A/N: I'm going to address a question a few of you asked right now. Q: "Why didn't the group call Professor Oak's lab to get Pokemon after theirs were stolen?"
A: "It's because the way I look at it, it all plays into the automated transfer system in the Pokemon world. Despite their Pokemon being stolen, it still recognizes them as having six Pokemon on them. If they tried to get Pokemon from Professor Oak, the system would state an error that they couldn't carry anymore. The only way around that would be to call Professor Oak and let him know what happened. Then Professor would have to call the Silph company who runs the transfer system in Kanto and let them know what happened. Then the Silph company would have to find the correct codes that match Ash, Serena, Brock, and Misty, which could take a while because there are a lot of Pokemon trainers from Kanto. They would then have to key in the correct password to allow special privileges this one time. All of this would take forever, and as you know, time wasn't on the group's hands, and they weren't willing to wait considering how they didn't even wait for Officer Jenny. It was a lot easier to just state this in an author's note rather than say so in story. Aren't you all glad you asked now?"
A couple of you may argue that Ash has a spare spot on his team because he released Charizard. That's true, but despite how powerful they are, how well do you think one Pokemon would do against a crazy, evil, Pokemon hunter with a gun and an arsenal of powerful Pokemon, too. The odds wouldn't be in Ash's favor, even if he had Snorlax.
Now please enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
Chapter Fourteen: The Pokemon Hunter: Part Two
The group had been searching for almost an hour now, and they still hadn't found their Pokemon. It was night, but they didn't care. Though Ash and Serena could follow the path of which direction their Pokemon were in, that didn't mean that Rico wasn't driving his jeep and getting further away from them. He could already be a long way away, and they wouldn't know it. That didn't matter to the group, however. Even if they had to run all day and all night, they would keep going until they found their Pokemon.
They also knew the consequences of their actions, however. Officer Jenny had given them strict orders to stay put and not do anything rash. They were doing the complete opposite. The group had no doubt she had already been to the Pokemon Center and was out looking for them. If she was able to catch them, they would be in serious trouble.
"Are you two able to tell if we're any closer?" Misty asked as they went along.
"No, but I can just tell we're close," Ash replied.
"That doesn't even make sense!" Misty exclaimed in aggravation.
"I think he just means he can feel it even without his aura…like intuition," Brock spoke up.
Misty took another glance up and saw the moon rising in the sky. The small sound of a Hoothoot sounded nearby. It was dangerous to travel like this at nighttime. They would normally have already set up camp by now and eating their supper. The events of earlier today, though, had made them lose their appetite, and they only had one focus now. It still didn't change the time of day, though.
Abruptly, Ash and Serena stopped. Misty and Brock had been behind them and had to screech to halt, also, to avoid crashing into them. Both the water Pokemon trainer and Pokemon breeder looked at them hopefully.
"Did you find him?" Misty whispered.
"Yeah. He's nearby," Ash answered as he and Serena began to walk slowly.
After using her ESP for a while, coupled with the wound to her head, Serena started to get dizzy again. Then again, was it really the wound to her head that was doing this? She didn't feel pain from it anymore, and it was properly cared for and dressed since then. Why did she start getting dizzy again, and why wasn't she dizzy when they were running?
"Serena? Are you okay?" Ash asked quietly.
"Yeah. I'm fine," Serena answered back just as quietly.
"Is it the wound to your head?" Brock inquired.
"Yes," Serena replied before she thought, "At least I think it is."
Ash felt his aura leave him as they crept along the forest path. Even though Ash knew they were about to find who they were after, it was still dangerous. Rico was armed, and they weren't. Now, he didn't have his aura to defend themselves with. Ash took a glance at Serena and saw her eyes were no longer glowing.
"Are you back to normal?" Ash asked.
"I feel like I am," Serena replied before she smiled at Ash. "I'm so glad we able to use them just now."
Ash was about to agree, but he stopped himself. He still hadn't forgotten how he was acting earlier when their Pokemon first got stolen. It felt like his typical aura, but at the same time it was different. At least it didn't do that this time. One thing was certain. It was definitely not intended to do good. Should he tell Serena about it? Should he tell is dad about it?
Ash's thoughts were interrupted as they approached a clearing. They immediately stopped and hid behind a couple of trees before they peaked out. A tent was pitched up in the clearing with a set of smoking logs nearby where a campfire had just been put out. The group narrowed their eyes as this had to be the place where Rico was.
It actually proved to be fortunate that it was nighttime as Rico was asleep which would make it easier to take back their Pokemon. After they rescued them, they could find Officer Jenny and lead her to where Rico was. That action would certainly excuse them from disobeying her.
As they looked around, they could see his Fearow next to the tent. It had its eyes closed and its wings tucked in to show that it was sleeping. That didn't mean that one careless move could awaken it, however. If that happened, the situation would prove to be catastrophic. They had to be extra careful and make sure to spot their Pokemon before going in.
