Vixey - Brina Palencia that played the English voiced Holo in 'Spice and Wolf'
Chrono - Crispin Freeman who voiced Kyon in 'The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'
Chapter 3: Ascension
(Cue song Innumerable animals by Motoi Sakuraba from Eternal Sonata OST - Disc 1)
A piercing scream sliced through the forest. I looked around in a very lazy manner to look at Misty, who was clinging to a tree branch in fright.
"What's wrong Misty?" asked Ash.
"Do you really need to ask?" I asked him in monotone. I then turned to Misty. "Let me guess. Another bug?"
"Yes! Another bug!" she shrilly replied. Ash and Pikachu looked at each other and sighed. I did the same with Vixey and Chrono.
"I… am… soooo surprised…" Chrono replied in a matching monotone.
"Maybe it's a Cowterpie!" joked Ash. However the joke, if you could call it that, had all of us face planting.
"That was totally lame," I said as I recovered. But it seemed that Ash got the 'joke' as he was laughing.
"That's right! You know I hate bugs and I saw one over there!" Misty franticly waved her hand in the general direction behind us. I looked and saw a worm the size of Caterpie but it was cardboard brown, had a stinger on the tail and on the head.
"A Weedle!" exclaimed Ash and dug out his PokeDEX.
"Weedle: The stinger on this Pokémon's head guarantees that any attacker will get the point right where it hurts."
I sniggered slightly. "Hey Ash, seems your PokeDEX has a small sense of humour."
"Yeah, I know. When I first started out it called me a stupid traveller," Ash revealed. I snorted and Pikachu also laughed lightly, as if remembering something in the not-too-distant past.
"Now don't be unfair to the PokeDEX," Chrono said as he grinned widely. "You know that they are programmed to state the facts." He then laughed loudly at his much better joke. Misty joined in, although less loudly and I chuckled at the joke too. Of course I laughed louder when Vixey swatted her brother over the head with a tail.
"A stinger huh?" mused Ash. "Now there's a challenge."
"Why are you so excited about a bug with a stinger? Make it go away!" whined Misty.
"You got to be kidding! You can't possibly expect a great Pokémon trainer like me to let a Weedle escape. I'm gonna catch it!" announced Ash.
"There's no need to go on a catching spree just because you're a newbie," I sighed, though he didn't hear me.
Ash reached for a spare one until I coughed loudly. He paused, and then rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. You have to weaken a Pokémon before you can capture it."
"Stop talking like you're in a documentary!" Chrono yelled.
Ash ignored the silver Ninetails and turned to his pal. "Let's go Pikachu!"
However Pikachu had conveniently started sleeping. This act had us falling over again.
"Oh, taking a nap huh?" said Ash. He then smiled smugly and reached for the other Pokémon he had. "Ok, snooze you loose. There's still Pidgeotto and Metapod to do the job, and they give me the respect I deserve."
"You deserve to have your head examined," said Misty snidely. However that was short lived as she looked down to see the Weedle trying to climb up her leg. The result? She ran off screaming.
"Hmm, Misty must unconsciously give off a certain kind of pheromone that attracts the little guys. Might be puberty," I wondered to myself. "Either that or they're going for her looks."
"Her good looks? Seriously?" Chrono asked with his eyebrows raised.
"Hey, there are guys that like fiery redheads. Like me!" I then proceeded to wander down memory lane and into the proverbial gutter as I remembered a particular time spent with an amazing red haired goddess. "That was a good month, for sure," I smiled dreamily. Until Vixey swatted my head. "Oh, sorry Vixey," I apologised. She simply smiled in a satisfied way.
"Don't just stand there! Catch it!" yelled Misty as she was running.
"Have no fear, Ash is here!" he said dramatically.
"You're not a superhero!" Chrono quipped.
(Cue song On the Verge of the Assault by Takeharu Ishimoto from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack)
Ash picked out Pidgeotto's ball and released her. Pidgeotto appeared right in front of the Weedle, her wings spread out as if anticipating her master's next orders.
"Pidgeotto! Gust attack!"
Pidgeotto complied and started to beat her wings, creating a strong wind that blew the Weedle away. Pidgeotto then soared up into the sky and started swooping, wearing down the Weedle. I was impressed at how Ash was handling his Pidgeotto.
"That's the way to do it!" called out Ash.
