The Valiant and the Weeople
Chapter Two
"You're ruined, Ash Ketchum!" said Tobias
"Gigalith, wake up!"
"It is you who are not awake," came a gravelly voice.
Ash whirled around. Gigalith's eyes were wide open. "Did you see anyone who spoke, buddy?"
"It was me," said the Pokemon.
"But Pokemon can't talk."
"You were one of use once. You can be again."
"What?"
"The only way to get out of the nightmare that is imminent, is to become a Pikachu once more."
"Nightmare? Aren't we in a battler?"
"Battle? No. That is, in the external worlds we probably are. But you are in Nightmare Verse."
"There doesn't seem to be anything nightmarish about this place."
"That's because the nightmare hasn't begun for you yet. But all of the audience are experiencing their worst fears right now."
"Not Dawn?"
"Dawn too. In fact, I think hers are perhaps the worst of all."
"I should go comfort her."
"You'd have to wake up first."
"Right. Um, could you knock into me to wake me up?"
"Doesn't work like that. You have to become a Pokemmon. It's the only way."
"Okay, but how do I—?"
But Gigalith was fading.
"Gigalith! What's going on?"
"The nighmare begins for you now. Just remember to become a Pokemon."
Gigalith had utterly vanished now. Ash found himself beside a lake in early afternoon. He saw someone swimming in the sea, wearing a bikini.
"Hey, Ash!" she called.
"May! Nice to see you."
"Same here."
She got out and picked up her towel, drying herself off..
"How do you like it in Unova?" Ash asked.
"I'm waiting to enter the contest at Nimbasa City. Just finished preparing my Spheal for it."
"That's great, Dawn."
"Did you just call me Dawn?"
"sorry, I have my mind elsewhere."
"No wonder Misty left you. Dawn's all you care about."
"That's crazy. I didn't know Dawn when I was with Misty."
"Yeah, I've heard that story before. You ought to—"
May was cut shortas a giant tentacle reached out to grab her.
"Ash! Do something!"
"I will! Pikachu, use Volt Tackle.!"
Ash waited, but there was no response from his favorite Pokemon. He turned to look at Pikachu, who was solid rock.
"Pikachu! What happened to you?"
"Ash! It's pulling me under!"
"I'm trying to-okay, I'll just use another Pokemon. Go, Oshawott!"
He threw a Pokeeball, only to get Tepig. The latter took one look at the rising waves and ran fof, bleating its name.
"Tepig! Come back!"
Oshawott popped out of its Pokeball. "Go save May, Oshawott, while I got fetch back Tepig."
Ash started off, but Oshawott tossed its shell at Ash's head.
"Oshawott! What'd you do that for?"
"Osha," said the Pokemonn, its arms folded and eyes shut.
"You mean you won't save May?"
Oshawott shook its head.
"May I ask why?"
Oshawott held up a picture of Meloetta.
"You want her?"
"Osha."
"Well, I'm sorry, but she's got her knight in shining armor, and it's Piplup."
"Osha!" the Pokemon said, tossing its shell back at Ash's head.
Ash hurried off, wondering what was making him say such tactless things.
"Excuse me, is this your Tepig?" an Officer Jenny asked, as her was running past.
"Oh yeah! I was looking for him."
"You're under arrest for abusing this Pokemon.."
"What? No, Officer Jenny, you've got it all wrong."
"Save it for thejudge, mister," she said, dragging Ash by the ear.
She put him on her ber motorcycle, gagging and handcuffing him. Then she drove off.
They went on for a while, finally reaching the city. They were heading down a street where Ash could see the roof of the prison, when amuscular man with a mane of crimson hair jumped at the motorcycle, knocking Officer Jenny off.
"You can't say no now," he said.
Jessie appeared, taking Ash's gag out.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her.
"Setting you free, honey bunch."
Ash wanted to run away. Jessie just about had his handcuffs off when she seemed to get a better idea. She refastened the handcuffs and jumped on the bike.
"Hey, get back here, thief!" Officer Jenny called.
"And let you put my darling in prison? No way."
"I'll put you both in prison."
"Not sure I like that prospect much. Can I get a Castform check?"
They were too far away by now to hear Officer Jenny's retort.
"There's a hotel ahead, my sweetheart, and I'll get us to safety."
Ash didn't want to spend a night in a hotel with Jessie. He tried to leap out of the motorcycle, but he was buckled in, and with his hands cuffed, he couldn't get out of it. (9It wasn't a buckle, but a sash that Officer Jenny had kept for such purposes. But it was still impossible to tear at.)
"Ugh, there's a Rhyperior ahead," Jessie said.
Ash saw it and was glad that it kept him from having to enter a hotel with Jessie.
"NO matter. There's a hotel across town. I'll get use there in a jiffy."
"Uh, I think I'll get off here, thinks."
"Oh, you reckon the Rhyperior is made of marshmallows? I'm not sure that's a safe bet. It might drill us through."
Ash thought that would be fine with him, or at least preferable to being with Jessie.
Then a Pigeotto reached out with italons, picking them up. It was a giant Pidgeotto, about fifty feet high.
Ash didn't feel any better being in this Pidgeotto's talons than he had with Jessie. He tried to fight his way out of it, but to no avail.
After an hour of flight, the Pidgeotto dropped Ash and Jessie in its nest.
Jessie leaned over him and brought her lips down, when another Pidgeotto dropped a Lucario on her back.
She screeched and ran over to the side of the nest.
"I didn't mean to land on her," Lucario said.
"You can talk?"
"Of course. We met before. Remember? You held Sir Aaron's distaff."
"I remember you," Ash said. "Good times."
"No it wasn't!" Jessie yelled. "You didn't know how I felt aobut you, then."
"Is this how you humans mate? By allowing the roc Pidgeotto to bring you to their nest?"
"Roc Pidgeotto?"
"That's what those beasts are called. But you don't have to worry about them. It's the Charcanane and Blasterra you have to worry about."
"The what?"
There were roars that could only emanate from the throats of very angry, gargauan-sized Pokemon. Two twenty-feet tall creatures stepped over the size of the next. One had a Charizard's head, and neck attached to an Arcanine body. Wings sporuted from its side, which didn't look large enough to carry its body weight.
The other creature had a Blastoise's head on Torterra's body, with two cannons sticking out on either side of the tree on its back.
"Well, it's been nice knowing ya," Lucario said, blowing up a balloon. He then attached a string to it, after which he swallowed a Carbos and let the balloon carry him off.
"Hey, we may need you to fight these mutations!" Jessie called.
"Sorry, I don't deal with this sort of thing. The roc Pigeotto only bring me to keep you talking until they arrive."
Now Charcanine held only to Jessie's neck and seemed ready to rid her head off her shoulders. Ash was running from Blasterra when he tripped over Jessie's legs and his lips ended up touching her midriff….
Two powerful vines came out of Blasterra's back. They wrapped around him and raised him, then dropped him, then raised him again, causing his head to bang repetitively against Jessie's back.
"At least we're together for this," Jessie said, weakly. Her voice sounds as if she had had fire breathed into it. Which was what Charcanine was doing, having wrenched over her jaws for that that purpose.
Ash could barely hear her. He was worried about the cannons, which were fixating on him. He came down once more on Jessie's back, his lips touching that part again right above her posterior.
Then Blasterra set him down, and the cannon swiveled around until they faced him. He braced himself for the danger.