Naturally, Rico most likely had the camouflage blanket over the cage of Pokemon and pokeballs so no casual passerby would notice them. Brock took a flashlight out of his backpack and shined it around the camp to look for anything that looked out of place. He made sure to keep the light away from the Fearow and Rico's tent, of course
Brock breathed a sigh of relief once he believed he found it. A strange placement of trees was over off into the left side of the clearing which was probably the blanket. Brock nodded his head. That must be where they are. Ash and Brock then turned to Serena and Misty.
"Okay. It's best if as few of us go in as possible. Ash and I will go retrieve our Pokemon. You girls wait here," Brock whispered.
"Right. Just please be careful," Serena told them.
Ash and Brock carefully stepped out of the trees and into the clearing. Thankfully, the Fearow wasn't alerted by their presence and was still sleeping. Ash and Brock tiptoed over to where he had pointed to, and Brock kept the flashlight on so they could see.
Soon enough, they made it to the blanket without error and Ash went over to it and pulled off the camouflage blanket, and Brock shined the light into the cage. When they saw what was in there, they gasped.
Ash and Brock saw their pokeballs in there. Pikachu, Togepi, Cyndaquil, and Mareep were the only ones not in pokeballs, but Pikachu, Togepi, and Mareep were tied up while Cyndaquil had the muzzle reapplied to its face. Mareep had at least twice as much rope on it as Togepi and Pikachu did. It was covering its whole body, even its head. Once Pikachu and Togepi saw Ash and Brock, they began squirming in excitement with Togepi even having tears of joy running down its face.
Ash and Brock felt the same way as they saw most of their Pokemon were okay. Well, as okay as one could be upon being captured by a Pokemon hunter. Now, the only thing left to do was figure how to get them out. It would be naïve to think Rico left the keys outside. They were most likely inside the tent where he was. Ash and Brock weren't about to try to go in there. That cage would most likely still shock them upon impact, too. If they managed to free Pikachu from its bonds, it might be able to open the cage from the inside, however.
Brock shined his flashlight along the ground so they could search for some type of long, thin stick that could fit between the bars and cut Pikachu loose. After a few seconds, Brock was able to spot one, and Ash went over to retrieve it. Ash then carefully stuck the long stick through the opening and began to scratch away at Pikachu's ropes while Brock shined the flashlight in so Ash could see. It was a crude method to free Pikachu, but it was all they had.
"Don't worry, Pikachu. I'm going to get you and the others out," Ash whispered as he worked at the rope.
Pikachu nodded its head as it watched Ash. It knew Ash wasn't going to let it and the others down by abandoning them like this. Pikachu believed with every fiber of its being that Ash would come for them, and Togepi had believed it, too. Pikachu then turned to Cyndaquil and Togepi and saw the spikeball Pokemon was bouncing up and down in excitement while Cyndqaquil had its head cocked to the side in curiosity as it watched the two humans in front of it. Mareep couldn't see what was going on as its whole body was covered in rope, but it could tell something was coming to rescue it.
At last, Ash had managed to cut the rope enough to where Pikachu could break out. It then went over to Togepi and quickly untied it, too. Togepi gave a happy chirp and immediately ran towards Ash, but Pikachu quickly held it back so it wouldn't get shocked. It then told Togepi to quietly wait while it worked on the cage.
The yellow rodent then went to where the cage door was and began to pick at the lock with its tiny fingers. It let out a slight grimace as the cage began shocking it, but it wasn't too bad. Brock and Ash made a quick glance behind them and saw Fearow shift slightly, and they inhaled a little to avoid sound escaping their mouths. Oh no. The noise of the electricity shocking Pikachu was waking up Fearow. They had to work fast.
At last, the crackling of the electricity stopped as Pikachu managed to unlock the cage. Pikachu then swung the door open from the inside and immediately jumped into Ash's arms. Ash hugged his Pikachu as hard as he could at their reunion. He had been so worried about Pikachu and his other Pokemon, but they had managed to find them safe and sound thanks to his aura and Serena's ESP.
Soon, Ash felt another weight collide into him which proved to be Togepi jumping out of the cage to him, also. Ash embraced Togepi just as tightly. He wanted to hug them longer and tell them how overjoyed he was to see them again and let his emotions out, but they didn't have time for that. They had to get their pokeballs now and get out of there.
Cyndaquil lazily jumped out of the cage and stared up at Ash. The raven-haired boy hastily got the cruel muzzle off its face again, and knelt down next to it. Cyndaquil titled its head curiously at Ash again and gave a yawn.
"Are you alright Cyndaquil?" Ash whispered.
"Quil," the Pokemon nodded. The fire mouse thought it was interesting that this same human had come to rescue it twice now.
"I guess you're an extra nice Cyndaquil, too, huh?" Ash smiled as he reached down and patted its head.
