Chapter 8: Kanto Starters part 1
Me: The eighth chapter of this rewrite is finally up! Wohoo! And before we do anything else, sorry that this was late. School has started again and at the same time, a lot of time was spent to prepare for tests which was just over too so update was slow. Without further ado, Arcus, let's head to the disclaimer!
Arcus: Alright then. But before that, we have a few questions to answer.
Me: Right. First one comes from Owldusk who asks if you were aware of what was around you when you were still an egg and the second question comes from AngelFaux who asks if Team Rocket will ever learn that you're Arceus's Son.
Arcus: *Clears throat* Well let's begin. Owldusk, to answer your question, I would have to say no since my eyes were completely shut while I was still an egg. But I wouldn't want it anyway. You don't want to know how many times Ash has dropped me off screen. And as for you, AngelFaux, Team Rocket will definitely learn of my identity, the moment my dad shows up, of course. So that will be quite a while.
Me: And that takes care of the questions. On to the disclaimer!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon but I do own Arcus and any other OCs in this story.
Response to Guest reviews:
GirlFish: You'll just have to see then. As for Charmander's asshole of a trainer, judgement shall be passed! For Ash and his friends to meet Arceus, like I said, would be after he gets his last Badge. As for the Tentacool and Tentacruel episode, I'll have to think about that episode since I never did it in the original story.
Hailey: Well, sorry for the long wait. But I hope you'll enjoy this one.
Days have went by after Ash had received his Cascade Badge from Misty's sisters and the group was currently making their way towards Vermilion City, where Ash will try to get his next Badge. And at the moment, the group was currently stuck in the middle of a forest that they were having a hard time navigating out of.
"This is all your fault, Ash Ketchum!" Misty cried out in annoyance as she smashed her fist onto the boy's head.
Ash clutched his head in pain and stumbled forward with his other arm carefully holding onto Arcus's sleeping body before turning towards Misty with a glare. "What did I do this time, huh? And will you quit it? Can't you see that Arcus is still asleep?"
Misty huffed. "It's because you decided to take that stupid turn that we're trap here!"
"And who was the one who kept telling us to go left, huh?!" Ash retorted, trying his best not to yell.
"Well, you were the one who got us off the road saying that this was a short cut. Have you ever been out of your Pallet Town?" Misty argued.
Brock sighed as he stepped in between the two with his arms separating them. "Alright guys, chill out. We'll get by some how so don't worry, alright?"
Misty folded her arms and looked away. "Fine. But remind me to yell at you some more when we get to Vermilion City."
Hours soon went by as they traveled through the forest, but they were still lost. Then, they decided to take a small break, where they soon discovered a small puddle of water formed from water flowing out of a small pond. And drinking from the puddle was a Pokémon they had never seen before. It resembled a blue plant bulb with a round body, beady red eyes, and oval, foot-like roots. Five large, green leaves sprout from its head as well.
"Wow!" Ash exclaimed. "That's a new one. What's that Pokémon?"
As he took out his Pokédex, it began displaying an image of the Pokémon as it spoke. "Oddish. This Pokémon is typically found roaming the forest, scattering pollen as it walks around."
"It might be great having a Pokémon like that," Ash said as he took out a Pokéball, only to be stopped by Misty.
"Wait just a moment, Ash," Misty said. "I think I want to catch this Oddish."
"But why?" Ash asked. "It's not a Water Pokémon so why would you want it?"
"It's cute," Misty replied, giving him a smile. "And besides, I might be a future Water Pokémon Trainer, but that doesn't mean that I can't have any Pokémon that isn't a Water Type. So, please~?"
Ash seemed to be hesitant. His eyes turned to the Oddish, who was oblivious to what was happening around it, and then back to Misty, who was giving him puppy eyes. He was confused on what to do now. Should he let Misty catch the Oddish or should he do it himself? It's his dream to become a Pokémon Master, and that means he has to catch all of the Pokémon. But then again, Oddish aren't a rare Pokémon so there could be more around.
"Just let her catch it, Ash," Pikachu sighed.
Seeing that his partner had allowed Misty to catch the Oddish, Ash couldn't help but agree with Pikachu and turned to his friend with a sigh. "Misty, go ahead and catch it."
Misty smiled, giving Pikachu a thumbs up as she took out Starmie's Pokéball. Turning back to the Oddish, Misty tosses her Pokéball and from it, Starmie emerged.
When it did, Starmie landed in front of the Oddish, blocking its path. "Water Gun, now!"
Starmie lowered its head and a spray of water erupted, splashing onto the Oddish as it was knocked into the air by the attack. Once Starmie's Water Gun attack ended, the Weed Pokémon fell back onto the ground.
"I'm surprised it isn't fighting back," said Brock with his hand resting on his chin. "Could this Oddish be a low leveled one?"
"As long as it's cute, I don't mind," Misty replied before giving Starmie its next command. "Starmie, Tackle it!"
The Mysterious Pokémon complied to Misty's command, lifting itself off the ground and rotating rapidly as it crashed into Oddish, sending the Weed Pokémon tumbling backwards until it stopped, already weakened to the point that it almost fainted.