As Pidgeotto continued her assault, the Weedle finally had enough and attacked by curling up it's tail and shooting forward like a cannon, it's stinger in front.
"Pidgeotto! Watch out for its Poison Sting!" warned Ash. Pidgeotto swerved quickly away and the attack missed by inches. "Ha! Nice work!" congratulated Ash as Pidgeotto swooped back into the air. One last attack and the Weedle was weak enough for capture.
"I got you now!" said Ash as he prepared an empty Pokeball. It looked to be a smooth capture. But then a stranger dressed in generic samurai armour with a bug net strapped to his back and a katana on his waist walked up behind Ash. "I am guessing you are the trainer who comes from Pallet?" he asked.
"I'm a Pokémon trainer from Pallet but I'm a little busy!" said Ash, slightly miffed that someone interrupted him.
"I have found you at last," said the stranger and reached for his sword and drew it. But I was already in motion. "Watch out Ash!" I called out and using all the speed I had I flashed behind the stranger, dropped to the ground and spun my leg out. I toppled the assailant to the ground, his sword flying away from him. Now effectively disarmed, Vixey and Chrono positioned themselves ready to attack, growling softly, but dangerously. He froze instantly. Ash saw this and his eyes widened.
(Cue song Materia - FFVII ACC Version by Tsuyoshi Sekito from Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete Reunion Tracks)
"Now this is how it's going to work out. I ask a question and you will answer truthfully. If you do, you will survive until the next question. If not, I will know and believe me, you don't want to experience what happens then," I said in a deadly voice as I walked around and placed myself in front of the slightly chubby boy. "If you try to run, my companions will blast you down quicker than you can say 'Butterfree'. Understand?" I asked.
"I understand," replied the boy very nervously.
"Good. Question 1: Why did you try to draw your sword at my friend?" I questioned, my tone remaining.
"I was simply issuing a challenge to this trainer," he replied, still quite nervous.
"Then why not simply wait until he's free? And for that matter, why issue your challenge with his back turned? Only a coward does such a thing," I said.
"I am no coward!" the boy protested angrily.
"Your actions say otherwise. You issued your challenge with his back turned and when he was preoccupied with his battle. That spells coward to me," I replied coldly. "Ash, would you fetch me his sword?"
"Uhh… sure Josh," he replied, also a little nervous. He crossed over to where the blade was lying on the ground and walked over to me, passing me the sword. At that moment Misty arrived back where we were and looked shocked at what was happening. I took the sword and I studied it. To my surprise I saw that it was completely fake. It was made of plastic.
I sighed. "Stand down guys," I said to Vixey and Chrono. They instantly relaxed their muscles and sat down. I walked up to the boy and handed back the toy sword.
"Next time don't surprise people like that. Some people can get the wrong idea, like I just did. Next time, it just might get you killed. Now what do you want?" I asked, my tone still cold, but much less so now that I had determined that he was of no threat.
"I was going to challenge the trainer from Pallet," he announced. "I am known as Samurai! I'm also shrewd, fearless and invincible in combat! I have been searching the forest for you." Here he pointed at Ash. "I challenge you to a Pokémon match! Let us see who triumphs."
A silence fell over the clearing that was broken by Ash's yelp. "Oh no! I forgot about Weedle!" He turned to where it was last seen but it had now recovered enough to begin getting away. He threw the ball, but it was too late. The Weedle escaped.
Meanwhile Pidgeotto had been gliding up in the air. She was starting to get tired. Luckily Ash recalled her before she became pooped out.
Ash then turned to glare at Samurai. "That Weedle only got away because you interrupted me!"
"Don't blame your failure on me. Your Pokémon handling is dim-witted and clumsy!" said Samurai.
"Actually, you are partially to blame," I said. "If you had been polite you would have waited for Ash to finish his battle. Instead you issued your challenge by pretending to attack him, with his back turned no less. If you really considered yourself as a Samurai, you wouldn't have acted so cowardly." I accused. I was being slightly unfair but I had to make the kid realise that he did the wrong thing.
He seemed to get it and hung his head slightly in shame. "You're right. I apologise. But I still want a battle with this trainer."
I shrugged. "Hey, I don't care who you battle. So long as you realise that you're in the wrong and you say sorry, I'm fine with it." I turned to Ash. "What about you? Feel up to a little battling?" Ash grinned. "You bet I do!"