The raven-haired boy then turned and saw Mareep was still tied up in its ropes and bouncing around wildly due to wanting to get free. If it wasn't for the situation, it would've been humorous to see what looked like just a blob of rope hopping up and down in a cage. Ash and Brock cringed as Mareep couldn't see where it was going and kept crashing into the side of the cage which made even more racket.
Ash thought about grabbing it, but Mareep would probably shock him. That also wouldn't bode well with them trying to be quiet. They had no idea what to do about Mareep.
Brock and Ash then turned as they saw Serena coming into the clearing. They each gave her an inquisitive glance as if asking what she was doing. Serena didn't answer as she made her way over to the cage and sighed once she saw the thrashing, crazy, Mareep. The honey-blonde girl took a deep breath until she stretched her hands out and lowered them onto the tied up Mareep.
Ash and Brock were surprised when they saw the hyper Mareep instantly calm down. Its wild movements grew still, and it was letting out slow breaths. Ash and Brock turned to Serena and wondered how she was doing that until they saw her eyes were glowing blue. She was using her ESP to calm Mareep. So it appeared that her ESP hadn't gone away fully, after all.
Brock scooped up all of their pokeballs and carefully looked around to make sure each one was accounted for. Great. All of Serena's Pokemon were here. All of Misty's Pokemon were here. All of Ash's Pokemon were here. Brock handed their pokeballs back until he inspected his own. All of his Pokemon were….oh no. Brock instantly got a sick feeling when he realized he didn't have all of his pokeballs here.
"Brock?" Ash questioned.
"Ash," Brock choked. "Stantler isn't here."
"What?" Ash wondered.
Before Ash, Brock, and Serena could ponder on that, an angry shriek sounded behind them. They spun around and saw the Fearow was wide awake and screeching angrily inside the tent. Misty saw this, too, and gave a pleading look at Ash, Serena, and Brock to make a run for it. She didn't know that Brock was missing his Stantler.
"Who's there?!" Rico's voice sounded from inside the tent.
"Guys! We need to go!" Ash said.
"Ash...Stantler…it…," Brock trailed, unable to finish his sentence as his fist shook.
Ash saw from the moonlight and Brock's flashlight that Fearow as now speeding towards them like a predator about to take down its prey. Ash glared at the Fearow and looked down at Pikachu. There was no need to be quiet now that Rico and Fearow had been alerted of their presence.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" he yelled.
Pikachu leaped into the air and let out a gigantic stream of electricity from its cheeks. It sent all of its energy at the Fearow, and its aim was true. The Fearow cried out as its body was engulfed in electricity before it fell to the ground and let out a puff of smoke. Now that it was out of commission, Ash, Serena, and Brock went to leave, but they were stopped short.
Misty cried out as a bullet shot through the air right past Ash, Serena, and Brock's faces. The three turned in fear as Rico had come out of his tent with his own flashlight and had his shotgun in his other hand.
"You kids again, huh?" Rico asked in disdain.
"Where's Stantler?!" Brock roared.
At that, Rico gave an evil smile and made a slight coughing nose. Brock instantly felt his blood run cold when Rico did that. It couldn't be. Could it? He really didn't…no…please…
"No," Brock whispered as he began trembling before screamed out. "No!"
"Heh. Your Stantler wished it was dead by the time I got through with it. I granted its wish," Rico muttered spitefully.
Brock began taking short breaths as he felt like hyperventilating. Rico had to be lying. There was no way that he had killed Stantler. Brock wouldn't allow it. He had promised to take care of that Stantler, but it fell at the hands of the very hunter who had killed its mother. This couldn't be happening.
Ash, meanwhile, couldn't take anymore of this Pokemon hunter. He had gone too far. His whole body shook with rage at Rico. He wanted this man to be punished and suffer for what he's done. Ash wanted this man to hurt, and he wanted to be the one to do it. He started to feel a certain blackness in his soul once again.
"Ash?" Serena questioned once she saw the dark look on his face.
That made Ash snap out of it. No. He couldn't lose control like that again, and not so soon.
"I let you kids live last time," Rico said, switching topics. "However, seeing as how you keep getting in my way, I'll just kill you, too!"
With that, Rico pointed his shotgun at Brock as he prepared to shoot him first. Ash's eyes grew wide in terror but Brock didn't even seem to notice. He was too busy thinking about what had happened to Stantler and how he failed miserably to protect it.
However, before Rico could shoot them, he felt the gun blasted out of his hands. He stared in confusion for a moment before he was lifted up and thrown backwards. The evil man was flung into his tent, and it crumpled before his weight. The man began struggling as he became tangled in the collapsed tent, but that wouldn't hold him long. They had to leave now.
The group had no time to question what happened and just took off running. Meanwhile, Togepi smiled that it had managed to get its arms to glow blue like it's mommy's eyes did when she was powerful. Togepi began to laugh and waved its arms back and forth again in hopes that it could make its body glow blue some day once more. No one seemed to notice it, though, as they were too busy trying to get away.