Misty smiled as she brought out an empty Pokéball. "Nice job, Starmie. Now it's time to capture it. Pokéball, go!"
As she tossed her Pokéball, Misty couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for finally capturing another Pokémon. However, it was just for a moment. In an instant, her Pokéball was knocked away, straying it from Oddish.
Then, a new Pokémon had jumped out from behind Oddish, landing in front of it. This Pokémon in particular, was a small, quadruped Pokémon that had bluish-green skin with darker green patches. It had red eyes with white pupils and pointed, ear-like structures on top of its head. Its snout was short and blunt, and it had a wide mouth. Each of its thick legs ended with three sharp claws. On its back was a green plant bulb.
Seeing this Pokémon, Ash couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise. "No way. Is that a Bulbasaur?!" Ash immediately took out his Pokédex and pointed it towards the Pokémon, where it soon displayed an image of Bulbasaur.
"Bulbasaur. It bears the seed of a plant on its back from birth. The seed slowly develops. Researchers are unsure whether to classify Bulbasaur as a plant or animal. Bulbasaur are extremely calm and very difficult to capture in the wild."
Bulbasaur growled as it looked at Starmie, lunging towards the Mysterious Pokémon and tackling it.
"Starmie!" Misty cried as the Mysterious Pokémon landed in front of her.
Ash smirked. "Now it's my turn to try." Handing Arcus to Brock, Ash took out Pidgeotto's Pokéball and tossed it out, allowing the Bird Pokémon to emerge from the Pokéball. "Since Flying Types are stronger than Grass Types, I'm certain that we'll beat that Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto! Now use Wing Attack!"
Pidgeotto nodded, taking to the sky as his wings begin to glow. Then, he dived down towards the Seed Pokémon. However, the Bird Pokémon blinked in surprise when Bulbasaur had grabbed his wings using its vines, stopping him from attacking.
"What?" Ash exclaimed, clearly dumbfounded by what Bulbasaur had done. "Can it even do that?"
"Apparently so," Brock replied.
Bulbasaur slammed the Bird Pokémon down and removed its vines from him before turning to Oddish, giving it a grunt that the Weed Pokémon nodded to before turning away and running off.
"Hey, wait!" Misty cried as she tried to chase after the Oddish, only to be struck on her arm by Bulbasaur's vines. Misty winced in pain from the vine and she flinched, clutching her injured arm tightly as the Bulbasaur ran off to follow Oddish.
Ash made his way over to Pidgeotto, who gave him a saddened look. Ash gave him a reassuring smile as he patted the Bird Pokémon's head. "You did your best, Pidgeotto. Thanks." Ash took out Pidgeotto's Pokéball and a red light shot out from it, engulfing Pidgeotto as he was reabsorbed into the capsule. Then, Ash tucked the Pokéball safely on his belt and gritted his teeth. "That Bulbasaur is strong, I WILL catch it!" As Brock handed Arcus back to him, Ash smiled. "Let's go catch that Bulbasaur."
After following the trail of the Bulbasaur by using Pikachu's nose, the group soon reached a wooden bridge, which led to the other side of a raging river that was below it.
Misty gave the bridge one long look before turning to Ash with a worried look. "Do you think it's safe to cross this bridge?"
"Of course!" Ash nodded as he stepped onto it. "I bet there are a lot of Bulbasaur in this place!"
"But what is this place anyway?" Misty asked.
Brock checked his map and frowned. "I can't find this bridge on my map at all."
Just then, a strong wind blew at them, rocking the bridge wildly as one of the ropes supporting it snapped, causing the entire bridge to turn sideways. Then, the group slipped and they fell. Ash, using his free hand, grabbed onto the remaining rope while clutching Arcus tightly as Pikachu clung onto his backpack.
Misty wasn't able to grab the rope, but she went for an alternative. As she slipped off the bridge, she grabbed onto Ash's right leg and held it tightly.
However, Brock wasn't so lucky. His hands had slipped from the bridge, causing him to fall off as he dropped onto the raging river.
"Brock!" Both Ash and Misty cried.
As soon as Brock crashed into the water, Misty turned to Ash. "You have to pull us back up, Ash!"
"I…can't!" Ash said. "My arm's losing strength."
"Yes you can!" Misty cried. "Just hand Arcus over to Beedrill so you can pull us back up!"
On cue, Beedrill hovered beside Ash, using his stingers to gently lift Arcus out of Ash's arm and flew over to the other side of the bridge with the Baby Pokémon.
Now with Arcus safe, Ash grabbed the rope with his other hand and pulled himself up. Of course, with his own weight combined with Misty's and Pikachu's, he had a hard time doing so. But eventually, he managed to pull Misty up to the bridge where they both held the rope tightly and slowly made their way to the safety of the other side.
Once they were on the other side, the two humans and Pikachu collapsed, clearly exhausted.
"I'm totally wiped out…" Ash panted as he picked up Arcus.