I smiled. "Then I'll be the referee for this match," I decided.
(Cue song The Gun Barrel of Battle by Nobuo Uematsu from Lost Odyssey Original Soundtrack)
Ash sent forward his Pokémon. A bad choice as it was poor Pidgeotto. The bird was still tired from the last battle and was lying on the ground.
"Oops," said Ash as he realised this mistake.
"Only a novice goes into battle with a pooped out Pokémon. Your blunder will cost you dearly!" said Samurai and he summoned his own Pokémon, a Pincer.
"Pincer: This fearsome Pokémon uses its powerful claws to put the squeeze on its opponents," was the explanation from Ash's PokeDEX. Pidgeotto had since stood up and awaited her orders. "That Pincer looks pretty tough. But Pidgeotto can beat it!" said Ash, confident in his abilities. Pidgeotto cawed in agreement.
"Pidgeotto! Sand attack!" said Ash. Pidgeotto went to work by creating large clouds of dust that headed straight for the opponent. The dust washed over Pincer but didn't look like it would work.
"That's child's play! Pincer, Tackle it!" yelled Samurai. Pincer jumped through the whirling dust cloud and hit dead centre. Pidgeotto skidded to a halt and she squawked in a defeated manner.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Your Pokémon is beaten!" said Samurai.
"Oh no! Pidgeotto return!" said Ash, beginning to get a little nervous as he recalled the tired Pokémon.
"Novice, are you ready to surrender?"
"No way! I'm just warming up!" Ash then summoned his next Pokémon, Metapod.
"Watch and weep as Pincer crushes your Metapod in half!" announced Samurai. Pincer demonstrated by opening and closing the claws on its head. Ash looked very nervous now.
"This match is already won!" said Samurai as Pincer rushed forward.
"Metapod! Harden!" ordered Ash. Metapod complied and a green sparkling coat appeared over it. Metapod was swept up into the claws as Pincer tried to crush it. However one look at Metapod's new hardened shell and you could instantly tell that the shell was now as hard as steel. This theory won over as the spikes on Pincer's big claws shattered.
I whistled. That was some defence. The others agreed with me. Ash grinned at Samurai. "Now who's the novice?" he questioned. Ash's answer was Pincer being recalled.
"Clever. Quite clever," admitted Samurai as he cast out his next Pokémon. Ash gasped slightly as he saw what it was.
(Cue song Cell & Piccolo Face Off by Bruce Faulconer from The Best of Dragon Ball Z, Vol. II)
It was now a dual with Metapods. I sat down and pulled out my computer tablet as this was going to take awhile. For Samurai ordered his Metapod to harden. Ash did the same. And so this little cycle continued for quite some time. Three hours in fact. While I was waiting for anything new to happen, I managed to type down the lyrics for a new song.
A couple of thumps alerted me that the two had fallen over from being in the same position. In fact, Ash stayed like that for a few minutes.
*sigh* "This has turned into a battle between trainers rather than between Pokémon," I said as I tucked away the computer back into my pack and stood back up, making sure to stretch a bit before doing so.
"Don't give up!" Ash said to his own Metapod through his teeth.
"Since this match cannot be finished, I declare this battle a draw!" I announced. Ash jumped to his feet, ready to protest, but fell over again as he cried out in pain from stitches. I decided to answer the question he would have undoubtedly asked.
"The reason is because Metapod only knows Harden in the first place. There won't be an end until one evolves, gives up voluntarily or is knocked out from outside influence. There's no way around this. I'm sorry."
"But I-" began Ash but I held up a hand to silence him. He stopped, but only because he heard the same thing I did. It was a faint buzzing, but was getting louder. It also sounded that whatever it was, it wasn't alone.
"What's that noise?" asked Misty.
(Cue song Face It! by Yoko Shimomura from Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete (Disc 7 ~ Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories))
"A Beedrill swarm approaches," explained Samurai. He recalled his own Metapod. I looked to the sky and saw that he was right. A huge swarm was indeed coming this way. I estimated that the swarm was over 70 strong.
"Oh shit!" I swore as they got closer.
Ash took out his PokeDEX and scanned them.
"Beedrill: This Pokémon is an evolved form of Weedle, following its Kakuna stage. Its sting is highly poisonous," was the info that came from it.
"The Weedle that got away from you must've informed the rest of the hive," supplied Samurai. He then promptly turned around and with a "Good day!" he bolted from the area.