Everyone ran away from the clearing and were almost out before they remembered one thing. They turned and saw that Mareep was still tied up and jumping along after them, unable to see a thing. It would be cruel to leave it here in the hands of Rico. Who knows what he would do with it then. Serena ran back towards the Mareep and quickly untied the rope.
As soon as she did that, a stream of electricity exploded out of the Mareep. Serena had to duck to avoid getting shocked by the massive amount of electricity. Once that happened, the naked Mareep gave a happy cry and dashed off at seemingly the speed of light. Ash, Brock, and Misty barely had time to process Mareep was running by them because it was moving so fast.
By that time, Rico had become untangled and was scrambling around to find his gun in all of the confusion. Fearow was also starting to recover from its shocks so the group didn't have any more time. The just hoped Mareep would be okay now that it had gotten away.
The group took off running through the forest as fast as they could. Brock still had his flashlight out so they could still see where they were going. About fifteen seconds later, they heard the start of a jeep and the roar of an engine. Though they had gotten a good start on Rico, he would be able to catch up with them quickly if he knew what direction they went in.
"What do we do, Ash?!" Serena cried.
"We'll have to split up. That will at least confuse Rico, and he won't find us all at once. That way, in case one of us is caught, the others can still get away and find Officer Jenny," Ash replied.
"No way are we splitting up when there's a crazy Pokemon hunter right behind us who's wanting to kill us!" Misty yelled.
"If we stay together, and he catches us, then we're all dead!" Ash shot back.
Serena, Brock, and Misty stayed silent as they knew he was right. The plan was terrible, but it was the lesser of two evils. This was literally a huge gamble they were taking by splitting up. It was nighttime so they had no marker to meet up at. The Pokemon Center was a long way away, and they hadn't quite memorized the path back since they were relying on Ash's aura and Serena's ESP to find their way through the forest. This was the only way to ensure the most people stayed alive.
This was now proving to be a very bad idea to go off and try to retrieve their Pokemon. Deep inside, they knew it was dangerous, but they were all just too worried about their Pokemon. The group then exchanged glances with each other. All four of them stared at the other with a look as if to say, "We'll see each other again." With that, the four went off in different directions with Cyndaquil and Pikachu going with Ash and Togepi going with Serena. Each of them hoped that at least one of them would find Officer Jenny and stop Rico before it was too late.
It was the next morning, and Misty had been hiding all night. She wasn't able to get any sleep. She had found shelter in a large alcove in a tree, but she had absolutely no idea where she was. Misty really wished she had kept a guidebook for herself so she could try to pinpoint her location. The only problem was that it was with Brock.
Due to being separated from the group and getting turned around in the confrontation from Rico, Misty didn't know if she was going the right way or not. In short, the poor redhead was completely lost.
Misty crawled out of her shelter now that it was morning. Maybe since there was some sunlight, she would be able to find where she was going. It was a start just as long as she didn't run into Rico. She just wanted to find her friends and continue on their journey. They had gotten their Pokemon back, but their trouble wasn't over yet.
"Ohhhhh," Misty groaned as she stood up and stretched, but she cringed when Shellder licked her leg.
Instead of getting annoyed like she normally did, Misty smiled and patted it on the outside of its shell. She was just glad to see her Pokemon again even if a couple, namely Psyduck and Shellder, did get on her nerves. Speaking of Pokemon that got on Misty's nerves, Psyduck made a sudden cry which made Misty jump. She turned towards the only member of the group's Pokemon who wasn't taken and stared inquisitively at it.
"What is it, Psyduck?" Misty asked.
"Psy aye aye!" Psyduck cried again and jumped up and down.
Misty rolled her eyes and was about brush off Psyduck's cries. That goofy duck wouldn't notice a Snorlax on top of it. It had been absolutely no help in finding the rest of their Pokemon yesterday. That was until Misty heard the sound of an engine roaring which sounded a lot like a jeep.
Misty froze. No. That couldn't be. Could it? The worst part was that it was getting louder. Misty immediately dove back inside of the alcove from the tree and scooted as far back as she could. She then hastily returned all of her Pokemon to their pokeballs and stayed as quiet as possible. Misty then inhaled when she heard the jeep pass right by the tree before it stopped.
Misty thought this was rather odd that the jeep would stop here. That was until she noticed her backpack was still outside of the tree in plain sight! Oh no! Rico must've noticed her backpack and was stopping to investigate! Her blood ran cold when she heard footsteps walking along and knew that he was out looking around now.
Misty began to shiver for fear of her life. She had no idea what would become of her if Rico found her. She didn't want to find out, either. She considered coming out of her hiding place to fight, but she was too scared to move. Truthfully, this was probably the most frightened Misty had been in her entire life.
