Wildstar93: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! I can't believe how focused on it I am now. I thought I'd put it to the side to write some more of my books, but I guess time has other ideas.
So...Mount Moon. Home of the Pokémon fossils, the Moon Stone, and too many Zubat. In the anime, it took them just one episode to get between Pewter City and Cerulean City, but hey, at least it showed a Zubat colony. As one person asked me, will Brock get a Zubat this time? Will Ash and his friends make it through Mount Moon unscathed? Will Ash quit using the Pokédex?
Okay, the last answer is no. But as for the rest, you'll have to see for yourself.
Uploading Date: September 26, 2015
Enjoy!
...
Deep In Mount Moon
"Are we there yet?" Ash asked for the third time they were in the cave.
Brock was about to answer when Misty retorted, "For the third time, no! We'll get there when we get there!"
The four of them had gone into Mount Moon at last, but it was as tough as Ash's mother had said. There were lots of Zubat resting on the ceiling of the cave, and Ash scanned it on his Pokédex: "Zubat is the Bat Pokémon. It checks its surroundings and location using reflections of the ultrasonic waves from its mouth." He put it back to see the blue bat-like Pokémon, watching them with...invisible eyes, but he guessed they were watching them by hearing them with their big ears.
"Zubat here, Zubat there, this place is crowded by Zubat!" Ash exclaimed.
"Well, we don't want to wake them up," Brock told him in a hushed whisper. "So try and keep it down."
Ash quickly nodded. He tried staying as quiet as Pikachu, who clung onto his shoulder and held a paw to his mouth, indicating silence. This made Ash laugh a little from how Pikachu was displaying human traits, but he remembered Brock's warning, so he quieted down.
Not only were there flocks of Zubat, but it was also pretty dark in there. Ash had to use the Pokédex to light the way for him and his friends to go up ahead. As they headed into the cave, they saw what looked like little crab Pokémon with mushrooms on their backs scuttle out of the way. His Pokédex beeped, and it said, "Paras is the Mushroom Pokémon. Mushrooms called tochukaso grow on its back. They grow along with the host Paras."
"Shh!" Misty suddenly hissed at him. "What did Brock just say? Turn that Pokédex off, and be quiet!"
Ash felt ashamed, but he pushed down the sadness from being scolded at. "Okay," he mumbled.
"Pika..." Pikachu said, licking his cheek before glaring at the back of Misty's head.
"It's okay, buddy," Ash said, patting Pikachu's head. He had almost forgotten that Pikachu was a therapy Pokémon, to help him out with emotional problems. "She's right, anyway. We gotta keep down the noise."
Pikachu nodded, holding his paw to his own mouth.
At the front, Brock was asking, "So Daisy, find anything yet?"
Daisy put down a map she had made of Mount Moon. "No, not yet," she said. "More dead ends, and more Paras and Zubat."
"Maybe we might find a Moon Stone or two," Brock remarked. "Those are rare stones, and few Pokémon can evolve that way. Especially the Clefairy here."
Ash joined in the talk by asking, "Clefairy?"
Misty caught up with them too, saying, "Yeah. They're cute fairy Pokémon that live only here at Mount Moon. I heard it's the only place in the world you can find them."
"I don't know about that," Brock said with a grin. "From what I heard, Clefairy could also be found in Sinnoh, Unova, and Hoenn. Though they're pretty rare since they're shy and nocturnal."
Ash listened on, happy to learn this new information. As his mother had told him, you could learn something new every day.
All of a sudden, a scream echoed in the cave. It frightened Ash so much that he huddled next to Daisy, who had been surprised by the scream and with Ash clinging onto her.
"What's wrong?" Daisy asked, a hint of pink blush on her face.
"Did you hear that?" Ash asked as Pikachu's ears twitched for the sound again.
"I'm hearing it too," Brock said. "That, and I see a light at the end of this cave."
"Well, what're we waiting for?" Misty spoke up, pushing her way to the front. "Let's go!"