One Beedrill flew ahead of the swarm, swooped in and, before we realised it, took Ash's Metapod. Ash tried to recall it but the Beedrill swerved and dodged the red beam. It soon escaped.
"No…" breathed Ash in shock. A second Beedrill swooped in to attack Ash but Pikachu, Vixey and Chrono blasted it with lightning and fire. The Pokémon flew off badly damaged. Unfortunately Pikachu also jolted Ash at the same time. I grabbed one of Ash's smoking hands and dragged him away, Misty in the lead. Soon he was able to run on his own.
(Cue song Never Look Back by Nobuo Uematsu from Final Fantasy VIII Original Soundtrack)
"But Metapod-" started Ash but I tugged at him hard, making him look at me. "We'll have to search for it later. Right now getting out of this situation is our first priority!" Ash didn't like it, hell I didn't like it, but he nodded and concentrated on running as fast as he could.
Up ahead was Samurai, looking just as freaked out as us. Vixey and Chrono were firing off a few bouts of fire, but that did little to slow them down. In fact it made them even more pissed off. The angry buzzing was getting louder and louder; evidence that they were gaining. I was starting to ponder whether I should summon some of my other Pokémon to blast them away.
Suddenly Samurai took a sharp left. We followed him and crouched down. We heard the swarm pass and we breathed out a sigh of relief. Until we turned around that is.
(Cue song The Wall by Ramin Djawadi from Game of Thrones Soundtrack)
In front of us was a large tree. And hanging down from the branches and clamped onto the trunk were dozens of Kakunas.
"Crap!" I muttered very quietly. They seemed not to have noticed us yet but any loud noises and that situation would change very quickly.
"A whole hive of Kakunas," breathed Samurai. Misty gasped loudly before I clamped my hand over her mouth and shushed her. She nodded her head but kept her eyes on the bugs. Ash had removed his PokeDEX and was looking up the Pokémon.
"Kakuna: A transitional stage between Weedle and Beedrill. Kakuna's remain inactive until they evolve into deadly Beedrills and hatch."
"That's right. And these look ready to hatch at a moment's notice," I whispered.
Ash gasped as he saw a familiar shape beneath the tree.
"Hey! Over there! It's Metapod!" Ash said loudly. A bit too loudly. Misty placed her hand on Ash's mouth but the damage had already been done. Every single Kakuna eye swivelled to look at us. We froze, waiting for the inevitable. Slowly, every single Kakuna shell split down the back from which bright light shot out. Through the glare we saw the Beedrill burst from their respective cocoon.
(Cue song Never Look Back by Nobuo Uematsu from Final Fantasy VIII Original Soundtrack)
"Aww shit," I said before we started running for our lives as the new Beedrills began charging us. Oh yeah, we were screaming our heads off too. Thankfully after only a few minutes of running we came across a small house. Samurai made a beeline (excuse the pun) for it and quickly opened the door. We all rushed inside and Samurai shut the door. And not a moment too soon. As soon as the door closed, two stingers crunched through the wood. We all looked shocked as how close it had been. The two Beedrills removed their stingers but through the two new holes we saw that the rest of the swarm were still there, waiting.
(Cue music silence)
"That was too close for comfort," I said with Ash and Misty agreeing.
"I hope you've learned you lesson Novice!" said Samurai. I narrowed my eyes but still looked away from him. "You letting that Weedle escape almost cost our lives!"
"Samurai! Shut up!" I growled out threateningly. He quickly did so, but what was said was said. Ash stood up, pissed. "Take back that Novice crap!" he said.
"Ash, you shut up too," I said in a much more toned down voice. "Like it or not, you are a Novice at being a Pokémon trainer. You still have a lot to learn about Pokémon." I then turned to Samurai, who had removed his armour and helmet. "And you, bushy-brows," I said, referring to his thick eyebrows, "Novices are allowed to make mistakes. Its part of growing up, so don't berate others for learning." Everyone was silent after this.
"Now, I think that this is what we should do. We all get a good night sleep. Then in the morning Ash and I will go out and search for Metapod." No one had any objections so we all made a space for ourselves and fell asleep.
