Type: Bug
Shipping: MothimShipping

One-Shot 10: Honey Hearty

Ash, Dawn, Brock and their Pokémon friends continued on their journey when they spotted a Vespiquen with a Mothim. Piplup saw the two Bug-Type Pokémon but became scared to seeing the Beehive Pokémon. Dawn felt the shivering Penguin Chick Pokémon. "Piplup, what's wrong?" she asked. "It's not gonna hurt us." Pikachu leaped from Ash's shoulder to Dawn's head to comfort Piplup. The Mothim flew to Piplup and Pikachu, recognizing them before Vespiquen buzzed down.

"Hold on…" Brock warned. "I think Mothim and Vespiquen knows about us." Vespiquen flew to Ash and removed his Trainer's Cap.

"Hey!" he yelped. Studying, Vespiquen nodded to Ash and returned his cap.

"So that's it… You're the Vespiquen we met at Amber Castle!" Vespiquen nodded prior to having Mothim lead the group. They reached a house where a swarm of Combee flew around freely.

"If Vespiquen's from the Amber Castle," Dawn assumed. "So must be the Combee." Vespiquen nodded to the claim as one person came out to greet them.

"It's you guys!" the young woman greeted. All turned to Cheryl, a woman they helped find the castle.

"Cheryl!" cheered Brock. He dashed to her and clasped her hands. "The sweet scent of honey is the aroma to locate the girl of my dreams! There's nothing that can sour this moment!" Croagunk disagreed and delivered a Poison Jab to Brock's side, paralyzing him. "I said sour… not bitter, Croagunk!" Once collapsed, Croagunk dragged Brock away. Ash, Dawn and the Pokémon sighed to more of Brock's antics.

"Only Brock," she muttered. Ash turned to Cheryl for an update.

"Is this where you live?" he asked.

"Indeed," she confirmed. "This is where I take care of my grandfather as well… and then there's the Bug-Type Pokémon." A Combee flew onto Cheryl's hand to greet the group. "Since helping them with the Amber Castle, they've been helping me with making a business out of the sweet honey they've created. Come on in." Taking the invite, the group entered to find jars of the Combee Honey on shelves, all with different uses to them: food, skin care, even made to candles. The sight made Ash admire her work.

"Whoa!" he awed. "What haven't you made out of the honey?" Cheryl giggled to the inspired trainer.

"It's because of Mothim, Vespiquen and the Combee, I've found ways to share the honey with people and Pokémon around the world." Ash and Dawn saw the teamwork Cheryl and the Pokémon have done. "In fact, that's why the Combee have created an extra nest around here to donate the honey they've made." Ash and Dawn became wowed by the experience.

"That's awesome," Dawn cheered. "Vespiquen, I had no idea you can make a network." Vespiquen nodded to Dawn's awe.

"They're not the only ones with the help." Turning, a swarm of Beedrill joined the Combee in delivering pollen. To Dawn, it didn't sit right.

"Wait, didn't you say something about Beedrill before?"

"I did, but that's during travel to find the Amber Castle. Now, the Beedrill have a different purpose." A Beedrill flew to Ash where he smiled as a welcome.

"Thanks for helping Cheryl and the Pokémon, Beedrill," he greeted. Beedrill nodded before flying away. Ash soon found numerous candles with various shapes like Combee, Mothim, Chansey, but one caught Ash's eyes the most as he hurried to the shelf. "Pikachu! Here's one of you!" Pikachu saw the candle of himself, wicks appearing from both ears and tail.

"It almost looks lifelike!" giggled Dawn. Piplup liked the design.

"Pikachu is one of several Pokémon I've designed candles after," Cheryl explained. "Since you've helped me find and protect the Amber Castle, you can take one home. It's on the house."

"Really?" they cheered in excitement. Ash held the Pikachu candle while Dawn had a hard time to choose.

"Should I get one after you?" she wondered. "Or after Buneary?" Piplup began to whine that Dawn wanted something else. Brock, after recovering, chose a Geodude holder.

"This brings back memories of being at the Gym in Pewter City," he recalled. Cheryl wondered about the memory.