"We can't rest now, we have to find Brock!" Misty replied as she got back up. Then, she pulled out a Pokéball and tossed it towards the water. From it, Goldeen emerged and splashed into the water before surfacing to look at Misty. "Goldeen, we need you to find Brock. He's probably been swept by the current!"
The Goldfish Pokémon nodded and dived into the water, drifting on the current as it went downstream.
Ash got up as well, taking out Butterfree's Pokéball and tossing it out. The Butterfly Pokémon emerged from the capsule and turned his attention to Ash, who told him the same thing. Butterfree gave him a nod and took off towards the end of the river, searching for Brock from the air.
Misty then grabbed Ash's collar and dragged him. "Come on, Ash. We have to follow them too."
"Alright, alright. Just let go of me, will ya?" Ash said as Misty removed her hand from his collar and continued walking on ahead while Ash turned to Beedrill, who eyed him with caution. "Beedrill, I know I almost risked Arcus life on the bridge. So for now, I'm thinking that you should hold onto him. At least until we get out of this place, wherever this is."
Beedrill seemed surprised by Ash, but he shrugged it off and picked up Arcus from Ash's hands. The boy gave him a smile and turned, running off to catch up with Misty while Beedrill followed them from behind.
Soon, the group made their way down to the middle of the stream where the river was calmer, and there, they were greeted by Goldeen and Butterfree, who both shook their head sadly.
Ash sighed as he took out Butterfree's Pokéball. "You did your best, Butterfree. Take a good rest." A red glow shot out from the capsule, reabsorbing Butterfree into it while Misty did the same for Goldeen.
"Where do you think Brock might have washed up?" Misty asked.
Ash shrugged and continued walking on. "Who knows? Let's just keep walking. Maybe we'll find him soon."
However, just as they took a few steps, Misty had accidentally triggered a trap. A net that was hidden underneath them sprung up, trapping them within it while Beedrill and Arcus were in the clear.
Somewhere farther away from the group:
"The village we're looking for should be on the other side of that bridge," Jessie spoke as she and her team made their way towards the bridge that Ash and his friends had just crossed.
"Let's just hope the rumors are true about that hidden Pokémon village we've heard about," James replied.
Meowth grinned. "And if it's real, Team Rocket will have something planned for it. Imagine all the Pokémon we'll be able to nab and give to the boss."
Both Jessie and James smiled, imagining the same thing that Meowth was thinking of. Then, in unison, they both cried. "Let's find it!"
Misty sighed as she leaned against the net. "Hey, Ash. What do you think happened to Brock? You know, if he didn't get washed up."
"Maybe the river far away, all the way to the ocean," Ash replied. "Then some pirates spotted him and brought him aboard their ship and one of the pirates has a wooden leg."
Both Pikachu and Misty sighed at the boy. "You have a crazy imagination, Ash."
"She's right, you know."
"Geez, I've been gone for nearly an hour and I find you three already stuck in a trap."
Hearing that familiar voice, the three looked down from the net and they gasped when they saw the Pokémon Breeder standing below them with a smile on his face.
"Brock! You're alive!" Ash cried out in joy.
Brock chuckled as he made his way towards the tree where the net's rope was at. "Of course I'm alive. What do you expect? Me being a pirate? Anyway, I'll undo the trap's knot. So you guys will be down in seconds."
Once the knot was undone, Brock slowly lowered them down.
"We've been looking all over for you," Misty said as she stepped out of the net, followed by Ash and Pikachu.
"We saw you fall into the river, but we have no idea what happened to you afterwards," Ash continued. "So what happened to you?"
Brock raised his hand and placed it on the back of his head. "Well, while I was being washed away in the rapids, I was trying desperately to grab the land but I couldn't. So there I was, keeping myself up on the surface as long as I can, but that's when a hand grabbed me."
A blush began forming on the Breeder's cheeks. "That hand belonged to a beautiful girl. Her voice filled my ears and I almost melted away blissfully. But I resisted the urge to do that since you know, I was still in the water."
"A beautiful girl, huh?" Ash said. "That's even better than pirates. Unless of course, she was really a pirate in disguise."
"Then maybe it's time to get a reality check," Misty sighed.
Brock laughed as he slapped the back of Ash's back. "Come on, I'll bring you guys to where she's at. It's not too far from here so we'll make it there in just minutes."
After walking for at least a few minutes, the group soon arrived at a small lake, where a wooden cabin stood by the edge of the lake. Pokémon of various types could also be seen by them as well when they walked towards the place.
Brock cleared his throat as he approached a blue-haired woman who was sitting together with a group of Pokémon. The woman turned around and smiled when she saw Brock, who gestured to his friends. "Melanie, this is Ash and Misty."
The woman approached them and smiled. "So you're the friends that Brock's been telling me about."
Misty smiled. "That's right! And wow, do all those Pokémon belong to you?"
Melanie turned around to the Pokémon she was feeding moments ago and then back to Misty. "Oh no. They're not my Pokémon, silly."
Brock then approached a Paras and gently patted its head. "This is a place where Pokémon are able to rest and relax. You see, when Pokémon get abandoned or injured, they can come here. Melanie takes care of them until they feel better. After that, they leave."
