Tale of the Slitherlong
Chapter One
There was once a day when the Slitherlong were as common a sight as Caterpie. However, a man named Kay Gaskin discovered that a soft material could be made out of Slitherlong skin, and poaching became a common activity. People across the world now wear clothes made from this Pokemon.
A forest that used to teem with Slitherlong was burned down, and all of them are believed to be extinct.
In Cherrygrove City, Butch and Cassidy were lodging at the Macabre Inn. It was summertime, and Cassidy left all her Pokeballs in their room while she went down to the pool to bathe and soak in some sun.
"At last, I get to pull this off," Butch said. "Come on out, Slitherlong!"
A cute puffball emerged, with a microphone in its mouth. It was about to sing.
"No! Not Jigglypuff!" he said, calling it back. He picked up another Pokeball.
This time, a twenty-three foot long snake came out. It was very thin, had a black coat, lime-green underside, a yellow tongue, and red eyes.
Slitherlong was alarmed to see that he was called out by someone other than Cassidy, and he started to use Water Gun.
"What are you doing? It's me, Butch!"
The Snake Pokemon stared at him quizzically. He stopped his attack, but, if looks could kill, Butch would've been a dead man.
"Now, Ditto, I choose you!"
A purple creature made of jelly appeared. It had two small, black eyes.
"Use Transform!"
Ditto obeyed his master, and shortly there were two Slitherlongs present in the room.
Butch went over to his Ditto, and fed it a pink pill. "This will keep you in the Slitherlong form," he said. "Now, Return, Ditto and Slitherlong!"
Shortly the Pokemon were safely back in their balls, and Butch patiently waited for Cassidy's return.
Three hours later, with her hair shiny and orange, Cassidy came in. "So, Butch, we'll soon be splitting to go attack those brats who have thwarted Team Rocket for years."
"Yes, my dear. I'll be going to Cerulean City, and you're going to the Sinnoh region."
"It's the first time we'll be separated since we met. But, duty calls." Cassidy went over to her Pokeballs, and called Slitherlong to come out.
The snake looked melancholy, as if he had lost a best friend. "What's the matter?" Cassidy asked, peering into his jewel eyes.
Slitherlong was the only Pokemon Cassidy ever really cared about. He was the only one left in the whole world, as far as anyone knew. But it was not just its rarity that caused Cassidy to love it; Slitherlong was the first Pokemon she ever caught, and that made it special. Most of her other Pokemon was stolen, but the snake was genuinely hers.
"He looks sick. Maybe we should wait until Slitherlong feels better before we go."
"And miss our chance? I'm sure all he needs is a little travel," Butch said, twiddling his thumbs.
"I suppose you're right. Slitherlong, return." Cassidy went to pack her things.
Outside in the open sun, Butch and Cassidy shook hands. "Till we meet again," she said.
Twenty days later, Cassidy caught Ash and Dawn off Mt. Erbuus. First, she hid behind a bush until they passed. Then, she summoned Grumpig.
Grumpig was a distant relative to Drowzee. He had a shorter nose and wore trousers, but he also possessed some of the same moves.
"Now listen, Grumpig, I want you to use Hypnosis on those two brats, then follow it up with Dream Eater. Got it?"
The swine Pokemon nodded, and went to carry off its task. Ash and Dawn fell asleep almost immediately, and as Grumpig used his Dream Eater, you could hear the nightmares of Ash Ketchum: "Misty, no, I won't let them hurt you!"
Cassidy approached Grumpig, and watched as green crystals glittered the ground. These crystals represented Ash's energy. Without it, there was no way he could possibly defeat Cassidy in a battle.
Grumpig had finished, and Cassidy ordered him to carry the crystals to a bush, a few feet away. Then she shouted, "Ash! Wake up!"
Pikachu got up first, and used Thunderbolt to arouse our hero, when Cassidy's voice failed to do so. Dawn was shocked as well, and she frowned at Pikachu.
