu broke into a run, weaving to the side to avoid a Bonemerang, then grabbed one specific bone out of the ground.
It lit up with blue Aura, and Riolu whirled.
"What are you doing?" Cubone asked, then reached out her free hand. Nothing happened, and Riolu grinned.
"This bone," he said. "It's Lucario bone, isn't it? The steel under the skin."
He adjusted his grip. "It's yours, because it's in here, but it's also mine, because it's something I will one day inherit."
"May one day inherit," Cubone corrected. "Well, then. You've impressed me, I'll admit."
She dropped her Thick Club, and summoned two mismatched bones to both paws. Others rose up around her. "That's enough for today."
Riolu charged the steel-infused bone with Aura, then threw it with both hands. It flew true, glowing with the light of Aura Sphere, and this time when Cubone crossed her bones to block she was the one who had to deal with her constructs being smashed by greater force.
The impact knocked her staggering backwards, then falling unconscious, and as the strange artificial-landscape dissolved in favour of the countryside outside Celadon Riolu's extravagant Aura use caught up with him.
He wobbled, sat down hard, and did his best not to just fall asleep as well.
15
James panted. "Phew… the downside of this plan is it involves far too much running!"
"Hey, at least you ain't running around to keep this going!" Meowth retorted. "You only gotta run in one direction."
He jumped onto James's head, and looked back in the direction of Celadon. "Well, dey're on the way… Jessie's already getting ready, so you better hurry up."
"Already?" James repeated. "What about Arbok?"
"Yeah, he's already getting ready too," Meowth confirmed.
"In that case…" James said, then came to his decision.
As the friends ran out into the more open area of path, Ash reached for his belt.
Brock warded him off. "No, Ash – it's my turn. I've still got all of my team, and I'll let Ninetales handle this."
"Got it," Ash agreed, dropping back slightly, and Brock threw his Pokéball.
As the 'ball bounced back and Brock caught it, James sent out Growlie from the other end of the field.
The two Fire-types exchanged a wordless glance, then pounced.
"So, you're not one of the ones I heard about," Growlie said, opening with a Flare Blitz, only for it to thump harmlessly into Ninetales's flank. "Flash Fire?"
"Same to you," Ninetales replied, surging into a Quick Attack which Growlie dodged with a mighty leap. "Really, it's not sunny enough for me to have Drought, is it?"
"I did guess," Growlie shrugged, after landing. "But it's worth trying."
He shook his mane out, then matched and more than matched her Quick Attack with Extremespeed. Ninetales flicked her tails across, drawing a wall of flame, and managed to avoid Growlie's attack from actually hitting home.
"Now that was a nice combination," Growlie said, impressed, as he cornered to come in on her flank. She swerved away, and for a moment they ran alongside one another before separating.
"Flatterer," Ninetales laughed.
"Can't be, I don't know the move," Growlie told her.
Ninetales stifled a giggle, then bundled up her tails and used them for a more offensive Tail Whip than usual.
Growlie ducked and rolled out of the way. "Whoops!"
"Careful, Growlie!" James called. "You might end up cursed for a thousand years!"
"That wouldn't happen, would it?" Growlie said.
"They say I'm vengeful, but you probably don't need to worry," Ninetales replied, smirking. "So, what brings you to be part of Team Rocket anyway?"
"James is," Growlie answered. "That's about the extent of it."
"I think I can understand," Ninetales mused. "James is a good person, when he has no other option."
She considered her opponent, and the very great trouble they were having harming one another.
"Want to talk about it a bit more?" she asked, glancing back towards Celadon.
"Why not."
James and Brock watched in some surprise as their Pokémon nodded at one another, then ran off back towards Celadon.
"Um," James said. "That is…"
He grabbed at the next Pokéball on his belt, shouted "Smog!" and ran for it.
Weezing complied with a massive cloud of toxic gas that effectively blocked the path.