"Please don't look in here. Please don't look in here," Misty pleaded in thought to herself as she began to sweat.
Then, to her great misfortune, Psyduck decided to pop out of its pokeball. The duck Pokemon gave another cry and waved its arms back and forth. Misty let out a shriek of horror when Psyduck did that before she quickly covered her own mouth with the sound she made. Rico had certainly heard that just now and knew where to look. Misty glared at Psyduck and considered strangling it before she heard footsteps rapidly approaching her hiding spot. Tears began to fall from Misty's eyes as she believed this was it. She then saw a face appear at the entrance of the alcove and let out a bloodcurdling scream and closed her eyes.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
"What's wrong?!" a voice shouted.
Misty opened her eyes and stopped screaming when she saw who it was. Thank goodness! It turned out it wasn't Rico, but an Officer Jenny was peering at Misty through the alcove with a look of alarm on her face. Misty began taking short breaths to calm herself, and her heart rate slowly turned back to normal.
"O-officer Jenny?" Misty questioned.
"That's right. Are you okay?" Officer Jenny asked.
Misty didn't answer right away and instead looked at Psyduck who gave a goofy smile back. Did Psyduck know all along that it wasn't Rico approaching but Officer Jenny? Misty wasn't sure, but she flashed Psyduck a grateful smile and took back her thoughts about wanting to strangle Psyduck for giving away their location. The goofy duck had done something right.
"I-I think I'm fine," Misty replied to Officer Jenny.
"Why don't you come out of there and tell me why you were screaming?" Officer Jenny asked.
Misty nodded her head and crawled out. Officer Jenny moved out of the way so Misty would have enough room. Once Misty was out with Psyduck, she was about to tell Officer Jenny her story, but she couldn't finish. The fact that she didn't see Ash, Serena, or Brock with Officer Jenny meant that they were still lost and in danger. Misty then began to cry for fear of where her friends might be. They would be just as lost as she was.
Officer Jenny placed her hands on Misty's shoulders and gave her a serious expression. This girl had apparently been through a lot, but Officer Jenny needed to know what it was.
"Miss, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Officer Jenny wondered.
"I-it's my friends. A Pokemon hunter is after us. I-I-I don't know where they are," Misty sobbed.
"Wait. Are you the kids whose Pokemon were stolen by Rico?" Officer Jenny questioned and noticed there were now pokeballs on Misty's belt. "Were you actually able to take them back?!"
"Y-yes. That's us. We're so sorry we didn't wait for you at the Pokemon Center. We were just so scared for our Pokemon," Misty cried.
"Never mind that. The important thing is I found one of you. You all are in grave danger. If you got your Pokemon back from Rico, he won't stop looking until he's found you all. That means he still has to be in this area," Officer Jenny said.
"You have to help us, Officer Jenny! My friends are still lost!" Misty exclaimed.
"Of course. That's what I'm here for. Come with me, Miss. Let's find the rest of your friends," Officer Jenny stated as she made her way back to her own jeep with Misty following suit.
Misty followed Officer Jenny and was left to her own thoughts. She was going to be okay, but Ash, Brock, and Serena were still out there. She just hoped that she and Officer Jenny were able to find them before Rico did.
Serena peeked out from the shelter she was in. The honey-blond girl had taken shelter in a small alcove formed by a large collection of rocks. Her Pokemon had kept watch throughout the entire night. There was no way she could sleep in a tent or out in the open with Rico after them. Upon seeing that it was morning and that she was still alive, the honey-blonde girl breathed a sigh of relief.
She then turned to Togepi who was rolled up in a ball, asleep. Seeing the young Pokemon sleeping peacefully like that would almost make the honey-blonde girl forget that she was running from a Pokemon hunter. Serena's thoughts then went to how the others were doing: Ash, Brock, and Misty. Were they able to find Officer Jenny? Did Rico find them instead? Well, one thing was for sure, now that she was alive. Serena had to go off in search of the others.
Serena got outside the makeshift cave and looked around at all of her Pokemon. She was so happy she got them back safe and sound. Charla and Cubone were fiercely guarding the perimeter of the rocks. Serena was impressed by how brave her Cubone was acting considering its neediness when she first met it. Fennekin was watching Smeargle paint on one of the cave walls and seemed interested. The painting Pokemon itself seemed to be enjoying Fennekin's company and its appreciation of its artwork. Serena believed those two would become good friends. At least her Fennekin found another Pokemon from Serena's team who didn't get on its nerves.
Lastly, Serena found Poliwag…who was asleep. Serena frowned as she saw a spit bubble slowly rise and fall in front of its mouth. Did this Pokemon have absolutely no care at all that a Pokemon hunter was possibly after them?! Poliwag had one job which was to make sure that Rico didn't show up! Serena was about to yell at the tadpole Pokemon to wake up, but she stopped when Cubone made a slight grunt that it heard something.