"I see," Misty said. "So this is a Pokémon Center and Melanie's the Pokémon Doctor."
Melanie giggled as she shook her head. "That's not really true. I'm unqualified to be a Pokémon Doctor."
"This is more like a Pokémon health spa," Brock added on.
Melanie gave Brock a nod as she continued. "Here, the Pokémon don't battle with one another. They relax and enjoy themselves until they recover."
"That sounds amazing," Ash said.
Brock nodded to the boy and spoke once more. "Melanie collects plants to use for medicine. She knows all about which plants can help a Pokémon feel better or grow stronger when it's too weak."
"So you and Melanie both love to take care of Pokémon," Ash stated.
"Yes, we do," Brock replied, smiling in Melanie's direction where she was holding the same Paras from before in her arms with a smile on her face. Then, Brock's cheeks began feeling a sensation, a mild burning sensation which Misty realized sooner than the Breeder himself.
A grin formed on Misty's face as she faced the Breeder. "Well, it looks to me that there's something else that Brock might love."
This time, the Breeder's face had turned completely red and he reached out to Misty's mouth, covering it. "Be quiet! She might hear you!"
Beedrill, on the other hand, rolled his eyes as he flew towards the water and gently laid Arcus down next to the lake while he took a sip at the water. Then, he turned to the Baby Pokémon and smiled as he sat down next to him. "Rest assure, Arcus. You'll be safe while I'm here."
Just then, Pikachu sat beside Beedrill, giving the startled Pokémon a smile before the Mouse Pokémon patted his back while turning off the PokéTranslator in his ear. "You've been up for a long time, Beedrill. You should get some sleep."
"My duty is to…"
"I know, I know," Pikachu interrupted. "Your duty is to protect Arcus. But we're safe here. Besides, all these Pokémon here aren't a threat to him. Remember, we are all the creations of Arceus, and his son is as important as he is. I'm sure they all know that."
Beedrill was hesitant for a moment. The Mouse Pokémon was right, though. Ever since that accident at Mt. Moon, he had barely slept, worrying that Arcus might end up in the hands of Team Rocket and they almost succeeded in capturing Arcus as well in the Cerulean Gym if Ash's Beedrill and Pidgeotto weren't there to stop Meowth. He was tired. His eyes were already closing just from thinking about it.
"You're…right, Pikachu," Beedrill replied. "I guess I'll rest as well. But promise me that you'll watch over Arcus or wake me up when there's trouble."
"You can count on me, Beedrill," Pikachu replied as he watched the Poison Bee Pokémon lie down, curled up around the Baby Pokémon. Then, his eyes closed and Beedrill was soon fast asleep while Pikachu gazed out at the lake.
Back to the humans, Ash had just remembered about the trap and he spoke. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about it. I wonder who put that net up in the tree."
Hearing that, Melanie's face saddened. "I'm sorry. I was the one who set the trap. I wanted to catch any Pokémon Trainers before they can reach the village. Since you got caught, I guess it really works."
"But why would you do that?" Misty asked.
"Because there are so many injured Pokémon here, I have to protect them," Melanie replied.
"Was the bridge a trap too?" Ash asked.
Melanie simply nodded. "Yes. I know it was a dangerous one but it's a more effective way of keeping Trainers away from here. With a wobbly bridge like that, they're just lucky that they could cross over it. But if they had fallen into the river, I would be there to rescue them, like how I rescued Brock."
At the broken bridge:
"Uh…Jessie?" James spoke as he stared at the bridge. "Are you sure you want to cross that?"
The pink-haired woman scoffed. "Of course we are crossing it, you nitwit! A broken bridge isn't going to stop Team Rocket from getting those Pokémon!"
"But it looks…dangerous," Meowth whimpered as he felt his knees shaking in fear. "Couldn't we just find a different path to cross?"
Jessie groaned. "There are no other ways. This is the only bridge that leads to the other side. Unless you plan on swimming in the rapids."
"I'll take my chances with the bridge than the river," James replied instantly when he saw Jessie's eyes staring right at him.
"What about you, Meowth?" Jessie growled, turning back to the Scratch Cat Pokémon, who swallowed hard as he approached the bridge.
"I'm with James on that."
Jessie smirked as she walked over to the bridge. "I'll go first." As she placed one foot on the bridge, she grabbed the rope and lifted her body off the ground as she balanced herself on the bridge. "This isn't so hard. Come on, boys. Let's get moving!"
As she slowly made her way over to the other side, James got onto the bridge, followed by Meowth. "Just remember this, boys. Across this bridge lies a lifetime supply of Pokémon."
"But how are we going to carry them all?" James asked.
"We didn't really thought that one through, did we?" Meowth muttered.
Suddenly, the rope snapped. Moments later, the bridge swung forward, hitting the rock wall of the side of the rapids. Team Rocket lost their grip on the rope and soon, they found themselves being carried away by the water.
"I'd promise Melanie that we wouldn't capture any of the Pokémon here, so I hope you guys don't get any funny ideas."