"Okay, uh…" Ash reached for his belt, then shook his head. "No, Pidgeot can't get us over that at the moment… and there's no way we can run through it…"
"Poison types," Brock said. "You've still got Ivysaur with you, right? He and Crobat can deal with it – Crobat's not going to be able to clear it on his own, he's got Whirlwind but he's not got all that much volume of air movement – especially since evolving, he's all about slashing attacks."
"Ivysaur's got Whirlwind, too!" Ash agreed.
He frowned. "At least, I think he does, but in hindsight I can't really see how…"
Misty sighed. "Sorry, guys. I don't think any of my options is useful here. If I had Togekiss, though…"
"Togekiss?" Ash repeated, sending out Ivysaur. "Huh, I didn't know she'd evolved. Anyway… Ivysaur, you do know Whirlwind, right?"
"Yeah, family tree again," Ivysaur concurred. "So, blow a hole in the smog cloud for you?"
"Yeah!" Ash agreed. "Then sort Weezing out, and catch up with us if you can – if not, we'll come back for you."
"Would never doubt it, Ash," Ivysaur said.
"Okay," Ash decided. "Let's-"
"Wait, I've got something extra to add," Ivysaur decided, reaching into his flower with a vine. "Here. Worry Seeds – I'm going to put some Sleep Powder in the middle of the smog bank, that way Weezing won't be able to get close enough to fill in the gap."
"I wish I could understand your Pokémon consistently, instead of just mine and only sometimes," Brock admitted. "We've still got a way to go, I guess."
"These are Worry Seeds," Ash clarified. "Ivysaur's going to Sleep Powder the area..."
Weezing flinched back from the Sleep Powder cloud as the friends sprinted through the clear air tunnel, just as planned, then Ivysaur lumbered into a run.
Knocking Weezing out of the fight quickly would be a good thing, especially if it was quick enough that they could rejoin Ash and Brock… and Weezing was a Pokémon that could float, so Ivysaur had to act before the Poison-type tried getting too high to reach.
After all, he didn't know Psychic. Or, at least, so far as he knew he didn't know Psychic, but his moves were a bit weird…
Shaking his head as he got in range, Ivysaur used Vine Whip. Both green vines lashed out, snagging onto Weezing, and Ivysaur yanked.
And Weezing exploded.
The blast of force severed both of Ivysaur's vines, sending him stumbling backwards as there was suddenly no counter-force to his pull, and he winced as he tried to cope with the burst of pain.
He also now had the problem of losing a lot of options for how to battle a flying Pokeon.
Crobat swooped in, but inside the smoke Weezing was still quite hale, and blasted the Flying-type with a Thunderbolt.
"Since when did you know that!?" Ivysaur demanded. "Pikachu never mentioned that one!"
"It's a TM," Weezing replied placidly.
Shaking his head, Ivysaur glanced over at Crobat. His ally had been hit hard and crashed, but he still seemed to be in one piece, and a moment later Crobat used Sonic Boom to hurl a bolt of pressurized force at Weezing.
The Rocket Pokémon took it with equanimity, which was oddly enough the opposite of being skittish like a Ponyta, and retaliated with another Thunderbolt before rotating to fire a Flamethrower at Ivysaur.
Ivysaur dispersed the incoming attack with a Whirlwind, sending the bits of it spraying outwards – then Weezing slammed Crobat with a third Thunderbolt, knocking him out of his attack run and sending him crashing into the ground underneath Weezing.
Who promptly dropped down and started bouncing up and down on top of Crobat.
"I… hate… it… when… they… fo...cus," Crobat mumbled indistinctly, one syllable with each impact.
Ivysaur charged in to use Tackle, missing as Weezing rose back into the air, then skidded around in a wide turn and fired a Leech Seed. That got incinerated, and Ivysaur scowled as he tried to work out what to so.
He meditated on his ancestors, and the answer came to him.
He had a lot of ancestors… but, then again, who didn't… and some of them had been Rock-type.