Charla also made a slight snort and turned in the direction Cubone was. Fennekin and Smeargle also seemed to pick up on the noise as they turned around and looked in that direction, too. Serena slowly feared that they were hearing the sound of Rico's jeep, but that wasn't the case. Her Pokemon had more of a curious look on their faces than fear.
"What is it, guys?" Serena asked.
A few seconds later, there was an explosion of electricity that shot through the trees. Even Poliwag was awoken by the crackling of the electricity. As soon as Serena saw it, she put on a look of elation and sprinted towards it. Only Ash's Pikachu could make a stream of electricity like that! Also, if Pikachu was there, Ash had to be there, too! He had made it out okay! It had to be him!
Serena's Pokemon followed her as she excitedly made her way through the trees. She was trying to follow whatever path she could to get to it. There was another explosion of electricity just in front of her which Serena found just a little odd now. She rose an eyebrow in confusion as she continued to weave around any obstacles in her way until she finally reached where the electricity had come from.
It turned out that it wasn't Ash's Pikachu, but it was Mareep. It didn't take Serena long to figure out this was the Mareep they had freed yesterday. The fact that it had no wool was a dead giveaway. The honey-blonde girl was a little disappointed it wasn't Ash, but gasped when she saw the Mareep was in another trap.
The wool Pokemon was spazzing out uncontrollably and shooting several bouts of electricity. Serena wanted to go over to help it, but the way it was thrashing around made it difficult to get over to it. Regardless, Serena knew she couldn't just leave it here. Rico was most certainly around if this was one of his traps, and Serena wasn't about to let that monster capture Mareep again. Whatever Serena did, she knew to act fast as these explosions of electricity would certainly attract attention.
"Relax, Mareep. I'm here to help," Serena told it calmly as she made a few timid steps towards it.
Mareep stopped its erratic movements and turned to look at Serena. It then started bouncing up and down in excitement rather than panic. This wasn't much better as Mareep's activeness still couldn't let Serena get close.
Cubone began to walk forward and held its bone high in the air. It was going to clonk Mareep across the head and knock it out cold. That way Serena would be able to free it. Cubone disliked hurting other Pokemon, but this one was getting on its nerves. Serena saw this and quickly held back the lonely Pokemon.
"No, Cubone. Knocking it unconscious isn't the answer, either," Serena scolded slightly.
"Booooone," Cubone grumbled.
Serena couldn't use her ESP to calm it down, either, like last night as it was gone now. Serena sighed as she crossed her arms at a loss of what to do. Throwing a pokeball wouldn't work because the trap wouldn't let Mareep be captured. Serena really didn't want any of her Pokemon to hurt the Mareep just so she could help get it out of the trap. However, was that really the only option available?
While this was going on, Togepi chirped happily and began waving its arms back and forth again. It had seen its mommy glow blue before and believed that by doing this, it might be able to do so also and be just like her. Togepi continued to wave its arms back and forth before they glowed blue, and Togepi smiled that it was able to do so. The spikeball Pokemon then got a sleepy expression on its face before it gave a huge yawn.
Mareep saw this and got a sleepy expression on its face before it yawned, too, and its movements actually began to slow down a bit. Serena's eyebrows rose in surprise once she saw this. Was this Mareep actually getting tired out? It surprised her even more when Mareep closed its eyes and went into a deep sleep.
The honey-blonde girl looked back and forth to her Pokemon who looked just as confused by the display, except for Togepi, who was laughing merrily. As far as Serena was aware, not a single of her Pokemon knew the moves Hypnosis or Yawn, except Poliwag, but something was telling her the tadpole Pokemon didn't help out, and Fennekin could only know Hypnosis under special circumstances. Cubone, however, had a suspicious look on its face and looked over at Togepi. It had been the only one to notice Togepi wave its arms back and forth before Mareep got sleepy.
"What is it, Cubone?" Serena asked once she saw its expression.
Cubone walked over to the still giggling Togepi and pointed its bone at the spikeball Pokemon. Serena soon understood what Cubone was implying and got a skeptical look on her face.
"Are you saying Togepi made Mareep fall asleep, Cubone?" she asked.
"Bone," it replied with a nod.
Serena went over to Togepi and stared at it curiously. Well, it was time for Togepi to start learning attacks since it's been hatched for quite a while now. However, there was no indication that Togepi used an attack.
"Did you do something, Togepi?" Serena questioned.
"Toge! Toge!" Togepi laughed.
Serena sighed and shrugged her shoulders. Ultimately, it didn't matter how Mareep fell asleep. The point was now that it did, Serena would be able to help it. Still, Serena would be keeping a better eye on Togepi from now on. If she did actually see Togepi use an attack, she would be so proud of it, and she was sure Ash would, too.