Misty smirked at the Breeder. "Of course we won't. But did you seal the promise with a kiss?" She was then met with a fist to the head by a blushing Brock which she found hilarious to watch. "So I guess you really like her, don't you Brock?" And again, she was knocked on the head.
Ash simply sighed. "I guess I can keep your promise. But are those traps of hers tough enough to keep robbers away from this place? I mean, you have to be pretty stupid to fall for them."
"Hey!" Misty cried. "Are you calling us stupid?"
"No, I'm calling you!" Ash retorted. "It was you who got us trapped in that net in the first place. If you hadn't tripped, we wouldn't have been caught in it."
Misty balled her hands into fists as she stepped towards Ash with her jaw clenched. "Why you little…"
Back with Team Rocket:
James coughed as he pulled himself out of the water. "Next time we go for a swim, I'll stay out."
"Oh man up, James," Jessie said as she twisted her hair to remove the water from it. "We have to keep on moving. We might have lost our only option of escaping, but we can still catch ourselves some Pokémon. So get up and start walking!"
Meowth sighed as he shook himself to get rid of the water. "Let's just get some of those Pokémon and get out. It's going to take hours before my fur dries!"
"You boys are so weak!" Jessie cried, just before the three of them fell into a pitfall. "What the?! Where did this come from?!"
"How would I know?" Meowth replied. "This trap was well hidden, if I say so."
"Oh shut it!" Jessie said. "Let's get out of here and move on! And if we find whoever made this trap, I'll make sure that person gets the same treatment."
Pikachu smiled when he felt Ash's hand on his head. "How ya doing, buddy? Is Beedrill alright?"
Turning his PokéTranslator on, Pikachu turned to Ash and spoke. "He's alright. Beedrill's just tired and he needs to sleep. He's been up for a long time to make sure that Arcus was out of harm's way."
"I understand," Ash replied as he sat beside the Mouse Pokémon. "So, do you know why he's protecting Arcus so much?"
Pikachu nodded. "I do. But that's for him to tell you and not me. You'll have to ask him yourself, when you get the chance, though. I mean, Beedrill hates humans. So it would be hard to get him talking to you."
"But why does he?"
"Beedrill has seen many Pokémon being left behind in the Viridian Forest before he followed us. Well, he followed Arcus to be precise. But Beedrill feels that all humans are the same. They abandon their Pokémon if they aren't strong enough for the Trainers."
"But he knows that I'm not like that, right?"
Pikachu shook his head. "He can't decide that about you since he's just been with us for a week. He needs more time to get use to you and the others. Until then, I bet he won't bother talking to you unless it's about Arcus."
Hearing that, Ash lowered his head. "Oh."
"Hey! It's rude to tackle people!" Misty yelled, gaining Ash's attention as he turned around, only to see Bulbasaur glaring at Misty.
Ash quickly stepped in and turned to Bulbasaur. "What's the big idea, Bulbasaur? Misty's not doing anything wrong here. She isn't going to steal any of the Pokémon here!" Bulbasaur simply growled at him and Ash scoffed. "I know. You're just mad because you thought I was going to beat you but you chickened out and ran off. So let's see how tough you really are!"
Just then, Melanie stopped in between them. "Please, Ash! Bulbasaur is only trying to protect Oddish. It has volunteered to guard the whole village." This new information gave Ash and Misty a surprise as their jaws dropped. "It protects all the injured Pokémon whenever anyone tries to attack them. Bulbasaur is the bravest and most loyal Pokémon I know."
"So that's why it attacked me," Misty said. "It must have thought that I was taking Oddish from the village."
Bulbasaur growled again as it slammed its head against Ash's leg, trying to push the boy away.
"Now what?"
Melanie noticed this and sighed. "Bulbasaur doesn't like Pokémon Trainers. He wants you to leave the village now."
"But we're not here to capture Pokémon," Misty said. "We want to help you."
"Bulbasaur was worried about the other Pokémon so it decided to be the village's bodyguard," Ash muttered to himself. "Now that's what I call bravery. And he's worried about the others like how Beedrill is worried about Arcus, only Bulbasaur's reason for it is clear to me. If only I know what to do now…"
Just then, a thick dark green smoke appeared, covering the entire village within seconds.
"What the?!" Brock exclaimed as he dropped the pail of water in his hand. "Where did this smoke come from?"
A Staryu that was next to Brock looked around anxiously before it jumped into the water, attempting to escape a danger it was sensing.
Around the village, the rest of the Pokémon panicked, not knowing what to do as a hiss could be heard as the Pokémon disappeared one by one. And when the Paras from before was caught, Pikachu saw a pair of hands which belonged to people that he knew was bad news.
"Ash! I think I know who's behind this."
"Who is it, Pikachu?" Ash asked as he covered his mouth.
"It's Team Rocket! They're trying to capture all the Pokémon while using the smoke as cover!"
"Why those sneaky…"
Melanie blinked in surprise. "Who are this Team Rocket?"
"They're a bunch of bad people, Melanie," Misty replied. "They steal Pokémon from others to benefit themselves and I guess they're trying to steal all of the Pokémon from this village."