The ground splintered around him, stones working their way free of the soil to gather together into a single combined mass of rock, and Ivysaur took aim for a moment before firing it squarely at Weezing.
His Ancientpower attack hit squarely, and Weezing's repeated Explosions had already taken a lot out of him. The Poison-type rocked back, mumbled something, and passed out.
"Phew," Ivysaur said, then blinked. "Wait… he was glowing-"
The thing Weezing had mumbled turned out to be 'Destiny Bond', and Ivysaur joined the list of Poison Types Knocked Out In That Battle, which was longer than it really should have been.
"So, uh… boss? Why are we doing this?"
The restaurant manager looked over at one of his waiters. "Why? What do you mean?"
"Well…" the waiter spread his hands. "I have several questions, boss. So, first, we do agree that we're a sushi restaurant, right? And that, typically speaking, we serve humans?"
"We do typically serve humans," the manager agreed, adjusting his violin. "Why do you ask? That seems obvious enough."
"It's just… the general situation, boss," the waiter replied. "Sushi restaurant, usually caters to humans… two large Fire-types, we're serving them spaghetti and meatballs out the back of the restaurant, and you and the cook are serenading them in Italian."
"You have no art in your soul," the manager accused, then went back to singing.
"Well, this is a lot more fun than a battle, isn't it?" Growlie asked. "Rather than a battle with, I must say, charming company… a meal, with that same charming company, and delightful conversation as well."
Ninetales batted a paw. "Oh, you… besides, I assure you, the charming company is on both sides of this particular table."
Growlie winked. "I did have a fine upbringing before I fell into my roguish ways, you know… though I must admit, I wish it didn't divide our loyalties. We are on opposite sides of a battle."
His companion shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she said. "I'm sure neither of them would mind one bit… you can hardly say Brock isn't a romantic, and James, well, much the same. And I don't mind admitting that something in you resonates with me."
"...thank you," Growlie said, touched. "Very well, then. We'll enjoy what time we have, and if it goes further, then take it as it comes."
"Spoken like a true wise gentlemon… despite his roguish ways," Ninetales smiled, and both went back to their meal.
"Oh, so you've caught up again!" James said. "Phew… I really should have brought a jetpack. How are you so fit?"
"We're tired too," Ash complained. "Why did you even do this if you're complaining so much about the running?"
"Well, of course, I'm making it double!" James retorted. "To unite all peoples within our nation, and extend our reach to the stars above. Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
He sighed. "You know, it loses something when Jessie's not here…"
"Okay, where are Meowth and Arbok?" Ash asked. "They're your only Pokémon left, unless you've got another new one."
"Bad news," James told them, and a nearby pond started to tremble. "Attack!"
With a rumbling boom, an enormous shape coated in mud rose up from the pond. It reared up to full height, and Misty gasped.
"Where did you get a Gyarados?" she asked.
Pikachu's cheeks sparked up, and he hit Gyarados with a Thunderbolt. The big Water-type rocked back slightly, then roared and used Dragon Rage.
The friends dove for cover, and Ash made sure he hadn't landed on Pikachu. "Why didn't that work?"
"That's what happens when a Gyarados is full of Wacan berries!" James called. "They're superfoods!"
His Gyarados roared again, and lunged, only to collide with Brock's Steelix with a crash.
"Ash, get going!" Brock called. "We'll handle this one!"
Misty sent out her own Gyarados, along with Goldeen, and held the smaller Water-type in her hands so she could use attacks despite being otherwise pinned to the ground. For his part, Brock sent out Geodude as well, and Ash broke into a run again.
"Rock Polish!" Brock called.
James's Gyarados reared up and then used Thunder Fang, lashing out at Misty's Gyarados, but Steelix had spotted it just in time and used a tail thwack to launch Geodude into the way. The Thunder Fang grounded out on Geodude, and Misty pointed into the muddy pond. "Mud Sport!"
Gyarados rumbled something, and Misty pointed again. "Just make it up as you go along!"
