Motivation is slowly, but surely coming back as we continue with 'Pokémon Redux'. So let us begin!

-:-

Name Translations:

Sato – Ash

Lila – Anabel

Kasumi – Misty

Takeshi – Brock

Kojiro – James

Musashi – Jessie

Midori – Melanie

-:-

Through the forest the Sato-tachi walked and once again were Sato and Kasumi arguing with each other.

"It's your fault that we're lost, Sato no Baka!" exclaimed Kasumi, glaring at the raven-haired trainer.

"My fault?! How is it my fault?!' demanded Sato, glaring back at the Water-type trainer.

"Because you're the one who took the lead when we left Pokémon Tech, so it's your fault!"

"I'm sure Sato-kun knows where he's going, Kasumi," said Lila, sticking up for Sato.

"I doubt that!" spat Kasumi.

"Settle down, you three. Just let me check the map and then we'll now exactly where we are," said Takeshi as he pulled out the map.

As Takeshi checked the map, the rest of the Sato-tachi decided to rest a bit before they moved on. While they waited, Sato heard some rustling from behind them and when he looked back he noticed a small, round, blue Pokémon with green leaves atop of its head drinking from the nearby river.

"Wonder what that Pokémon is," said Sato as he pulled out his Pokédex.

Oddish, the Weed Pokémon. Awakened by moonlight, it roams actively at night to scatter its seeds. In the day it stays quietly underground.

"…If it's a nocturnal Pokémon, why is it walking around at this time of day?" wondered Sato as he put away his Pokédex. He then pulled out a Poké Ball. "No matter, I'm going to catch it."

"Oh no you won't! I'm going to catch it," said Kasumi as she pushed Sato out of the way.

"Nani? Why would you want an Oddish? It's not even a Water-type."

"It's cute."

"That's not a good reason to catch a Pokémon!"

As Sato and Kasumi continued to argue, Lila interrupted them.

"Ano, I don't think either of you will be able to catch the Oddish now," stated Lila as she pointed to the Grass-type, which was now running away.

"Nani?! I'm not letting it get away!" exclaimed Kasumi as she sent out her Starmie. "Use Water Gun!"

"Hoh!"

Starmie's attack was a direct hit as it spun the little Grass-type in the air.

"Oddish! Oddish!" cried the Weed Pokémon in pain.

"Now use Tackle!" commanded Kasumi.

The Mysterious Pokémon did as it was told, dealing great damage to Oddish.

"I still think you catching Oddish because it's cute is a stupid reason," stated Sato.

"No one asked for your opinion!" growled Kasumi.

The orange-haired girl then threw a Poké Ball at Oddish, hoping to make a successful capture. Unfortunately for her, this was not to be as the Poké Ball was whipped away by what looked like a vine. Looking over to where the vine came from, the group saw a Pokémon that looked like to be a combination of a small dinosaur and a toad with a spotted blue-green hide. A notable feature of the red-eyed Pokémon was the onion-like bulb growing on its back.

"Cool! It's a Bulbasaur!" exclaimed an excited Sato, pulling out his Pokédex.

Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon. It carries a seed on its back right from birth and that seed is filled with nutrients. The seed grows steadily larger as its body grows.

The Bulbasaur charged forward and slammed into Starmie, sending the Water/Psychic-type across the grass in a heap.

"Starmie!" cried Kasumi as she went to check on her Pokémon.

"My turn! Let's go, Butterfree!" called out Sato.

The Butterfly Pokémon fluttered through the air as he came out of his Poké Ball. "Ree! Ree!"

"Butterfree! Use Sleep Powder!"

The Bug-type Pokémon flapped his wings, release sparkling blue powder over Bulbasaur. Unfortunately, it did no good as the Seed Pokémon actually blew the powder back at Butterfree.

"Ree…Ree…"

With that, Butterfree collapsed to the ground and slept. While everyone was stunned by what they just saw, Oddish and Bulbasaur took this opportunity to escape.

"…That is one crafty Bulbasaur," said Takeshi, breaking the silence.

"Aw man! Now I really want to catch that Bulbasaur!" exclaimed Sato as he returned Butterfree to his Poké Ball.

"Don't worry, Sato-kun. I'm sure you'll catch it soon," said Lila, hoping to lift the raven-haired boy's spirits.

"C'mon, you guys. We might as well continue on before it gets dark," said Takeshi as he led the group through the forest.

The Sato-tachi soon came upon a rope bridge that hung highly over a river.

"Do we have to cross?" questioned Kasumi, not liking how flimsy the bridge looked.

"It's the only way that'll save us time. Otherwise, we'd be spending hours trying to find another way," replied Takeshi. He showed the map to the others to prove his point.