"Pikachu! Where are you going?" Ash cried as he watched Pikachu run into the smoke.
"I have to warn Beedrill!" Pikachu replied as he disappeared into the smoke.
Ash sighed. "Then I guess we'll have to get rid of the smoke first. Butterfree, Pidgeotto, Zubat, come out and use Whirlwind!" As soon as all three of the Pokémon mentioned were called out, they began flapping their wings as fast as they could, causing the dark smoke to be blown away from the area and fade away.
That was when they saw Team Rocket, with a net filled with the Pokémon that they caught.
"Looks like we've been caught," James said.
"There you are, Team Rocket!" Ash cried as he pointed his index finger at them. "You can't steal those Pokémon! They're all injured and they don't belong to you!"
"We can do whatever we want, brat," Jessie replied with a smirk. "We're Team Rocket, after all!"
Melanie narrowed her eyes at them as she spoke. "So these are Team Rocket."
"To protect the world from devastation..."
"To unite all people within our nation..."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."
"To extend our reach to the stars above..."
"Jessie."
"James."
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!"
Ash frowned. "Looks like they won't stop saying that dumb motto of theirs. Alright, guys! Let's get those Pokémon back! Pidgeotto, Quick Attack! Butterfree, Sleep Powder! Zubat, Bite!"
James simply smirked. "Koffing, Sludge!"
As all three of Ash's Pokémon lunged at Koffing, the Poison Gas Pokémon spewed sludge at them, only managing to hit Butterfree as Zubat bore its fangs at Koffing while Pidgeotto emitted a white glow as he accelerated.
"Ekans, use Wrap on Pidgeotto!" Jessie commanded.
Ekans complied, slithering its way towards the attacking Bird Pokémon. Then, in a split second, Ekans leapt into the air and curled its body as Pidgeotto's beak went through the space in between Ekans's body, which bound the Bird Pokémon's beak while Ekans continued wrapping around his body.
Once Pidgeotto has fallen, Koffing fired another sludge at Zubat, who had no chance of dodging. Zubat took a direct hit from the attack and it hissed out in pain as Koffing proceeded to slam into it, sending the Bat Pokémon crashing in front of Ash.
"Butterfree, Sleep Powder on Ekans. Zubat, get up and use Leech Life!"
Both the mentioned Pokémon got up and removed the sludge from their bodies as they lunged at Ekans. Butterfree's wings began releasing sparkling blue powder, which landed on Ekans's body that caused it to feel sleepy.
Following that, Zubat bore its fangs as it bit down onto Ekans, draining its energy as Zubat replenishes its own.
Ash smiled. "Pidgeotto, break free and use Quick Attack on Koffing!"
Pidgeotto complied. With all his might, the Bird Pokémon spread his wings, breaking free from Ekans as he flew into the air and dived down at Koffing, knocking the Poison Gas Pokémon out before its Trainer could say anything else.
"Koffing!" James cried as he ran over to his Pokémon.
"Ekans, my darling!" Jessie gasped.
The two Pokémon were weakened, but they weren't defeated yet. As they got up, their Trainers smiled proudly at them as they gave their Pokémon new commands.
"Use Bite on that pesky Bat Pokémon!" Jessie called out to her Ekans.
"Tackle that annoying Butterfree, Koffing!" James said.
As the two Pokémon proceeded to attack their targets, Meowth made his way towards Pikachu, who was trying to wake Beedrill up. "That Pikachu won't know what hit him once he tastes my Fury Swipes."
Meowth crept closer to the Mouse Pokémon and he unsheathed his claws. Once he was behind Pikachu, he pounced. "Scram, mouse!" Before Pikachu could realize it, Meowth had slashed his claws at Pikachu's right cheek, which caused Pikachu to yelp in pain as he was knocked aside by the Scratch Cat Pokémon.
"Now that the Mouse Pokémon is down, I guess this is my chance to…huh?"
He couldn't believe his own eyes when he saw it. Beedrill was awake and he looked energized. Behind the Poison Bee Pokémon was the Baby Pokémon, who was turning and shifting himself as he slept. Meowth felt his fear rise as Beedrill raised his front stingers up.
"Looks like we meet again, Meowth," Beedrill growled.
Meowth smiled nervously as he waved his paw at him. "Nice to see you too, Beedrill. So what have you been up to?"
"You better start running."
"Got it," Meowth replied as he turned around and screamed, running away from the enraged Poison Bee Pokémon who furiously thrusts his stingers at the Scratch Cat Pokémon. "Stop it! Stop it! Get this Bug Pokémon away from me!"
Ash noticed this and he took out his Beedrill's Pokéball. "Beedrill, help your friend out!" As soon as his own Beedrill was out, it flew towards Meowth and stood directly in front of him, scaring the Scratch Cat Pokémon as he stopped in his path.
"Great, now there's two of them!" Meowth groaned as he lashed out at Ash's Beedrill with his Fury Swipes, only to be blocked by its stingers.
Ash ran over to Pikachu and picked him up. "Pikachu, are you alright, pal?"
Pikachu placed a hand on his bruised cheek and winced at the pain. "I'll be find, Ash. What about Arcus? How is he?"