Meanwhile, James's Gyarados used Surf and blasted Geodude away to slam into a tree. The impact was hard enough to knock a big chunk of bark off the trunk and several annoyed Pidgey fluttering into the air, and Brock spared a moment to return his apparently-out-of-it Pokémon.
"Stone Edge!" he called, and Steelix slammed the ground to send out a spray of rocks at his opponent. Unfortunately, the opponent had listened as well, and used Stone Edge to create a rocky slab which deflected the attacks, wobbled for a moment, and slammed down on top of Steelix.
He broke it with a powerful flex of his head, but the respite had given Gyarados time to plan his next attack, and he used Surf.
The powerful Water attack crashed down on Steelix, but washed off him with far less effect than it should have had, and the Rocket Gyarados looked puzzled.
"Great work, Goldeen!" Misty said, patting the piscine Water-type. "Gyarados, Hyper Beam! Brock, get your Steelix muddy now!"
"Huh?" Brock asked. "Oh, right, you Soaked him? Nice move!"
Misty's Gyarados used Hyper Beam, and so did James's Gyarados, and the two beams of light impacted with a brilliant flare of clashing energy. Goldeen flinched, Misty looked away before covering her eyes with one hand, then swapped out Goldeen for Horsea and had the little Water-type use Smokescreen.
Brock just squinted more than usual.
The crashing sound of the beams was incredible, making it impossible for the trainers to give orders to their Pokémon, and Brock hurried over to the pool so he could be next to his Starter.
Both beams kept colliding, making the ground shake slightly, then slowly the point of contact began to edge back towards Misty's Gyarados despite the best efforts of the Cerulean Gym Pokémon. Misty watched the movement of the contact point, called out encouragement to Gyarados, then finally accepted the inevitable and recalled her exhausted Pokémon – so the last remnants of the Hyper Beam went hurtling off into the sky.
Then Brock's Steelix landed on James's Gyarados in a massive landslide.
"Took you long enough!" Misty called, her ears ringing.
"Hey, we had to build the hill before Steelix could landslide down it!" Brock replied. "The Rockets have really been busy…"
"I'm so glad I don't have to run all this way," Pikachu muttered.
"Yeah, it's a great deal," Ash said, stumbling a bit, then took a deep breath and went crash through a bush.
Pikachu hopped down from his shoulder as soon as they saw Arbok was on the far side, especially since Jessie and James were fiddling with something hidden in a dense area of brush.
"I see ya finally got here!" Meowth said, grinning, as Ash slumped down and started panting with his hands on his thighs. "Took ya long enough."
"We had to run all this way!" Ash protested. "Why aren't you out of breath?"
"Huh, dat's a good question," Meowth admitted. "Maybe it's just somethin' about being a cat? I do hear everybody wants to be 'em."
"What about you?" Ash added, pointing at James. "You should be exhausted too!"
"It's simple!" James replied happily. "I'm always exhausted, and exhausted is as tired as you can get. You're a kid, you wouldn't understand, it's just something about adults."
"I think that's the first time I've ever heard the term adult applied to anyone in Team Rocket," Pikachu said, cheeks sparking.
Ash glanced down at his Pokéballs, then up at Arbok and Meowth.
"Squirtle, go! You and Pikachu can handle this, right?" Ash asked. "Tell me if you can't."
"We'll be fine!" Squirtle declared bombastically. "I call the snake!"
"Sounds good to me," Pikachu replied, darting over to battle Meowth, and the Scratch Cat dodged out of the way before flinging some Pay Day coins at him.
Then Squirtle adjusted his sunglasses. "Now, listen here, you bozo! I'm Squirtle, leader of the Squirtle Squad, and I don't take kindly to people who try to get in my way!"
Arbok chuckled. "Fine by me. Sludge Wave."
Squirtle yelped, then retracted all his limbs and blasted himself into the air with Hydro Pump to avoid a hissing torrent of purple sludge. "That's getting in my way!"