"Then we cross. We just have to be careful," said Sato as he stepped onto the bridge.

"Pika!" agreed Pikachu.

The others followed suit. When the group made it about halfway across the bridge, the wind picked up and started to rock the wooden structure, much to their horror. Their horror became even greater when the bridge snapped. When that happened, Sato grabbed hold of the rope so he wouldn't fall and since she was the closest, he also wrapped his arm around Lila's waist so she wouldn't fall as well. Pikachu had clung to Sato's backpack, while Kasumi clung to Sato's leg. Takeshi wasn't so lucky as he fell into the river.

"Takeshi!" shouted Sato, worried for his friend.

"Sato! Pull us up!" cried Kasumi.

"I can't! You're too heavy!"

"Did you just call me fat?!"

"Sato-kun!" cried Lila, scared that they would all fall to the raging river below.

With as much strength as he could, Sato was able to pull all four of them up and over to the other side to safety. They were all trying to catch their breath after that near death experience.

"I never want to do something like that again," panted Kasumi.

After catching his breath, Sato stood up. "C'mon, we need to get down to the river and look for Takeshi."

Nodding in agreement, Pikachu, Lila, and Kasumi followed after Sato. When they reach the riverbed, they started their search. As they searched though…

"Ahh!"

Kasumi fell through a dead fall into a pit.

Sato and Lila rush towards the hole and look down to Kasumi.

"Kasumi! What happened?"

"What does it look like, Sato no Baka?!" yelled the Tomboy Mermaid, glaring up at him. "Just help me out of here!"

It didn't take long for them to get Kasumi out of the hole. Once she was out, the group continued on their search. Unfortunately, Kasumi once again tripped a trap by catching her foot on a hidden rope. This time though the whole group were trapped when they got suspended in a net.

"Couldn't you have watched where you were going, Kasumi?" questioned Sato.

Kasumi's eye twitched in annoyance. "Just get us out of here!"

Not needed to be told twice, Sato started to struggle in hopes it will break the net. As he did this, Lila let out an "eep" while Kasumi let out a sharp gasp.

"What's wrong?" asked Sato.

"You pervert! You're touching us in inappropriate places!" yelled a red-faced Kasumi, glaring at Sato. Lila's face was also red and she was avoiding eye contact with Sato.

"No I'm not! I'm trying to get us out of here!" argued the raven-haired trainer, also a little red in the face now.

The two continued to argue on whether or not Sato was a pervert when a sound from below got their attention.

"Bulba!"

"Isn't that the same Bulbasaur from before?" asked Lila as the group looked down at the Grass-type.

"Oi, Bulbasaur! Help us down from here!" called out Sato.

The little green Pokémon let out a growl and glared at the humans before he turned and started to walk away.

Seeing Bulbasaur leaving, Kasumi started yelling. "Don't leave us hanging here! Get back here!"

A few hours later and Sato, Lila, Pikachu, and Kasumi were still hanging in the net.

"How long do you think we've been here?" asked Sato.

"Considering the position of the sun, I'd say we've been here for an hour or two, Sato-kun," replied Lila.

"Chu…"

"I wish we knew where Takeshi is," said Kasumi, a worried look on her face.

"Maybe he was taken by some ugly old hag who was washing clothes in the river," said Sato, only to receive a glare from Kasumi and a wide-eyed look from Lila.

"You'd be wrong on that, Sato!" called out a voice from below.

Looking down, the young trainers saw Takeshi smiling up at them.

"Takeshi!" they called out.

"Hold on and I'll get you guys down!"

Taking out a hunting knife, Takeshi cut the rope that was holding up the net and lowered his friends down gently. Once on the ground, they quickly got out of the net.

"Arigatou, Takeshi," said Lila.

"It's no problem, Lila," replied the breeder with a smile.

"Takeshi, what happened to you when you fell from the bridge?" asked Sato.

"Well, I fell into the river and was being swept away by the rapids. I thought I was done for when I was suddenly saved by this incredibly beautiful girl!" explained Takeshi, going into his Casanova mode towards the end.

Sato and the others sweatdropped from hearing the explanation, not really believing the story Takeshi was telling. Kasumi was the one to call him out on it.

"You really expect us to believe an "incredibly beautiful" girl saved you from the rapids?"

"It's true! I'll even introduce you to her. Follow me!"

Apparently not having a choice, Sato and the others followed after Takeshi.

-:-

A small log cabin was the first thing they noticed as they approached their destination.

"What is this place?" asked Sato, looking around.

"This would be the Hidden Village," replied a soft voice.

