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The Road to the League
by Sailor Chronos
Chapter Nine: Many Happy Returns
They flew for the rest of the day and into the night. Heather had no worries about straying off course because Eagle's sharp vision enabled him to see for a fair distance. He was much stronger now, but she still insisted that Firey and Fletch take turns being wingmen and that they all land and rest every so often.
During their breaks she had wing-stretching sessions with Skye. The young Articuno's flight feathers were beginning to grow in, and she estimated that the bird would be flying in another two to three weeks. After that would come the real training, and it would take a long time for Skye to gain her higher-level attacks like Blizzard.
Heather was half-asleep by the time Eagle squawked to announce that they were approaching Pallet Town. When they landed she put the birds into their PokeBalls after making much fuss over them, then found herself a bed at the local Pokemon Centre.
In the morning she listened entranced to Nurse Joy's description of the famous Professor Oak and his Pokemon research facility, but she regretfully declined an invitation to visit it because she knew she had to meet up with Christy and Craig at the ferry terminal.
There were tearful hugs all around when the friends reunited, and they shared stories of how they escaped the Viridian Gym. "The Machamp tried to go after you when you jumped through the hole, but it got stuck," Christy said with a smirk. "It got so mad that it started to tear up the floor. The boss... I mean, Giovanni hollered at it then used his cell phone to have people sent down to the lower levels to look for you."
"While he was distracted with all that, we ran out the front doors," Craig continued. "The two guards tried to stop us and asked us what had happened, but we weren't about to tell them. We thought about trying to get you out of there, but decided to run back to Christy's house instead."
Christy shook her head. "We didn't like running away, but you had told us to beat it. When we told my mom, she said that it would be safer for us to split up for a while in case the Team Rocket people tried to track us down. After we left a message with Nurse Joy, Mom drove us here."
"Wow! Sounds like your mom is really nice," Heather said.
"Normally she wouldn't have done something like that, but it was sort of an emergency. I'm glad she understood."
Craig asked, "You flew here on your Pidgeot, I take it?"
"Yup. When your Charmelion becomes a Charizard, you ought to train it to carry you. It's the greatest thing! Oh," she held up the insulated carrying case that she held. "This made that whole adventure in the Viridian Gym worth it!" She opened it to show the egg.
"Cool!" the others exclaimed. "Do you know what kind it is?"
"Nurse Joy told me that it's almost impossible to tell what will hatch from an egg, but I hope that it'll be another bird for my team!"
A whistle sounded. "Come on, we have to get onto the boat!" Christy reminded them, and they boarded the ferry for Seafoam Island.
Professor Westwood was extremely glad to see them when they arrived in the early afternoon, and invited them to stay for lunch. "I finally received the data that I needed from Giovanni, and it has helped immeasurably. I hope you and he got along well?"
The trio of friends looked at one another for a moment. "He's... very sure of himself," Heather said at last, not wanting to upset him by telling him who Giovanni really was. "A bit intimidating."
"He's often like that," Westwood said. "Once you get to know him, though, he's a good man."
"How are you doing with the devolution spray?" Craig asked, deftly changing the subject.
Heather leaned forward eagerly. "Yes, please tell us!"
Westwood hesitated. "I've done tests but so far there hasn't been much progress. I think that I might be missing something."
There was silence for a moment.
"I have an idea," Christy said. "Is is possible that the spray has to be tailored to a Pokemon's type?"
"I thought of that, but a spray that has to be customized isn't efficient. It would be better to have something that's effective on all types of Pokemon."
"Then what do all Pokemon have in common as far as evolution is concerned?" asked Craig.
The Professor considered. "Their energy levels increase substantially as they change form, which is why an injured Pokemon can appear to be healed after it evolves. Their personalities change, and they become tougher and able to take more damage in a battle."
"So if a Pokemon de-evolved, those three changes would be reversed," Heather theorized. "The Pokemon would revert to its previous form, personality and energy level. Would it be reasonable to assume that it retains its experience and any special abilities it learned?"
"Yes, provided that its previous form is able to perform those moves," said Craig. "A Kakuna can't do a Twineedle attack like a Beedrill can." He paused as Professor Westwood stood up. "What?"
Westwood slowly walked away from the table, talking to himself. "Reversed energy... Capacity decrease..." He looked back at them for a brief second to say, "I'll be right back!" before hurrying out.
His "right back" turned out to be several hours. In the interim, Heather and her friends amused themselves by swimming and playing with their Pokemon on the beach behind the house. Skye and Christy's Staryu battled each other to a draw.
At last the Professor emerged from the house, carrying a small spray bottle in his hand. "Eureka!" he proclaimed happily. "It's amazing how a fresh perspective can motivate you. I hadn't taken into account the reduction of a Pokemon's energy capacity." He held up the spray. "So here we have it. I haven't tested it yet, and I thought-"
Christy held up her hands. "No way am I turning my Golduck into a guinea-pig!"