(Cue song A Momentary Rest by Takeharu Ishimoto from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack. Play once)
(Cue song Things I Do For Love by Ramin Djawadi from Game of Thrones Soundtrack)
I awoke to two wet noses nuzzling against my face. I opened my eyes to see two pairs of fox eyes looking at me. I sat up, realising that it was in the early stages of the morning. I looked from the window to my partners and was about to ask what was going on when I spotted the reason they woke me up.
Ash's bed was empty.
I sighed and started getting dressed quickly, but quietly. In a few minutes I was ready. The three of us then snuck out of the cabin. As soon as we were out of hearing range I turned to my two Ninetails.
"You guys got his scent?" I asked. Both Vixey and Chrono nodded. Chrono took the lead, his nose low to the ground. It turned out that Ash had just left the cabin moments before my pokemon woke me as it only took a few minutes to find him. He was back at the bug tree with all the newly hatched Beedrill. It also seemed that he was in a spot of trouble with Team Rocket.
The two had just finished their motto and had set off coloured smoke bombs for effect. This in turn had woken up the Beedrill. Then Ash started running toward the swarm. I thought he was crazy before I realised his plan. Then, just as I thought it, Ash dived under the leader Beedrill and rolled away. The swarm then turned on Jessie, James and Meowth.
"Heh. The poor bastards," I said as the threesome ran away with the swarm hot on their tails.
I turned to Vixey and Chrono. "C'mon guys. Let's back Ash up." We then followed Ash as he picked up his Pokémon and started running from a solitary Beedrill. He then tripped and spoke a few words, but I was too far to hear what he was saying. But it seamed that he had forgot all about the Beedrill until it was too late.
By now Misty, Samurai and Pikachu had woken up and had arrived at the scene.
"Ash!" cried out Misty in alarm.
"Watch out for the Twin Needle attack!" warned Samurai.
That was when his Metapod flipped up and slammed into the advancing Pokémon, breaking its right sting. Ash caught Metapod as the wounded Beedrill buzzed weakly away.
I then walked up to Ash with Vixey, Chrono, Misty, Samurai and Pikachu behind me. Looking closer I saw a large and deep gash across Metapod. 'He must have got it when he tackled the Beedrill,' I thought.
"Metapod! Are you ok? Are you hurt?" fretted Ash before a bright light shone through the crack. Slowly from the crack, a form was taking shape. As the light died down, Metapod was no more, and in his place, was Butterfree.
(Cue song Dragons Gate by Hiroshi Takaki from Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi Soundtrack)
"Nice!" I said, smiling. Ash was staring at his new Pokémon with awe. However we were quickly surrounded by the rest of the Beedrill hive. There looked to be over 50 of them.
"Ash," I said. The young trainer looked at me. "We're going to use a Combination Attack ok?" Ash looked confused. "Combination Attack?" he asked.
"Yeah. I'll use a Pokémon to help your Butterfree spread its Sleep Powder. You with me so far?" Ash nodded.
I then flicked my hand to my belt and drew a Pokeball. My Pokeballs were much different from Ash's. The red and white parts were black, with the steel band and button were gold. And not only that but the button was glowing green.
"Come on out Kaze!" I yelled as I released the Pokémon inside. A bright flash of light later and there hovered in front of me was an enormous Pidgeot. It was at least 3 times as big as a normal one.
"Ok Kaze, I need you to pick up this Butterfree and circle around all these Beedrill quickly," I ordered.
"You got it!" said Kaze before taking Butterfree gently in his talons and began to fly over the heads of the Beedrills.
"Ok Butterfree! Use Sleep Powder!" called Ash. The Pokémon complied by letting loose a heavy mist of Sleep Powder. Within seconds the whole hive was knocked out and sleeping peacefully.
"Butterfree: One week after Catterpie evolves into Metapod, it again evolves into Butterfree," said the PokeDex as Ash scanned his new Pokémon.
"You were able to handle your Butterfree so well just after evolving," said Samurai. "Most impressive."
"Pikachu," agreed Pikachu.
After leaving the sleeping Pokemon to… well sleep, Samurai took it upon himself to guide us out of the forest. Soon we were looking out at green rolling hills with only a few trees around.
"This trail will lead you to Pewter City," said Samurai.
"Thanks," Ash and I said.
"But before we leave you Samurai," added Ash, "we still need to finish our match."
"Compared with you my friend, I am the Novice. But I will keep perfecting my technique and one day, we will meet again," said Samurai.
"Until then Samurai," said Ash before we all started walking down the road that would lead us to Pewter City.