"I don't think so," Arbok shrugged. "I'm a Poison-type, take it or leave it. Preferably take it, since that would make this quite short and quite easily managed."
"Wash it down your drainpipe, snake!" Squirtle retorted, limbs popping back out, then used Surf to sluice down the poisoned area. "And eat this!"
He volleyed out a Bubblebeam, then switched back to Hydro Pump to stay in the air, and Arbok reared up as the Bubblebeam bubbles exploded against his skin before launching himself into a Dig that took him underground.
Squirtle stayed up for several more seconds, waiting until the gunk was mostly diluted into transparency from all the water he was raining down on it, then used one last Surf to wash most of it away and touched down.
His limbs didn't sting or burn, which was a good thing, but a moment later Arbok smashed out of the ground behind him and fired out a volley of Poison Sting attacks.
Squirtle whirled, whipping his glasses off and using them to block the Poison Stings – making them ricochet off in all directions – and Arbok stopped, faintly confused.
"Why didn't you use your shell?" he asked.
"Because that's enduring an attack!" Squirtle responded forcefully. "And enduring an attack is one thing, but parrying and deflecting are two things and they're both more active!"
He flourished his glasses, then used Water Pulse, and Arbok flinched back before hissing at him and darting forwards in a Bite. Squirtle blocked that too, then twisted violently, and threw Arbok over his head.
The Poison-type flipped around and dropped back underground with another Dig.
"Puddles," Ash called, and Squirtle frowned for a moment before realizing what his trainer meant.
The puddles were rippling as Arbok moved underground. And that meant…
"There!" he said, firing a Muddy Water attack, and Arbok emerged from the ground directly in the path of the attack. It slammed into Arbok's frill, sending his Poison Sting attack volley hurtling upwards instead of at Squirtle, then the serpentine Pokémon lowered his gaze to look more closely at Squirtle.
Then spat a Toxic at him, and followed it up almost immediately with a Venoshock.
Squirtle grunted, skidding backwards from the double impact, then lowered one forearm and launched himself forwards in a Skull Bash. The impact stunned Arbok slightly, and Squirtle retrieved his dropped sunglasses before winding up and throwing them.
Arbok shook himself out of his stunned state just in time to get hit by two pairs of Squirtle Sunglasses, knocking him back to the ground, and Arbok blinked a couple of times as he caught sight of what Squirtle was doing.
"You just don't get it at all, do you?" the Water-type demanded, floating in a haze of blue-glowing water. "Every time you harm me, you only increase my resolve! If the battle comes down to the wire, it only reinforces the devotion of a Squirtle Squad member to win every time!"
His right arm pointed towards the sky, and he snapped one claw against another. The water curled up in a spiral helix towards Squirtle's palm. "Horn!"
The rest of the water around Squirtle drained into the drill shape that had just formed, expanding to the size of a small room. "Drill!"
Swinging his arm to face Arbok, Squirtle poured his remaining strength into the attack, and a torrent of water erupted from behind him to launch him at his foe. "Breaker!"
The impact made the ground jump visibly, some of the muddiest sections splashing away to form a crater, and both Pokémon returned to their Pokéballs at once in a haze of red light.
Pikachu faced down Meowth. "We've done this too many times before."
"You ain't the only one who thinks that, but I guess this is good for our ratings," Meowth replied. "So, we gonna do this?"
Pikachu responded with a Thunderbolt, and it turned out that that Meowth was actually a Double Team duplicate.
The real one flung a barrage of coins from a tree, and Pikachu responded by turning his Thunderbolt on that Meowth as well. The latest set of coins sparked and fizzed as Pikachu's attack went through them, hitting Meowth and knocking him off the branch, and he twisted to land neatly on his hindpaws before dodging behind a trunk as Pikachu opened fire again.
"Dodging won't save you now!" Pikachu called, and used Shockwave.
Much to his surprise, so did Meowth, and the attacks fizzed off one another without actually connecting with Meowth. They got a lot closer to him than they did to Pikachu, though, and Meowth gulped before springing out from behind the tree with coins held in both paws.