The Sato-tachi looked over to the source to see a young woman. She had long green hair that was tied into a braid with a large bow and deep green eyes that matched her hair. She wore a pink t-shirt under a pair of red overalls.

"Hidden Village?" echoed Kasumi.

"That's right and this is Midori. She's the one who runs this village and is the one to save me from the river," explained Takeshi.

Looking around, the others noticed all of the Pokémon that were there.

"Are all of these Pokémon yours, Midori-san?" asked Lila.

The young woman shook her head. "No. I just take care of them. The Hidden Village is a place where abandoned or injured Pokémon can come to rest and relax. I take care of them and once they are healed, they leave."

"So you're like a Pokémon doctor?" asked Sato.

"Not really. I just collect different plants to use as medicine. I'm unqualified to be a real doctor."

While Midori continued telling Sato and Lila about what she does, Kasumi noticed the look Takeshi was giving Midori.

"What's with the looks, Takeshi? You falling in love with Midori-san?" questioned the Water-type trainer with a smirk.

Takeshi's face became beet red at the question. "Sh-Shut up! I don't need Midori-chan overhearing you!"

Back with the others, Midori explained about the traps that were around the village and how she set them herself as to keep people away from the village.

"I don't want them to capture the injured Pokémon since they would be too ill to escape."

"You don't have to worry, Midori-chan. We won't capture any of the Pokémon while we're here, I promise," said Takeshi, putting the woman's worries at ease.

"You going to seal that promise with a kiss, Takeshi?" questioned Kasumi, a sly grin on her face. This earned her a hard whap to the head from the breeder. "Itai…"

"I said keep quiet!" hissed Takeshi.

"Whatever," said Kasumi with a scowl. Her face then softened. "But don't worry. We won't capture any of the Pokémon. Only bad guys capture sick Pokémon."

"Are you sure those traps will be enough though?" questioned Sato, a little worried. "You'd have to be pretty stupid to fall into one of those holes."

Kasumi's eye twitched violently at that remark.

"I'm sure they will, Sato-kun," answered Lila, hoping to prevent the pummeling Kasumi was most likely going to give Sato. "Midori-san, if it is okay, may we help you with the Pokémon?"

"Of course!" replied Midori with a smile.

They all soon got to work. Takeshi and Sato were busy tending to a Staryu, while Lila, Clefairy, and Pikachu were helping by feeding the Rattata, Caterpie, and Paras. Kasumi on the other hand was with the Oddish from earlier, apologizing.

"Oddish!"

"Ah, please don't be scared! I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about earlier."

"Oddish?"

"I didn't know about your situation and if I did, I never would have tried to capture you. Gomen, Oddish."

"Oddish…"

Seeing that Kasumi was sincere, the Weed Pokémon trotted over to her to show that it accepted her apology. Kasumi was happy to see that.

"Oi, Kasumi! Why are you just sitting around?" questioned Sato as he walked over to the tomboy.

Kasumi gave him a glare. "I am not just sitting around, Sato no baka! I was apologizing to Oddish!"

"It shouldn't take that long to apologize though. We have work to do."

Kasumi was about to retort, but was knocked to the ground from behind. Surprised by this, Sato and Kasumi looked back to see who did that, only to find Bulbasaur glaring and growling at them.

"It's you! What are you doing here?" demanded Sato, looking as if he was ready to fight Bulbasaur himself.

"Please don't fight!" cried Midori, getting between Sato and Bulbasaur. Lila and Takeshi weren't far behind.

"Midori-san, is this your Bulbasaur?" asked Kasumi, getting off of the ground.

Midori shook her head. "No. This Bulbasaur is a wild Pokémon who volunteered to protect the village and the Pokémon who reside here."

It was then Sato felt something nudging at his leg. Looking down, he saw that it was Bulbasaur, trying to get him to leave.

'He's willing to go through so much for his friends. I wish I had a Pokémon this brave,' thought Sato.

Suddenly, it grew darker. Wondering what was going on, everyone looked up towards the sky to see a massive object floating there and making its way down to the earth.

"What is that thing?!" questioned Kasumi, scared by what she was seeing.

As the object landed in a clearing outside of the village, a familiar laughter filled the air.

"Well, well, well. I didn't think we'd find you brats here," said Musashi with a smirk.

"Not that it matters since we'll still be taking all of the Pokémon, nya!" stated Meowth.

"How did you even find the village?! The traps should have stopped you!" exclaimed Midori.

Team Rocket sweatdropped at the mention of the traps.

"They did stopped us for a while. Of course they would not have been a problem had Musashi been watching where she was walking," said Kojiro, saying that last part to himself. Of course Musashi did hear.