Serena knelt down and began to pull at the trap to free Mareep's leg that was caught. She strained herself to try to break it free, but to no avail. Charla saw this and nodded its head to Serena to show that it has this. Serena moved out of the way as Charla grabbed both sides of the trap and gave a might tug to pull the two sides apart. Charla groaned and grunted as it strained itself. This trap was tight.
At last, Charla had pulled the trap far enough apart to where Serena was able to jerk Mareep's leg free from the trap, and Charla let go which allowed the trap to snap harmlessly back into place. The honey-blond girl breathed a sigh of relief that she was able to get Mareep free before an idea came to her. This Mareep had been through a lot and needed to see a Nurse Joy…and probably a Pokemon therapist, too. With that in mind, Serena took out a pokeball and tossed it to Mareep. She disliked doing it while Mareep wasn't looking, but Serena feared she wouldn't get the opportunity if Mareep woke up due to how hyper it was.
The pokeball struck the naked Mareep and sucked it inside the pokeball. The device immediately dinged to show there was no resistance. Serena then smiled that she had a new, albeit crazy, addition to her team. Maybe when they were at a Pokemon Center next, a Nurse Joy would be able to enlighten Serena on why Mareep was the way it was.
Serena then turned to her other Pokemon. "Ready to go find Ash and the others?" she asked and received a nod from all her Pokemon.
With that, Serena and her Pokemon then went off in search of the rest of the group. She just hoped they were okay and hadn't had an encounter with Rico.
Brock hadn't said much at all since he was separated from the others. He just couldn't get out of his head about what had happened to Stantler. The evil Pokemon hunter said that he killed it, but Brock didn't know what to believe. Rico had to be lying. There was no way that his Stantler was dead. There just had to be some way it was still alive.
The Pokemon breeder hadn't done much to hide himself the previous night. He merely found a random spot and chose to rest there. His Pokemon were out except for Onix due to its large size, and they had been around Brock all night trying to comfort him for the loss of Stantler. Despite wanting to believe that Rico was lying, Brock couldn't stop the melancholy thoughts and tears going down his face.
"Stantler…," Brock mumbled.
Golbat brushed a few of Brock's tears away from his face with its wings. Graveler was patting Brock's back consolingly but gently so as not to hurt its trainer. Vulpix was in Brock's lap with a mournful look on its face, and Kabuto was looking at Brock with a sad expression. It was never the best at comforting others, but it knew its trainer was hurting.
"I've failed as a Pokemon Breeder," Brock muttered.
Brock's other Pokemon looked alarmed at that. They didn't believe that to be true. If Brock was a terrible Pokemon breeder, he wouldn't have won the breeder competition. He wouldn't have so many people admiring him for his skills. If he was a lousy Pokemon breeder…he wouldn't have them. Onix and Graveler had known Brock the longest. Golbat was able to grow through Brock's love and felt ready to evolve into Crobat fairly soon. Vulpix chose to go with Brock because it recognized how wonderful he was. Kabuto believed Brock never would've been able to tame a prehistoric Pokemon if he was bad. They tried to remind him of this, but Brock only let out a faint smile.
"Thanks, guys. Really. Still, I can't stop thinking about what I promised Stantler. I promised it that I would never let it be lonely again, and I broke that promise. The worst part is that Stantler was lost to the person I should've been protecting it from. It won't leave me alone," Brock answered quietly.
His other Pokemon gave another melancholy expression at their trainer's devastated state. However, Golbat would have none of it. Stantler had to be alive! It put on a resolute expression and flew up high into the air. Brock looked inquisitively at Golbat until he saw it was blasting supersonic waves from its mouth.
"Golbat? What are you doing?" Brock questioned.
Golbat didn't answer and instead continued to use its supersonic waves all around it. Golbat would then prick its tiny ears to try to listen for anything out of the ordinary. Golbat knew the sound of everyone and every Pokemon in the group. Brock must've realized this as he put on a hopeful expression. He had been so caught up in his grief that he forgot of Golbat's excellent supersonic ability that could possibly help him find the others and possibly Stantler if it was still alive!
After a while, Golbat got an excited look on its face and flew down towards Brock and smiled at the breeder widely with its large mouth. Brock and his other Pokemon gathered around Golbat to see what it found.
"Did you find the others, Golbat?" Brock asked.
Golbat shook its head and instead put its wings to its head with the same excited look on its face. It looked almost as if it was trying to form horns. Brock's breath was caught in his throat. It couldn't be.
"You…Stantler. It's alive?" Brock croaked.
Golbat eagerly nodded its head and took to the skies for Brock to follow it. Tears began to run down Brock's face again, but this time it was from tears of joy. Brock fell onto is hands and knees as he began to weep in happiness.
"Thank goodness. I-I'm so happy to hear that," Brock breathed as he continued to cry.