Pikachu just blasted him, only to pop another Double Team.
"That's getting annoying!" he called, then his cheeks lit up and he blasted out a radial Shockwave instead. Several more Double Teams burst, and what was presumably the real Meowth again yelped before jumping from one tree branch to another.
Pikachu darted for a tree trunk of his own, scampering up to the canopy in a blur of yellow movement, and used Quick Attack to dart from tree to tree. He found Meowth hastily donning a pair of bright yellow rubber gloves, blinked in momentary confusion, then darted in to use Quick Attack again – this time on Meowth.
There was a fa-twang, and a net sprang up around Pikachu just before he was about to make contact.
"Hah, how about dat!" Meowth asked, one paw on his chest. "That was really scary, but I guess now you're caught!"
Pikachu twitched, then used Iron Tail and did a backflip at the same time. The net fell apart with a shwinng, and Meowth shrugged before throwing another Pay Day attack at Pikachu and dodging out of the way with Faint Attack before Pikachu's retaliatory Thunder reached him.
Looking around, feeling with his electrokinetic senses, Pikachu looked back and forth – then spotted where Meowth had gone this time, down near a fallen log.
He was hastily unzipping the kind of container that got used to carry dozens of CDs or DVDs at once, then selected one and flung it at Pikachu as the Electric-type closed in.
The disc shattered, pulsing with power as it made contact, and Pikachu was suddenly hit by a Stone Edge that launched him rocketing back to the branch he'd came from. This time, instead of landing lightly, he went thump straight into it and mumbled something rude before dropping to the ground.
Meowth was staring between his paws and the disc container, then brightened. "Well, it's da most expensive Rock-type attack I've ever seen, but this ain't a half bad strategy!"
"Electroball!" Pikachu announced, and Meowth grabbed his TR case before ducking behind a log with a yelp.
"You know, it'd really help if I could remember what the numbers on these things meant," Meowth admitted, running along a slender branch, then turned and slung three discs at his pursuer in quick succession. The first didn't do anything, but the second exploded into a torrent of muddy water and the third released a woven network of vines that pinned Pikachu to the branch – at least until he used Thunder to blast away the connection between that branch and the rest of the tree, then slashed himself free with Iron Tail.
That still left him dropping towards the ground, and his solution to that was enough that Meowth had to be impressed – the Electric-type used a burst of static electricity that was probably something like Magnet Rise, negating almost all the actual impact, then hurled an Electroball at the tree Meowth was standing in and blew a large chunk out of the middle trunk.
It wobbled in a concerning way, and Meowth glanced back and forth nervously before making half a dozen Double Team duplicates and ducking away in all directions at once. All of the duplicates began throwing TR discs at Pikachu again, and so did Meowth, and Pikachu used Shock Wave in a radial pulse that detonated both the Surf and Heat Crash discs before they actually reached him.
"Ah, great," Meowth grumbled. "Some days I really wish Wobbuffet was back… den the rest of the time I don't so much…"
He snagged three random discs and threw them all at once, then blinked as nothing happened. "Okay, what kinda duff set was dat?"
Then a pile of caltrops and three large stones dropped out of the tree canopy onto Pikachu, followed by a ball of psychic energy.
"Huh…" Meowth decided. "Maybe not so duff after all!"
Then a Shock Wave hit him.
He yelped, even though it had hit his paws, and Pikachu burst out of the pile of debris – scratched and bruised, but still hale.
"I'm not happy," Pikachu announced, firing another Shock Wave, then sustaining it in a way that made it a continuous cord of electricity. "But I also now know where you are."
There was a fizz, and three rings of electricity formed around Pikachu and started rotating.
"Now dat ain't good," Meowth guessed, grabbing his somewhat depleted ammunition and starting to run for it. He tried using Shock Wave of his own to break the connection, but he was still wearing his rubber gloves and the attack just sort of discharged into him – leaving him with stinging paws, and also cursing in ways that would probably have got him thrown out of the Pokémon Centre he was going to need before long.