Ash saw his antagonist. "You!" he shouted. "Where's Butch?"
"Um…Ash, will you introduce me to this woman?" Dawn asked him. She admired Cassidy's orange hair, and did not know she was Ash's enemy.
"Her name's Cassidy. She's part of a smarter duo of Team Rocket, and her partner's name is Butch. I wonder where he is."
"Butch is in the process of antagonizing your old friend," Cassidy said. "The water trainer."
"Misty!"
"Yes, her. But you and I have a showdown to worry about. I propose a six on six battle. However, there is one stipulation: you cannot use Pikachu."
Pikachu was alarmed. "Pika, Pika," it said sadly. It tugged on Ash's jeans, trying to convince him to run away.
"I only have five other than Pikachu, so it will have to be three on three."
"Fine, then," Cassidy agreed.
"However, I see no reason in going through with this. Why should I battle you?"
"Because if you don't, you'll never be able to find out what Butch did to Misty. There's no way she can defeat him. You'll also get valuable experience, and your friend there can learn a thing or two."
"Her name's Dawn," Ash said. He thought for a moment. "Okay, I accept your challenge."
"Good." They took a step toward one another. Pikachu groaned.
"I choose Houndour!"
"I select Corphish!" Ash said.
"Houndour, use Smog!"
A hazy smoke barrier filled the area. Corphish was poisoned.
"Corphish, Bubblebeam!"
Houndour attempted to dodge the attack, but it failed to accomplish this task.
"Use Bite!" Cassidy commanded.
Corphish countered with Crabhammer, causing Houndour to faint.
Cassidy selected her second Pokemon. "Manectric!"
A yellow quadruped with blue covering his mouth appeared on the field. He had a crazy hairdo.
"Manectric, use Shock Wave!"
It was a direct attack, and Corphish fainted.
Dawn gasped. She was not used to seeing her hero lose.
"No big deal," Ash said. "For I send out Hippodon!"
"Playing on my weakness, huh?" Cassidy asked, as a Pokemon with a giant mouth and several rows of teeth was summoned to the field.
"Hippodon, Magnitude!"
Once again, the attack was too powerful. Manectric fainted immediately.
"Guess I'm down to my last one. And I choose Slitherlong!"
"What? I've never heard of Slitherlong," Ash said. Dawn pulled out her PokeDex.
"Slitherlong. The Water Serpent Pokemon. Slitherlong is the longest Pokemon ever seen, and it is believed to have gone extinct by poachers who hunted its skin."
"So, you have a rare Pokemon, Cassidy?"
"Jealous?"
"Not a bit. Hippodon, use Earthquake!"
"Slitherlong, Shadow Hiss!"
Earthquake missed Slitherlong by two millimeters. Shadow Hiss lowered Hippodon's accuracy.
"Now, my precious Pokemon," Cassidy said, in a caressing tone, "use Water Gun!"
Slitherlong wrapped its entire twenty-three feet around Hippodon, and looked straight in its face. Then it let out a gush of water.
Hippodon fainted.
"Now I choose my third Pokemon…" Ash began. But he fainted as well, just like his Hippodon.
"It seems I have won," Cassidy said. The energy crystal plan had worked perfectly. Ash could no longer continue fighting, because his mitochondria were zapped of ATP.
Cassidy made as if to step forward, and take all of the Pokeballs belonging to Ash and Dawn, who was a defenseless little chit, but Slitherlong stopped her. He hissed his disapproval.
"What's wrong, Slitherlong? This is what we've been talking about doing all week."
Her Pokemon ignored her. He went to the bush where the energy crystals were hidden, and using his long body, he dragged them over to where Ash was. The crystals fell easily onto their owner, and Ash reawakened.
"Oh, yes, I was battling your Slitherlong. Well, I choose Turtwig!"
But Ash shortly found himself battling another Turtwig, just like his own.
Cassidy blinked her eyes. This couldn't be real, unless…Butch had swapped his Ditto for her Slitherlong!