"Let me check," Ash replied as he gently laid Pikachu down and turned his attention to the Baby Pokémon. Ash sighed in relief when he saw that Arcus had zero injuries and he picked up the Baby Pokémon.
However, Ash's relief had changed when he saw Arcus's eyes opened. Ash's body froze in shock, not sure of what he should be doing now that the he was awake. "Uh…good afternoon?"
Arcus's eyes flashed for a moment and a white energy began emitting from his body as Ash stood up with him in his arms. Then, the energy dispersed, spreading all over the area, which caused all of the fighting Pokémon to halt their actions.
"What?" Both Jessie and James said as they looked at their frozen Pokémon. "What's gotten into them?"
Meowth was just as stunned as they were, unsure of what was going on. "What just happened to us?"
"The Son of Arceus has awaken," Beedrill replied as he dropped to the ground while the mark on his chest glowed.
Brock and Misty approached Ash and the Breeder was the first to speak. "What was that?"
"I have no idea," Ash replied. "The first thing I knew was that Arcus just woke up and then he started glowing. Then this happened."
"Wait, he's awake?!" Misty exclaimed.
Pikachu soon got up and he approached the humans, who smiled at him. "Ash, I'm feeling much better now. What do you want me to do?"
Ash smiled at his partner. "Pikachu! When did you heal yourself? Never mind that. For now, use Thunderbolt on Team Rocket!"
Pikachu grinned as he turned around to Team Rocket, who were now turning around to run away. However, they were too late. In seconds, Pikachu released his Thunderbolt attack, launching a lightning bolt that struck them and in moments, they were flung into the air.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Meowth cried as they disappeared into the sky.
Melanie quickly ran over to the Pokémon and she removed the net, freeing them from it. "Are you all okay?" The Pokémon all nodded to her and she sighed in relief before turning to Ash. "Thanks for saving them from Team Rocket, Ash."
"It was nothing," Ash replied. "If Arcus hadn't done what he just did, I wasn't sure if we could beat them though."
Bulbasaur looked up at Ash with narrowed eyes. The boy had reacted much quicker than it had. He had saved the village while it had just stood there in shock. If it wasn't for him, who knows what they might have done. Perhaps he was wrong about him.
Melanie noticed Bulbasaur's look and smiled as she turned to Ash. "Ash, don't you think that Bulbasaur would make a great addition to your team?"
Hearing this, both Ash and Bulbasaur looked at her with shocked expressions. Ash shook his head. "No, Melanie. Bulbasaur is needed by the village. I can't just take him from the place. What would happen if Team Rocket comes back?"
"I think Bulbasaur should go with you," Melanie replied as she picked up the Seed Pokémon. "Bulbasaur stayed here to protect the weaker Pokémon but this village is too small. The bulb on its back can't grow. It needs to go out into the world and I know you would take good care of it. Please do me this favor, Ash. Please take Bulbasaur with you on your journey. He'll be a good companion."
"But what will happen to the village without Bulbasaur? Who's going to protect you and the Pokémon?" Misty asked.
"It's true that Bulbasaur has done a great job, maybe too great a job," Melanie replied. "You see, these Pokémon shouldn't remain in this village forever and ever. After they recover, the Pokémon are supposed to leave but since it's too safe here, none of them want to go away. They don't want to return to the outside world. But I think it is important for all of them to return to the wild. That's where they belong and hopefully someday, they'll find good Trainers like you."
As she placed Bulbasaur down, she continued. "Of course, taking care of sick Pokémon will always be my mission. But I know my job isn't finish until they return to where they came from. So it's the day when the Pokémon that is the most rewarding to me. So you see, it's time for Bulbasaur to leave here. Please take it with you. I promise that it won't be a burden to you. It has a lot of growing to do. I want it to be in a place where it can grow strong and happy. I'm sure that place is with you, Ash."
"It really depends on what Bulbasaur wants," Ash replied.
In response, Bulbasaur smiled at Melanie as it spoke to her. "Bulba, Bulbasaur!"
"What's it saying?" Ash asked.
Pikachu stepped forward and translated it for him. "Bulbasaur says that he agrees with Melanie. But he wants to battle us first before he joins us."
"Is that true, Bulbasaur?" Ash asked as he gave the Seed Pokémon a smile, where he received a nod from him. "Alright then, let's battle!"
Hearing this, Pidgeotto squawked as he flew over to Ash.
"So you want to have a rematch with Bulbasaur, don't you?" The Bird Pokémon gave him a nod and Ash nodded back to him. "Alright then, Pidgeotto, let's have a battle with Bulbasaur!"
Instinctively, Arcus leapt out of Ash's arms and Beedrill landed on the ground to stand by his side.
With Arcus in Beedrill's care, Ash turned back to Pidgeotto and spoke. "Let's get this started! Pidgeotto, fly up now and use Whirlwind!"
The Bird Pokémon flapped his wings, lifting himself into the air as he began creating his Whirlwind attack, which caused a strong breeze to push Bulbasaur back. In response, Bulbasaur dug his claws into the ground to keep him there. Then, his vines emerged as they struck Pidgeotto.