"I really hope this is a good one!" he said, grabbing the first TR he could find, and slung it in Pikachu's direction as the Electric-type chased after him.
It was, turning into Dragon Pulse and slamming Pikachu backwards, but neither that nor the next one – Hurricane – delayed Pikachu much either.
"Two words!" Pikachu said, as Meowth came to the end of a branch and dropped his case. "VOLT CRASH!"
Meowth whirled, holding up his rubber gloves as a defensive measure, and they damped out quite a lot of the impact. The blast still launched him high into the air, and Pikachu had just enough time to spot an Abra teleport into place next to the flying Normal-type and vanish with him before the remaining dozen dropped TR discs detonated all at once.
Then most of his attention was on trying to avoid the combined blast.
Ash slogged through the muddy, soggy battlefield, past where Squirtle had knocked out Arbok, and pushed past the screen of brush to where Team Rocket had been doing… whatever it was they were doing.
And stared.
"Oh, look!" Jessie said, smugly. "The Twerp's just too late."
She and James were sitting in the open cockpit of some kind of jet aircraft, which was just now starting up.
But- Ash glanced left, and there were trees in that direction. In fact, there were trees or brush in every direction.
How were they going to…?
"Like it?" James asked. "It's a heavily modified Suicune Su-37. Lovely design, it's like a balloon – it takes off straight up, with the aftermarket mods we fitted."
He flourished a rose. "Like a twin cockpit! And the antigravity node in the nose."
Ash clenched his fist. "Give back Dexter!"
Help! Dexter called.
James shook his head. "Sorry, not now. Maybe later, but all this information's going to be a great help to us!"
"You'll get your Pokédex back when we're done," Jessie agreed. "In, a week? Maybe?"
You're going to copy me? Dexter asked. That's not fair!
"He's right, that's not fair at all!" Ash agreed. "Especially not to him!"
"We may as well hit two Bird-types with one stone," Jessie said.
"Flying," James corrected. "Bird-type isn't a thing."
"Oh, huh," Jessie said. "Well, we may as well hit two Flying-types with one stone. You know, like we had Cubone do earlier."
"I don't care about how much this does what you need it to!" Ash said, angrily. "I want to have my friend back!"
You said friend.
"Of course I did, that's what you are to me!" Ash shouted over the rising engine roar.
So I'm a friend. It feels… nice.
Dexter's red body began to glow.
Stand by. Ready. Set up.
Jessie and James exchanged looks.
"Cut our losses?"
"You got it," James agreed, threw the Pokédex out of the cockpit, then closed the canopy and hit the afterburners the moment the engine had spooled up far enough.
Set up complete. Ability: Trace/Download/Analytic. Materialization complete.
Ash stared, as the Porygon that had been inside – or been – Dexter, formed himself like a vector drawing out of thin air around the red computer device.
You seem surprised. You didn't see this coming? Professor Oak programmed well, you know… and how did you think you could restore my memory?
"No, I didn't see this coming!" Ash retorted.
I thought it was obvious.
Pikachu limped over, supporting himself with a tree branch and trying to brush some of the mud off his face. "I didn't see it coming either."
Oh, maybe there was a problem then. I thought it was just Ash being Ash.
"Hey, I heard that!" Ash protested.
That was the point.
"A Porygon, now? Interesting. And the rest of it is encouraging, as well. Powerful Pokémon, well used, on both sides… yes, good work, you three. I feel you're doing fine as you are, so I'll just tell you to keep it up."
Giovanni's image vanished off the screen in the jet, and James (front seat), Jessie (back seat) and Meowth (leaning over the other side of James's headrest) let out heartfelt sighs of relief.
James put a finger to his lips. "...was it me, or did the boss just praise us unconditionally?"
Jessie froze.
"...I'm sure he disapproved of something," she said. "Otherwise that would be weird."
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票