So they made their way over to the light, and when they stepped out, they were amazed. They were outside the mountain, but they were still surrounded by the mountain. In this little clearing, there was some grass, and a stream cut its way through the middle. The weather outside was good, the wind a little cool and the sun shining overhead.
But they stopped looking around when they saw where the scream had come from. A man was being swarmed by a big flock of Zubat, clutching something and keeping it away from them.
"That guy's being attacked by Zubat!" Daisy whispered.
"Butterfree, I choose you!" Ash called, throwing Butterfree's PokéBall out. As Butterfree came out with a cry, he called, "Help Pikachu drive away those Zubat! Thundershock and Confusion!"
His friends gave him surprised looks before they nodded. "Beedrill, Poison Sting!" Daisy called, summoning Beedrill.
Misty and Brock did the same with Staryu and Geodude respectively. At their commands, Pikachu, Butterfree, and Beedrill started firing electricity, psychic waves and poisonous darts at the Zubat swarm. Beside them, Staryu and Geodude launched a Water Gun and a Rock Throw at them. Out of all the moves, Pikachu, Butterfree, and Geodude's moves did the most damage while Beedrill's attack did the least.
The attacks did the trick anyway. The Zubat swarm was startled into flight as they started to head back into the cave. Just then, Ash saw Brock toss out a PokéBall, and one unlucky Zubat was caught and sucked inside. The ball rolled around three times before it stopped with a click.
"I thought you liked Rock types?" Ash asked curiously.
"Just because gym leaders use one type doesn't mean they can't experience with others," Brock informed him. To the man in the white lab coat, he asked, "You okay, sir?"
The man got up thanks to Daisy and Misty and nodded, clutching some note. "Yes, I am now, thanks," he said. "And thank you so much for driving those Zubat away! If you kids weren't around, they would've taken my notes! They say man's best friend is a Pokémon, and with you guys, I believe it!" He adjusted his glasses and said, "By the way, don't call me 'sir'. Just Seymour will do, and I've been studying how Clefairy is connected to the Moon Stone."
"I heard they evolve with a Moon Stone," Ash said, happy to share Brock's smarts with other people.
"I mean besides that," Seymour told him. "I mean, why they are linked to the Moon Stone, and what they do with it. That, and I want you to see something."
He started heading into the cave where the Zubat fled into. Ash felt confused. Why would Seymour head in that direction. But he saw his friends already going ahead of him, so he and Pikachu headed inside after them.
Ash was expecting darkness when he got into the cave. But instead, there were lights on the walls, lights that were too bright for the cave. As he and his friends followed Seymour through the cave, they noticed something odd. A group of Paras was on the pathway, plucking their mushrooms off their backs and planting them in the ground. Several brown shrew-like Pokémon called Sandshrew were lying down on their backs, panting and looking uncomfortable.
"What's going on?" Ash asked.
"That's what I'm figuring out," Seymour said. "The Paras are taking the mushrooms off their backs, and the heat is causing the Sandshrew to try and cool themselves down. Whoever put those lights there are disrupting nature."
"But why would they do that?" Misty asked. "Who'd be dumb enough to disrupt the Pokémon here?"
Seymour had started jotting stuff down on his notes. "It could be the Moon Stone, said to be a million years old, and it's said to lie deep in these caves. Though no one has found it, we've studied its fragments for years and discovered it increases a Pokémon's power. It may even enhance Mega Evolution!" he added with a smile.
Ash was very curious now. "Mega Evolution? What's that?"
"We don't know that yet," Seymour said. "But we heard that it's said to bring out a Pokémon's potential power and make it more powerful!"
Wow...that sounds awesome! Ash thought, his heart swelling in awe. He wondered if Pikachu could go through this Mega Evolution, or maybe Pidgey, Butterfree, or Nidoran.
Just then, something was passing by them. Thanks to the light in the cave, they saw that it was a light pink fairy-like Pokémon bouncing happily by them, singing "Clefairy, Clefairy". It was even holding a shard of what looked like a meteor in its chubby hands.
"Clefairy is the Fairy Pokémon," Ash's Pokédex announced. "It is said that happiness will come to those who see a gathering of Clefairy dancing under a full moon."
They watched as Clefairy danced around the corner and went into one tunnel, vanishing from their view. Ash was just about to ask Pikachu what he thought of the Clefairy when a frightened Pokémon's cry echoed from the tunnel. Clefairy's in trouble! he thought and started heading down the tunnel.
A Meowth was blocking the way, two adults with familiar white suits that had the letter R on the front. Ash now recognized them. They were these thugs called Team Rocket, the three who had attacked them at the Viridian City Pokémon center. Right now, one of them was clutching the terrified Clefairy, which was wailing and flailing around in the lavender-haired man's clutches. To Ash's fury, Meowth ended up clawing at its face, making it wail even louder.
"Hey!" Ash called, making them look around. "Let Clefairy go!"
The two adults looked up from the Clefairy before glaring at them in anger. "It's those twerps again!" the red-haired woman named Jessie growled. "From Viridian City!"
"How did they find us and the others out here?" the lavender-haired man named James asked.
The talking Meowth responded, "Don't worry! Send out your Pokémon, and those twoips will be history!"
"And who's the other twerp?" Jessie asked, gesturing to Brock.
"I'm Brock, the Pewter City gym leader," Brock said. "And who are you?"
The two adults and Meowth chuckled darkly before launching into the motto Ash had heard from before.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!" the redheaded woman announced.
"James!" the violet-haired man added.
"Team Rocket! Blasting off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!" the Meowth added.
"I've heard of this group!" Seymour said as he hid behind Ash and his friends. "They steal and mistreat Pokémon. I'm not a fighter, so please save the Clefairy!"
"Pidgey! Butterfree! I choose you!" Ash called as he sent out his other two Pokémon.
"Geodude and Zubat, let's go!" Brock called. As Geodude and a Zubat emerged from their PokéBalls, Daisy and Misty gave him looks of surprise. He just shrugged and said, "What? I thought I'd catch a little something while the Zubat were distracted."
That's like with Daisy and her Beedrill, Ash mused, thinking of back when they were in Viridian Forest.
Speaking of Beedrill, he, Eevee, and Magikarp were sent out of their PokéBalls, ready to fight. Alongside them, Misty had called out Goldeen, Staryu, and Starmie, the latter two standing between Goldeen to support her.
"It's a shiny Magikarp!" Meowth exclaimed, his eyes glowing with greed. Ash could see them look over at the shiny Magikarp flailing and sparkling and wanting to get into the fight.
Jessie and James shared delighted looks before the former said, "Well, what're we waiting for? Let's grab it!"
"Not while I'm around!" Daisy retorted. "Beedrill, Poison Sting! Eevee, Iron Tail!"
Beedrill fired poisonous darts at Ekans while Eevee jumped at Koffing, her tail glowing silver. Ekans lowered its head to avoid the darts fired at him, and Koffing was forced back into a corner, keeping afloat with its gases. Even Magikarp got into the battle, flopping and slapping at any intruder with her tail.
Suddenly, four Rattata and three other Zubat emerged from the darkness, charging into battle. Behind Jessie and James were two other people, with black suits bearing the red letter 'R' on the front. Now the battle had turned into a ten-on-ten match between the good guys and the bad guys.
"Pikachu and Butterfree, Thundershock and Confusion on the Zubat!" Ash called as he recalled doing the same to the wild Zubat swarm.
Pikachu and Butterfree fired their attacks at the Zubat, hoping to scare them off. But instead of retreating, the swarm opened their mouths and let out loud squeaks that echoed throughout the cave. Ash could not stand the sound, but he could not lose focus. Instead, he directed Pidgey and Pikachu over to the swarm of Rattata that were running at them.
In the meantime, Geodude and Starmie were defending a flopping Goldeen from Koffing and Ekans. Ekans had just wrapped its coils around Starmie, trying to bite the gem in its center, when Pidgey rammed into Ekans, striking it with her wings. The snake Pokémon turned its attention to her, hissing and lunging at her with its fangs bared. It was too late for Pidgey to flee, for Ekans's glare paralyzed her, and she ended up getting wrapped up in its coils.
"Pidgey!" Ash called, his heart beating from dread as Ekans began squeezing Pidgey hard. It was like with Butterfree all over again; he did not want to lose a Pokémon for real this time. And whenever Pikachu got close to free Pidgey, Ekans would warn him back with an angry hiss.
That was when Pidgey began glowing white, forcing Ekans to let her go. She was growing taller, and feathers were growing out of her head. When the glowing stopped, a bigger bird was in her place with a pinkish-red head crest, spreading larger wings than a Pidgey's wings.
Ash's Pokédex beeped, and he took it out so it could say, "Pidgeotto is the Bird Pokémon, and it evolves from Pidgey. It flies over its wide territory in search of prey, downing it with its highly developed claws."
"Pidgeotto, Tackle!" Ash called, happy that another one of his Pokémon had evolved. "Follow it up with Gust!"
Pidgeotto chirped with resolution and charged at Koffing, knocking it back at a lunging Ekans. Then she started flapping her wings hard, summoning a more powerful gust. Cheered by Pidgeotto's evolution, the gang's Pokémon started fighting back. Pikachu started firing electric spheres on his tail and flinging them at the Zubat, Butterfree and Beedrill dived among them and fired their attacks, and Geodude, Eevee, and Staryu were helping Starmie be rid of Meowth, all teaming up on him.
Finally, the Team Rocket grunts could take it no more. They started recalling their Pokémon and began stepping back. Jessie and James did the same, but not before bringing out their nets. Meowth did the same.
"Retreat!" one of the black-clothed grunts growled at them. "Get the lights! We got what we wanted anyway!"
"But what about that Magikarp?" James called back, a hint of a whine in his voice. "It's shiny!"
The grunt snarled at him, "Do you value your pride or Pokémon? Now let's get the lights and retreat! We'll get back at them!"
So they collected all their stuff, and they all started heading down towards the back tunnel. Ash looked away from them and saw Pikachu and Butterfree complimenting Pidgeotto on evolving at last. He got them over to Daisy, who had started healing the rest of the Pokémon along with Brock. He had forgotten how good a nurse Daisy was to their Pokémon.
"Ash, that was a really reckless thing to do. You could've been killed!" Misty scolded Ash, who lowered his gaze in shame. But then she smiled and said, "But I gotta admit that you're pretty brave too."
Now Ash looked up at her with a smile. "Thanks, Misty. But I'm not really that brave."
"All four of you are really brave," Seymour said with wide eyes. "Thanks for saving the Clefairy! Now they'll be able to live happily on in Mount Moon, and thanks to Team Rocket taking their lights with them, the native Pokémon will be back to normal soon." He dug into his backpack and fished out two rocks. "These here are the Helix Fossil and the Dome Fossil, discovered here in Mount Moon. I was going to take them to Cinnabar Island and revive them at the lab there, but since you saved the Pokémon here, how about you do it for me?"
Ash and his friends shared excited looks. They would finally see prehistoric Pokémon brought to life at Cinnabar. But who would take them?
"I'll take the Dome Fossil," Brock spoke up at last. "If they're fossils, then these Pokémon ought to be Rock-types."
"And I'll take the Helix Fossil," Misty added.
Seymour smiled. "That's great!" he said. "They'll be revived into powerful Pokémon, that's for sure! By the way," he went on, fishing something out of his pockets. He showed them glowing dark gray stones, saying, "While you were fighting those crooks, I managed to bag some of the shards of the Moon Stone. If you tap a Pokémon on the head with this, they'll evolve! Do you have any Pokémon who can evolve this way?"
"No, but I have a Nidoran," Ash said, accepting one of the stones. "Doesn't it evolve with a Moon Stone?"
Misty looked incredulous at what Ash said, apparently miffed that he did not know about this, but Daisy and Brock looked more patient. "Close," the former said, giving Misty a warning look. "It has to evolve into a Nidorino first before it can use the Moon Stone."
"Correct!" Seymour added. Clefairy was nodding in agreement, chirping, "Clef, Clefairy!"