"Did you grow up in the gym?" she asked.

"Actually, I was the Gym Leader. My main Pokémon were Geodude and Onix. Now my brother, Forrest, controls it while he has my Onix… though it's evolved to Steelix." Cheryl smiled to the detail. After making their choices, the group stepped out of the house. However, a balloon spelled trouble on the approach. The Meowth-shaped balloon warned everyone of the uncoming danger which the Beedrill didn't want to have around the Vespiquen.

"Team Rocket?!" gawked Ash. Team Rocket stared down at the group while the Beedrill circled around in a triangle formation.

"Listen is that the twerps' gasps I hear?" teased Jessie.

"Their cries are echoing loud and clear," James rhymed.

"On the wind…"

"Pass the stars…" The Beedrill aimed their stingers at the basket and fired Twin Needle attacks.

"In your e-AH!" screeched Meowth as the Twin Needle attacks struck him in the tail. More Twin Needle attacks tagged Jessie and James in the butts which propelled all three from the basket.

"That hurt!" they yelled. Suddenly, they realized none of them were in their balloon. "That'll hurt worse!" All three fell to the ground, plopping face-first. The thuds made Ash and the gang palm their faces.

"That's gotta sting," Ash punned. Jessie was the first to rise, but angrily turned to the Beedrill.

"How dare you guys ruin our motto!" she roared. "And if I wanted something back there, you need to ask permission!" She now turned to Ash. "Secondly, twerp, you need to be punished for that statement!" Ash shrugged his shoulders.

"Not my fault the Beedrill made a beeline at you for invading their busy time." Dawn whistled to the new pun from Ash.

"Never say that Ash doesn't have a sense of humor," she chuckled. Steamed, Jessie grabbed a Pokéball to throw.

"Yanmega, I need you!" she summoned. Yanmega emerged to confront the gang. "Use Ancient Power!" Yanmega charged an after image before using the Rock-Type attack, one Dawn had a counter for.

"Piplup, use Whirlpool!" Piplup charged a Whirlpool and held it. The attack caught the Ancient Power before being propelled back to Team Rocket as Wobbufett emerged. The Patient Pokémon activated Mirror Coat to reflect the rebounding attack. In a last ditch move, Piplup threw the Whirlpool. The attacks collided and snuffed each other.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" ordered Ash. Pikachu fired Thunderbolt at Yanmega who couldn't avoid the attack. Jessie didn't want to leave empty-handed.

"Seviper, you're up!" she brought forth. The Pokéball opened and Seviper emerged. "Use Poison Tail!" Seviper swung the purple blade on the tail. Pikachu and Piplup leaped clear. The Poison Tail knocked debris from the ground and headed toward Vespiquen. Ash raced to her side and punched the debris from sight. He may have spared Vespiquen but he injured his hand in the process.

"Ash!?" gulped Cheryl. Ash shook his hand to get it to function but he couldn't get his fingers to move.

"My hand!" he whined. Cheryl and Brock came to Ash's aid and checked his injured hand.

"Luckily, it's your non-throwing hand," Brock mentioned.

"I didn't want to risk it!" Dawn believed Ash couldn't battle and had to take his place.

"Sit back, Ash!" she warned as she grabbed a Pokéball of her own. "Buneary! Spot… Light!" Buneary emerged from the ball. "Buneary, use Ice Beam!" Buneary fired an Ice Beam attack, blasting Yanmega from the air. Pikachu came to Buneary with an idea and turned to Dawn. "Okay! Buneary, use Bounce!" Pikachu jumped on Buneary's back before both flew into the sky on a bounce. Yanmega slowly recovered and flew back up. Jessie turned to James in which he wasn't part of the battle.

"I can't do this battle by myself!" she called him out.

"Right!" gulped James as he had a Pokéball out. "Carnivine, toot sweet!" The ball opened for the Flytrap Pokémon to emerge. Pikachu and Buneary came falling.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" called Ash. Yanmega climbed but didn't see the falling Electric Mouse Pokémon who decked an Iron Tail attack into the open gullet of Carnivine. Buneary fell after and stomped both Pokémon into Wobbufett. All three Pokémon couldn't continue. Steamed, Jessie blamed James for their fall.