Rico must've been lying after all just to upset Brock. However, Brock wouldn't be fully satisfied until he actually saw Stantler alive and well for himself. Brock stood up after a minute and nodded to Golbat to show it was ready to go. Golbat nodded its head back and flew off through the trees. Brock and his other Pokemon followed.
They were moving rather quickly. Golbat would shoot out its supersonic waves occasionally to make sure it was still on course to find Stantler. After they confirmed that, it could use its supersonic abilities to find the rest. Golbat knew that Stantler was the top priority right now, though, so it remained focused.
Brock wasn't slowing down in the slightest. He leaped over several stumps that were in the way. He ducked underneath several low hanging branches. He narrowly avoided a Spinarak that was crawling along the ground. He pushed his way through several prickly bushes and got scratched. None of that mattered to the Pokemon breeder, though. He and his other Pokemon continued to follow Golbat for another ten minutes until the bat Pokemon began to slow down.
After another minute Golbat stopped completely and fluttered up and down excitedly while pointing with its wing. Brock gave an appreciative smile at Golbat before he ran ahead of it and looked to see where it was pointing. Elation filled his heart as soon as he saw it. Lying there in small clearing was none other than Stantler.
However, Brock's elation soon turned to horror when he saw not all was well with the big horn Pokemon. The young Stantler was taking short breaths and a puddle of blood was next to it. Brock followed the trail of blood to its source and gasped when he saw what looked like a gunshot wound near its right hind leg.
Brock dashed forward and knelt down next to Stantler before he gently lifted the front part of Stantler's body and cradled it into his arms. The big horn Pokemon weakly opened its eyes and spotted Brock looking down at it. The Pokemon breeder was on verge of crying again because of what he saw. This had been a very emotional past couple of days for him.
"Stantler, It's me. I'm going to help you, okay?" Brock told it.
Stantler slowly nodded its head. It was overjoyed to see Brock again, but it's gunshot wound had made it very weak from the loss of blood. Rico had let it out of its pokeball to do who knows what to it, but Stantler head butted the evil man and made a run for it. However, Rico had grabbed his shotgun and fired after it. The bullet wasn't a direct hit as that would've certainly killed the big horn Pokemon. However, it still suffered a nasty flesh wound.
Brock knew he had to work fast. The trail of blood Stantler had left would attract other Pokemon or Rico to it. He motioned for his other Pokemon to come over while he took out his first aid kit. Brock's other Pokemon consoled Stantler while he applied treatment to it. He cleaned and dressed the wound perfectly. He knew the proper medicine and antibiotics to apply but unfortunately was out. He would need to get Stantler to a Pokemon Center. Brock briefly thought he would make a good Pokemon doctor if his breeder career didn't work out, but he quickly pushed that aside for now.
Stantler did look a little better but nowhere near healed. Brock took out another spare pokeball since Stantler's old one was apparently lost. He then gave Stantler a comforting smile.
"Don't you worry Stantler. I promise I'm going to help you just like before," Brock nodded and returned it to its new pokeball.
Brock then gave a nod to his other Pokemon to show his appreciation for their support. He then returned all of them except for Golbat for more efficient travel. The Pokemon breeder than took a deep breath to calm himself for the horrible crime Rico did by shooting his Stantler. He probably did think he killed Stantler as the Pokemon most surely would've died from blood loss had no one found it. Brock would never forgive the Pokemon hunter for what he's done. However, there was another important issue to take care of first.
"Golbat, use your supersonic waves to find the others. Try to look for the nearest Pokemon Center while you're at it," Brock said.
Golbat clicked its fangs in agreement before it launched another set of supersonic waves. It then set off towards the right with Brock following it.
Ash was standing outside a hollow tree. He had sent out his Pidgeot to try to look for the others as well as to warn if Rico was nearby. Pidgeot's keen eye would've been able to spot anything in this forest for many miles. Though that was a comforting thought, Pidgeot had been gone for a few minutes which meant that even if Pidgeot did spot Serena, Brock, or Misty, they would still be quite a distance off.
"Pika, Pikachu," Pikachu told Ash and pointed behind it.
Ash turned from where Pidgeot flew to where Pikachu was pointing, and he let out a small sigh. The only member of his group that was still sleeping was Cyndaquil. The fire mouse Pokemon was lying on its back with its limbs stretched out to its side and even had a snot bubble coming from its nose. Ash went over and knelt down next to it as he watched it sleep. If there was one thing Ash learned about this Cyndaquil in his short time with it, it was that this Cyndaquil was very relaxed and liked to sleep…though not quite on the same level as his Snorlax.
Pikachu went over to Cyndaquil and decided it was time for it to wake up. Pikachu reached out with its tiny fingers and popped Cyndaquil's snot bubble. As soon as it did that, Cyndaquil bolted upright and hastily looked around for any threat. Ash and Pikachu almost wanted to laugh at how the fire mouse Pokemon looked right now. That was the most alert they had seen it yet.
"Hey, Cyndaquil. It's morning," