The sweet taste of VENOM
And on it grew unnoticed…
******
It was another disastrous day for all involved. Ash, Brock and Misty were walking along the arduous path to the peak of Mount Jhuriah, as the cap-bedecked youth felt the thin air would help him train for the forthcoming league in which he was due to partake. Misty shivered as the harshly cold climate bit heartily into her exposed flesh, hoping she didn't drop her egg-type pokémon from the violent vibration she caused. Togepi was unperturbed all the same; it trilled merrily and waved its stubby arms around as if it was an easy game without any risk involved. Brock grimaced against the wintry wind, feeling it every bit as much through his sleeveless jacket as Misty did, yet Ash failed to make many complaints at their environment. Perhaps he'd grown up a bit, and he now thought like a sensible trainer of his age should. He held Pikachu in the cove created from him tucking the sides of his jacket together so the rodent wasn't suffering like his friends were, so maybe this was why he wasn't complaining of the terrible cold and not a newfound sense of maturity. The quiet (well, when one discounted the roaring wind) atmosphere was disrupted in the next few minutes, however.
Misty pressed her foot down on a part of the rugged landscape, but unfortunately for her it was not solid. Her foot instantly went through it as she'd applied her full body weight as she took the fateful step, and in spite of her shrill screams for help her voice was barely a whisper in the wind. It had definitely become deafening, and it was only when Brock glanced behind them to see if she was tying her shoelace or something that he noted her immediate distress. The hole had enlarged and had now nearly engulfed her to her waist, but it felt like something was pulling her down more than just gravity. In her attempts to hoist herself up by fumbling around with some vines, Togepi fell from her grasp and into the abyss. Tears fell into the…vortex, for want of a better term she could use to describe it…as she screamed the baby pokémon's name repeatedly. Brock grabbed her under the armpits and pulled her up, ashen-faced at her loss. He comforted her and shared his body heat with her as they tried to catch up with Ash, as he hadn't noted their absence. Neither of them noted the wind lessening greatly, nor did they see the gaping crevice in which Misty had fallen glide silently shut like well-oiled gates, without even a centimetre of the vortex visible.
Team Rocket finally made it up to where the whole incident had occurred, owing to the blizzard that sprang up from nowhere, and they'd all stopped, holding hands to make sure none of them were lost, as it would be impossible to find them alive again since the mountain was so high. Like Ash, James and Meowth were unaffected by the wind, but the female third of their group hated the weather. Jessie cried freely, knowing she could blame the harsh gales attacking her eyes so bitterly for her tears and not the real reason: how her mother had met her demise. She hated James for not noticing her depression, but she hated herself more for what she'd done the other night. He'd never forgive her, just like she'd never forgive herself for it. The last of the snow died down and she dried her eyes otherwise their numerous questions would demand answers, and telling them about her mother's fate was unthinkable. James' acute vision detected a small white object on a ledge above them, and in spite of Meowth telling him it was probably just a snowball, he went over alone to investigate. His shock alerted his comrades to his sides instantly, in spite of neither him nor Jessie making eye contact. He was still recovering from what she'd done the other night.
It was Togepi up on the projection, wailing in fear as its enemies called at it to get down. It screamed its tiny lungs out in terror, then without a warning cry, it rolled off the ledge and landed with a sickening splatter a few feet away from them. Meowth cried, as he'd always wanted to look after it since before it had hatched. James was the only one to investigate, as morbid as he felt as he used his foot to turn the little creature over, unwilling to touch whatever matter would no doubt be on the other side. Or at least he intended to; he nearly broke every bone in his right foot as he tried to turn the object over—it was like it consisted of lead. Then, without warning yet again, the leaden creature turned over, completely uninjured or afraid from the fall. He easily leapt back ten feet without noticing it.
The egg-type pokémon walked in his vicinity with its arms out, undoubtedly wanting to be cuddled by the scared male. James shook his head furiously in untold terror and disbelief at the creature's survival. Jessie covered her face with her gloved hands in shock, allowing her abdomen to turn a light shade of blue as its covering had been removed. Meowth was stunned and his fluffy coat stood like a jolteon's spiny back, how had it lived? No matter how much he avoided its path, the pokémon seemed to only want James to amuse it, and as a last resort to get them to press forward in their journey, Jessie picked it up and headed off alone. They'd caught a rare pokémon, but it was one Giovanni had already refused in the past so they needed to dispose of it as soon as possible. Maybe they could trade for Pikachu. James sulkily followed her, hating every inch of the woman and her attitudes and loathing the fact he was still there, following her as if nothing happened. Meowth climbed up his back and hugged his neck, too afraid to walk near where Togepi had fallen. James gritted his teeth against the waterlogged coat the cat-type rubbed against his cheek. He knew his partner was cold but he truly did not care, and he maliciously hoped Togepi was colder than she was so it'd absorb her pitiful body heat.
Her knees gave way from frostbite and she heavily fell down on her front, causing a panicked cry to be emitted by Togepi. James picked the egg up and carried on walking, inwardly filled with glee at leaving her behind in the snow in pain; it would show her how much she should value friendship. The chirping creature surprisingly soothed him in his arms, yet it did not grant him enough remorse to turn around and aid the stumbling female. The back of his neck had been incredibly sore over the last few days and now it seemed the pain was more intense and it was spreading down his spine. He couldn't afford medicine and refused to ask Jessie on principle for a massage like both of them did when they were suffering like that. He missed his footing a little and Togepi shrilly cried happily as he sailed a foot high as it happened, and this minor mistake caused his pain to treble, then amazingly it was gone altogether. Maybe the slight jerk had cured him, and it had saved his pride from approaching the younger Rocket. His vision again picked out something in the distance; the twerps.
Ash was now aware of Misty's tragedy, and he felt complete sorrow for her from the depths of his heart. She'd loved that egg like he loved his badges, as after all, nobody could love anything as much as he loved his pokémon. Brock was still walking along with her, offering his body for her to lean against as they continued, both of them grateful the temperature had risen and that the elements seemed overall friendlier than they had earlier, but it still did not ease the girl's heartache. At the arch of the hill there were two silhouettes, and the all-familiar cries of a reworded motto ensued.
"To protect the girl from devastation"
"To donate instead a nice warm sensation"
"To denounce the evils of hurt and pain"
"To shut Jess up whilst we're all still sane"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"WHAT?!"
Misty had interrupted when she saw her pet chirping contentedly away in James' arms, and with their traditional villainous laughs, the older teenagers demanded a trade, with Meowth adding his pleasure with the plan. And, as usual, Ash saved the day by electrocuting them for their foul deeds until they were sent into the stratosphere, but this time not all went according to plan. As the electricity struck them, Togepi went sailing over to Misty's arms and the pain returned to James' neck, only this time the tendrils of agony reached his fourth vertebrae. Togepi blinked as if recovering from a nightmare, and looked around in a confused manner at why it felt like it'd just woken up. Maybe it had, because the last thing it could recall was singing in Misty's arms when she lost her footing. Anyway, why should it feel confounded when Misty was making a fuss of it like this? It cooed cheerfully as they continued on their journey, unsure why it felt like it had partaken in something not so nice yet couldn't recall a thing.
The entity had swapped from the pokémon to the person, that's why.