His Whirlwind attack stopped instantly and Bulbasaur began his counterattack, tackling Pidgeotto.
After being knocked down, Pidgeotto flapped his wings to lift himself up. Then, he turned to Ash who gave him his next command. "Pidgeotto, use Quick Attack!" The Bird Pokémon complied and he dived down at Bulbasaur, emitting a white glow around his body.
The attack was unexpected and Bulbasaur was hit by it. The Seed Pokémon was knocked on his back and Pidgeotto flew up into the air once more as Bulbasaur's vines emerged to lift himself off the ground.
"Pidgeotto, Wing Attack!"
Pidgeotto dived down once more as his wings began to glow. Bulbasaur smirked, knowing that he had beaten the Bird Pokémon before in their last match because of this move. Just like before, Bulbasaur's vines wrapped around the Bird Pokémon's wings.
However, a smirk formed on Ash's face. "Pidgeotto, spin around! Pull Bulbasaur up into the air and use Quick Attack!" Pidgeotto followed Ash's commands, rotating his entire body as Bulbasaur was pulled towards him.
Once Bulbasaur was in the air, his vines loosened and Pidgeotto instantly broke free before diving towards him as his body emitted a white glow. Bulbasaur's eyes widened as he crossed his vines to defend himself, only to be knocked back towards the ground from the impact of the attack.
"Again, Quick Attack!"
Pidgeotto nodded to his Trainer as he folded his wings and dived down. Before Bulbasaur could do anything else, the Bird Pokémon crashed into him, causing the ground to crack underneath him as a small crater formed.
The Bird Pokémon emerged from it, exhausted as he collapsed on his back and panted while Ash approached him. "Good job, Pidgeotto. I'll take it from here." As he brought out an empty Pokéball, he gently tapped it on the Seed Pokémon's head.
As soon as the capsule tapped his head, Bulbasaur was absorbed into it by a red glow. The Pokéball shook for a few times as a red light blinked before it stopped completely, signaling that Ash had caught Bulbasaur. Ash smiled as he walked over to the Pokéball and picked it up. "We did it, Pidgeotto! We caught Bulbasaur!"
The Bird Pokémon smiled, knowing that he had finally defeated the Seed Pokémon after being beaten by him. Then, he was reabsorbed into his own Pokéball. "Take a good rest, Pidgeotto. You deserve it!" As he tucked the Bird Pokémon's capsule under his belt, he returned the rest to theirs before he raised Bulbasaur's up. "Welcome to the team, buddy!"
After being released from the Pokéball, Bulbasaur was approached by Melanie and the rest of the Pokémon. "Take care of yourself, Bulbasaur," Melanie said as she gave the Seed Pokémon a hug. "And have a safe trip."
"I promise to take good care of him, don't worry," Ash said as he patted Bulbasaur's head.
Melanie nodded. "Thank you, Ash. And thank you, Bulbasaur. You've been here with us for so long and you've protected us as well. I hope you'll do the same while you're with Ash." Bulbasaur simply nodded to her.
"Melanie, I've been thinking," Brock spoke as he approached her. "Since is leaving, I wouldn't mind staying and helping you out."
"It's very kind of you," Melanie replied. "But we'll be okay. I wouldn't want to keep you from all of your wonderful adventures."
Hearing that, Brock felt his heart sank. "Oh…I guess you're right."
"Good bye, all of you," Melanie said as she watched them leave. "I hope you'll have a wonderful time with Bulbasaur!"
Bulbasaur gave them one last glance before turning back. His eyes shut themselves, not wanting to show his tears. Then, he felt Ash's hand on his back. "Don't worry, Bulbasaur, you'll see your friends again. As soon as they feel better, they'll leave this village too."
The Seed Pokémon gave him a smile as they walked along the path. Perhaps staying with the boy was a good idea after all.
"So, what did Melanie say? Huh?" Misty teased as she leaned closer to Brock. "Did you kiss her good bye?"
"That's enough of the questions! Will you please stop embarrassing me already?" Brock cried as he began to blush again.
"Did I miss something? What's going on?" Ash asked as he watched the two quarrel with each other. Then, he turned to Arcus, who was walking beside his legs with Beedrill hovering above him. Ash smiled as he bent down to speak to the Baby Pokémon. "At least you're finally awake, little guy. Hope you'll enjoy staying with us too!"
Arcus tilted his head on confusion at the boy's words but smiled anyway as he let out a soft grunt before he was picked up by Ash while the made their way down the path to their next stop, Vermilion City.
Me: So how was that? After a long hiatus, I feel like I'm getting rusty. Sorry if it was bad, folks!
Arcus: Look on the bright side, at least I'm finally awaken. But I do feel as if my personality will change a lot in this rewrite.
Me: That's because it will change, majorly if I might add. Anyway, I won't spoil on that so you readers will have to wait. But now that Arcus is up and ready, I'll introduce the next OC after Vermilion City is done. Which of course will be Angel. So get ready, girl!
Angel: *Smiles* You don't have to tell me twice!