"This is what happens when you don't contribute to the cause!" she snapped. Vespiquen and the Beedrill swarmed the group.

"We've got bigger problems!" alerted Meowth. Vespiquen waived to the Beedrill to attack, where they used all their stingers on Team Rocket.

"Are they all using Twin Needle?" guessed Brock. With one Fury Attack, the Rockets had their faces swollen from the stings.

"Why those…" Jessie growled. Vespiquen buzzed in fast and slashed away at the enemies. Jessie's hair became shaved off. James had his uniform shredded. Meowth's fur cleaved off.

"Vespiquen used Fury Cutter!" determined Cheryl's. Jessie freaked out at the new crew cut.

"My nightmare!" Beyond furious, she whipped out two bazookas. "No one messes with my hair!" That's when Vespiquen and the Beedrill charged up Hyper Beam attacks where they blasted Team Rocket to the sky.

"I don't know what's worse, the sting of defeat or the sting from those Beedrill?!" whined Meowth.

"We're just glad we didn't get poisoned by all those Twin Needle attacks!" cried James.

"That Vespiquen and those Beedrill will know what it means to butcher my hair!" snarled Jessie. All three now flew from the scene.

"We're blasting off again!" they yelled their exit. Buneary came over to praise Pikachu for the teamwork. As Pikachu accepted the praise, he wasn't expecting Buneary to repeatedly kiss his face. Inside, Cheryl treated Ash's injured hand.

"I don't feel any broken bones, so it may take a week or two for your hand to fully heal," she diagnosed.

"Thanks for making sure," Ash praised. "All I was trying to do was protect Vespiquen." The Beehive Pokémon buzzed to knowing Ash's intention. "Thanks for understanding, Vespiquen." Dawn and Brock sighed, knowing their friend's intent.

"When it comes to Pokémon, Ash puts them in front of everything else," Brock summarized. "For some reason, I don't want him to change from that."

"Hey, I'd allow him to watch over Piplup and Buneary if I had something away from Pokémon," Dawn admitted. Noting the time, Brock felt an obligation oncoming.

"We're not gonna get too far tonight. I'll cook up something to eat." He left and Dawn felt a rumble in Piplup.

"Sounds like someone worked up an appetite," she joked. "I'll be back." After the two left, Dawn escorting the Pokémon, Cheryl had her moment with Ash as she massaged his injured hand.

"When I returned from our time at Amber Castle, my grandfather told me the same story of how he met my grandmother," she began. "My grandfather was such an inspiration to Pokémon that my grandmother, who was somewhat older than him, listened as if their ages were the other way around. She listened to his stories and learned how to deal with her Pokémon who often misbehaved." Ash wondered about the story now listening in.

"The Pokémon didn't like being with your grandmother?"

"No, she didn't understand her Pokémon. She may have been his senior but she learned so much that he wanted to reveal her Pokémon to him." Ash became curious to her grandmother's Pokémon.

"What did she have?"

"She had a Mothim… Just like I do." Ash chuckled to the coincidence. "You know, I'm afraid I'm following our family lineage: A young woman falling for a younger man…" Ash seemed fascinated to the coincidence.

"Wait… Are you saying that you're reliving your grandparents' lives?" Cheryl laughed to the realization.

"I know, right? But still, we have quite the connection, even to Pokémon we don't technically own… Wouldn't you say so?" The Combee laughed before Cheryl's lips found Ash's. The Pallet Town trainer felt the sweet taste of her lips. A smile from the green-haired woman revealed one little detail.

"Honey lip balm?" Cheryl's giggle told Ash that he's correct.

"Let's just say it's my nectar of love. Cheating, maybe…" She returned to his lips, her tongue tasting the insides of his cheeks and supplying a tiny honey-flavored donation. It's a good thing Brock and Dawn couldn't see this. Otherwise, it would've been a rather sticky situation, one that would leave Brock a bit stung.

END of BUG
Next up: DRAGON

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