"I'll have a talk with Loki," Heather said, and walked over to where the Raichu was sitting on the sand, looking sad. She sat down next to him but didn't say anything for a while. Instead she looked out at the ocean as the warm breeze ruffled her hair. "I don't blame you for feeling that way," she said finally. "I think we've both become accustomed to your being a Raichu now." She petted him. "I won't force you to try this, but please think about it. You're much more powerful as a Raichu than as a Pikachu, but on the other hand, if you remain this way you'll never be able to learn any new attacks."
"Rai." Loki nodded; he already knew that.
Heather smiled. "Whatever you decide, I'll always be your friend."
Loki hopped into her lap and they spent a few more minutes watching the waves. Then he abruptly wriggled out of her arms and walked over to Westwood. "Rai-chu!" He pointed at the spray.
The Professor was a little taken aback. "Are you sure?"
"Rai!"
"Okay, here goes."
Heather couldn't watch. She only heard a soft hiss as Westwood squeezed the bottle. There was a pause, then the hairs on her arms stood on end as a bolt of lightning streaked past her and out toward the water, leaving scorch marks on the sand. "RAI!" She turned to look. Loki was still a Raichu, and he was furious. The spray hadn't worked!
Scrambling to her feet, she ran forward to comfort her Pokemon. Westwood shouted a warning but she wasn't listening. When she tried to pick Loki up, he lashed out with another blast, knocking her down. "Loki, stop!" she cried as she managed to get to her hands and knees.
An alarm began to ring nearby, and she briefly wondered if Loki's electricity had accidentally set off someone's security system.
"Catch him!" Christy yelled as she and the others backed off. "He's out of control!"
Reluctantly Heather threw a PokeBall but Loki swatted it away with his tail and glared at her. She glared right back; his anger might be justified but she wasn't going to put up with this nonsense any more. "Loki, behave yourself right now! You're being immature!"
"Rai!" he growled, and sparks jumped from his cheeks.
"I said STOP!" she hollered, startling him. For a brief moment she thought he would shock her again but he didn't; he just stood there and stared at his feet. Suddenly she realised that despite what she had said before, she didn't want one of her best Pokemon to be so self-centered. "Professor!" she called. "Toss me the spray, I want to try it again!"
"What good will that do?" said Craig. "You saw, it doesn't work!"
"Please!" Heather begged. "I want my Pikachu back!"
Westwood threw the bottle. Unfortunately, before it could reach Heather's outstretched hands, it was caught by a Zubat and taken back to a teenaged girl with a long blonde braid.
"Now we've got your precious spray," she said as a boy with a blue ponytail stepped up beside her. "This will fetch a pretty reward from the boss, not to mention all the rare Pokemon here when we steal them!"
"You again!" Craig said.
Will and Bonnie launched into their motto, but Heather interrupted them halfway through. "How dare you follow us and threaten Professor Westwood's research!" She released Eagle. "Eagle, Whirlwind attack!"
The two Team Rocket members and the Zubat were blown backwards into some trees. Bonnie dropped the spray bottle, which Craig's Spearow caught and returned to him. "I suggest that you remind your boss that I once promised I would trash the headquarters in Saffron City if I was bothered by any of his lackeys again!"
"The boss isn't scared of a little girl like you!" Will said, but Loki made him eat his words by jolting him with a Thundershock. Somehow he managed to stay standing.
Bonnie rushed to his aid. "We're going to keep causing trouble until you either join us or we capture your Pokemon!" she threatened. "Zubat, Supersonic!"
The attack stunned them all briefly, giving Team Rocket the chance to run away, but they didn't get far as they came face to face with an Officer Jenny, who clamped handcuffs on both of them.
"You two are under arrest for trespassing! Is everyone okay here, Professor? I came as fast as I could when I noticed on our computer system that your house's alarm had been activated."
"We're all right, thank you," Westwood replied. He brought a device out of his pocket and disabled the alarm, bringing quiet once more.
"Good. I'll take care of these two."
It was some time before Heather could bring herself to confront Loki again. Despite the loyalty he had shown when Team Rocket had threatened her, she felt that their friendship had been badly damaged by the events of recent weeks. It hadn't been just the sudden evolution, but the ensuing personality conflict that they just couldn't seem to resolve. How could they work things out when she was wary of him and he was so easily provoked?
Eagle paced up to her and began to playfully ruffle her hair with his beak. She laughed and reached up to gently pull his crest.
"It's getting late," Craig said from behind her. "The Professor is going to treat us to dinner at one of the restaurants in town to thank us for helping to stop Team Rocket." He stooped down and handed her the spray. "If you still want to try it, now's as good a time as any. Everyone's waiting."
She hauled herself up; her legs were a little stiff from sitting on the sand so long. Eagle willingly returned to his PokeBall, and she headed to the house. There she noticed that Christy had packed up her backpack for her and was holding onto the case that contained her egg. She nodded her thanks before approaching Loki. "Are you ready to try this again? I want you to be your happy Pikachu self."
Loki simply stood and waited, so she took the bottle, made a silent wish for everything to be all right again, and sprayed him.