"What was that, Kojiro?" questioned the purple-haired woman with a growl.

"It doesn't matter who tripped the traps, nya! Let's just get these Pokémon, nya!" shouted Meowth.

With that, a large tube extended from Team Rocket's machine and started to suck in air, showing that it was in reality a giant vacuum.

Sato dove and grabbed hold of the Staryu before it could be taken away, while Takeshi herded everyone into the cabin. Kasumi tried to grabbed Oddish, but unfortunately was too slow and Oddish was soon heading towards the vacuum.

"Oddish!" screamed Kasumi, worried about the Weed Pokémon.

"Bulbasaur!" called out the Seed Pokémon. It sent out two vines from his bulb and grabbed Oddish, reeling in the smaller Grass-type. Bulbasaur then tried to trek back to the cabin, though it was not easy due to the suction.

"Here, take Staryu and get to the cabin!" shouted Sato, handing the Water-type over to Kasumi. The raven-haired trainer then made his way over to Bulbasaur and helped him get to safety.

"I can't believe how brave Sato-san is!" said Midori, watching from inside of the cabin.

'Sato-kun,' thought Lila, worried about Sato.

Soon Sato and Bulbasaur made it to the cabin and were soon inside. Not letting that deter them, Team Rocket turned up the power of the vacuum and focused it on the cabin itself.

"Hohohoho! Soon all of those wonderful Pokémon will be ours!" laughed Musashi as she watched the roof of the cabin start to tear off.

While the three thieves were laughing at this, they failed to notice Bulbasaur jumping up to the roof. It wasn't until the Grass/Poison-type smacked the hose with a Vine Whip did their attention start to focus.

"Oi, cut that out, nya!" ordered Meowth, glaring down at Bulbasaur.

With the vacuum's assault gone, Sato exited the cabin, wanting to end this.

"Pidgeotto! Use Gust!" called out Sato as he sent out his Flying-type.

"Clefairy, use Copycat and help Pidgeotto!" said Lila, who followed after Sato, surprising him.

In a flash, Pidgeotto appeared and started to flap his wings. Clefairy exited the cabin and glowed with a faint light. When the light faded, a large gust of wind was released around her and combined with the wind created by Pidgeotto. The raging winds then collided with the winds created by the vacuum, resulting in a devastating tornado, which was heading towards Team Rocket.

"This will not end well," said Kojiro with a grimace.

"You think?!" yelled Musashi, glaring at her partner.

The tornado soon reached Team Rocket and sucked them out a spun them around at speeds.

"I wonder if this is what a baseball hit by Hideo Nomo feels like!" shouted Kojiro.

"Shut up, Kojiro!" screeched Musashi and Meowth.

With that, the tornado took Team Rocket away, never to bother the village again.

"We did it!" cheered Sato with a grin.

"Arigatou, for all of your help," said Midori, a grateful smile upon her face.

"It was nothing, Midori-san," replied Sato, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. He then turned to Lila. "Lila, that was a pretty cool move you had Clefairy use."

"Arigatou, Sato-kun," replied the lavender-haired girl, her face a faint red.

"Not that I don't appreciate the help, but how come you got involved? I could have handled Team Rocket on my own. They're not that much of a threat."

Lila's face became a deeper red. "I d-didn't want t-to feel useless anymore. I want t-to be able t-to become a better trainer. Like Sato-kun."

Sato blinked in confusion. "You want to be like me? Why?"

It was Lila's turn to look confuse. "Nani?"

"You're a great trainer already, Lila!" said Sato with a grin. "Besides, if you were like me, you wouldn't have that cool ability you and Abra have!"

Lila, her face completely red now, looked away. She did have a soft smile on her face though. "Arigatou, Sato-kun."

"Ne, Lila, how come your face is all red? You getting sick?"

The young girl let out a tiny "eep" when Sato placed his hand on her forehead to check if she was warm. The others were watching this with mixed emotions.

'Sato, you have a lot to learn about women,' thought Takeshi with a smile. He was trying not to laugh at his younger friend's inexperience with the opposite sex.

'They look so cute together!' thought Midori with a smile.

Kasumi on the other hand found the scene annoying, though couldn't place why she found it as such. 'It's not like she did that much.'

As much as she didn't want to break up such a cute moment, Midori had to speak up as she remembered something.

"Sato-san?"

"Huh?" said Sato, turning towards the healer. "Hai, Midori-san?"

"Would you be so kind as to take Bulbasaur with you on your journey?"

The Sato-tachi were shocked by the request, given everything the Seed Pokémon has done for the village.

"You want me to take Bulbasaur? But why?"