"So are you gonna join us?" Brock asked as he and Misty put the fossils in their bags. "We can always have more companions. The more, the merrier."
"No thank you," Seymour declined. "I'm going to stay here for a while before I return to Pewter City. Good luck on your journey, kids! I hope we meet again!"
So they waved their goodbyes and went on their way. It was darker than it was with Team Rocket's lights around, but at least the Pokémon were at peace now. Ash used his Pokédex's light to see how they were doing. The Zubat swarm snoozed above them, and the Paras were putting the mushrooms they planted earlier back onto their backs.
They had some more ways to go until they would reach the exit. During that, Ash took the time to scan his Pokémon on the Pokédex, turning the volume down as he remembered Brock and Misty's warnings. Pikachu currently knew Thundershock, Quick Attack, Double Team, and the electric sphere move called Electro Ball. Butterfree and Pidgeotto's moves were the same, though he was sure Pidgeotto's attacks had gotten stronger. His Butterfree had gone through the same thing, and though Misty's Staryu and Starmie were related, Starmie was stronger.
Finally, the cave opened way to a path outside, and as they got outside, it was sunset already. The sky was already orange from the sunset, with creamy pink clouds rolling above them. It was leading away from the mountains and out towards what looked like a city in the distance. Ash was just wondering if they were there when Brock took out the map.
"Yep, we got through," he said. "And it took us nearly a day to get through!"
"A whole day?" Misty asked, surprised as she looked out towards the city. "Can we stay one more night out here? Just before we go there?"
Brock shook his head. "Nah. Ash's mom will want to check on him, and I wanted to see if Dad's doing okay with the kids."
Ash listened to their banter before looking around at a bush near the path. In front of the bush was a sign that said Route 4. Next: Cerulean City in large black letters. But he also noticed something smaller and written in red. His friends noticed him and went over to the sign, reading it.
"'Gary was here. Ash is a loser,'" Daisy read the small message, and Ash couldn't help but feel low as he gently rocked himself on his feet. It seemed that Gary's hatred of him was still strong. He saw Daisy glare towards Cerulean City and hiss, "My brother's really something, isn't he?"
"Hey, you were talking about him before we got into Mount Moon," Brock piped up. "Wasn't he the kid who always picked on him in school?"
Daisy nodded. "Yep. He's the one...well, not the only one." She had noticed Ash looking down and asked, "You okay? Gary saying all that's not bothering you, is it?"
"A bit," Ash lied, for the way his former friend was treating him was painful. But he could not give up now. He would not cry and cower and let Gary bully him all his life. "But I won't give up. I'll show him that I can be as good a Pokémon trainer as him. Right, Pikachu?" he asked his therapy Pokémon.
"Pika!" Pikachu answered.
To be continued...
...
Warrior Cat Cody: There we go, done at last! Not with the story, though. I don't know when it'll end, but when it gets there, it gets there. And I hope you like this chapter. If not or if you see anything wrong here, let me know, and I'll fix it. I appreciate constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it.
And to one reviewer not on this story (Avatar Cat: The Last AirClan Cat Book 3): I do respect Zuko; I just came up with a warrior name, and that's it. Nothing bad. Please don't insult the way I name cats or others in my Warrior stories. Thank you.
Ash: Pikachu (Thundershock, Quick Attack, Double Team, Electro Ball), Pidgeotto (Wing Attack, Gust, Sand Attack, Wing Attack), Butterfree (String Shot, Confusion, Tackle, Gust)
At Professor Oak's: Nidoran (Peck, Double Kick, Focus Energy, Poison Sting)
Daisy: Eevee (Tackle, Iron Tail, Helping Hand, Tail Whip), Beedrill (Poison Sting, Agility, String Shot, Pin Missile), Magikarp (Splash)
Misty: Staryu (Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Harden), Starmie (Swift, Water Pulse, Recover, Rapid Spin), Goldeen (Splash, Water Gun, Horn Attack, Tail Whip)
Brock: Geodude (Rock Throw, Rock Polish, Tackle, Defense Curl), Onix (Rock Tomb, Rock Polish, Tackle, Bind)
See ya next time!