Midori gave a sad smile. "I feel as if staying in the village is holding back Bulbasaur's potential. I'm glad that he has stayed for as long as he has and protected the village, but this place is too small for his bulb to grow. Plus, I feel as if the Pokémon have become to dependant on Bulbasaur's protection since they've been here longer than they should have. That's why I wish for you to take Bulbasaur with you when you leave, as it will help everyone. I know you will be a great trainer for him."

Sato listened to Midori's explanation. He then turned to the Seed Pokémon. "What do you say, Bulbasaur? Want to come with me on my journey?"

"Bulba! Bulbasaur!" growled the Grass-type, looking as if he wanted to fight.

Sato was confused at first, but then realized what Bulbasaur wanted. "Oh! You want to battle before you come with me! Is that it?"

"Saur!" replied the Seed Pokémon with a nod.

"Okay then. Pikachu, up for a battle?" asked Sato, turning to the Electric-type.

"Pika!" replied Pikachu, getting into position.

"Then let's do this!"

The battle began with Bulbasaur charging after Pikachu. Caught by surprise by how fast the Grass-type was, Pikachu didn't have time to dodge the Tackle and was sent flying.

"Pika!"

"Pikachu, counter with a tackle of your own!"

Hearing Sato's call, Pikachu did as he was told and slammed into Bulbasaur. The two Pokémon traded blows until Bulbasaur had enough.

"Bulbasaur!" cried the Seed Pokémon as he unleashed a Vine Whip. He used his vines to tie up Pikachu and start slamming the Mouse Pokémon repeatedly on the ground.

"Oh no!" cried Lila, worried about Pikachu.

"It's not over yet! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" called out Sato.

"Pika chu!"

The one hundred thousand volts that Pikachu released traveled along the vines and up to Bulbasaur himself. Normally, an Electric-type move like Thunderbolt wouldn't affect a Grass-type like Bulbasaur, but unfortunately for Bulbasaur the electricity was able to travel right into him, causing more damage than normal.

It was too much for Bulbasaur and when the electricity dissipated, he toppled over onto his back defeated. This was Sato's chance to end this.

"Poké Ball, go!" exclaimed the raven-haired trainer as he threw the device.

The Poké Ball made contact, bouncing on Bulbasaur's belly, and engulfed him in a red light. Landing on the ground, the Poké Ball shook a few times before it stopped with a ping.

"Yatta! I caught Bulbasaur!"

"Pi-Pikachu!"

-:-

Later after all of the congratulations, it was time for the Sato-tachi to leave.

"I'm going to miss you, Bulbasaur, but I'm so happy that you'll be able to live your life the way you were meant to be," said Midori as she said her goodbyes to the Grass-type.

"Bulba."

"Ah, Midori-chan?"

"Hai, Takeshi-san?" replied the healer as she turned to the breeder.

"If you want, I would be more than willing to stay and help you take care of the Pokémon!" explained Takeshi, faint blush on his face.

Midori let out a few giggles. "That's sweet of you, Takeshi-san, but you should continue on with your journey. Just as I want Bulbasaur to become the best he can, I want you to do that as well."

Though crestfallen at first, Takeshi bounced back and gave the girl a smile. "Okay then."

Waving their goodbyes, the Sato-tachi left the Hidden Village and Midori behind.

"Bulba…"

"Don't worry, Bulbasaur. I'm sure Midori and the other will be fine," said Sato, giving the little Pokémon some encouragement.

Once they were far away enough, Takeshi looked as if he wanted to go back.

"What's the matter, Takeshi? Missing your girlfriend already?" asked Kasumi in a teasing gesture.

"Ah, it's not like that at all!" cried an embarrassed Takeshi as he grabbed Kasumi and tried to keep her quiet.

Sato, Lila, Pikachu, and Bulbasaur watched on from the sidelines.

"What's up with them?" asked Sato.

"I don't think we need to know, Sato-kun," replied Lila.

"Pika…"

"Bulbasaur…"

TO BE CONTINUED…

-:-

Let's see, where to begin. I guess explaining what's different. Kept most of the original lines from the Japanese version. The bridge scene and the net scene for example were what happened in the original version. Who knew Sato could be grabby? The mention of Hideo Nomo was also from the original version. He is a Japanese baseball player who was the first Japanese player to make it into the MLB. He had played for the Dodgers at the time this episode first aired.

Since this fic is to be an Abilityshipping fic, I added a little Abilityshipping scene after the battle with Team Rocket. I hope everyone enjoyed it.

Anyway, with Bulbasaur now on Sato's team, next up will be the little spitfire Charmander, followed by everyone's favorite firefighter, Squirtle, so stay tuned for more.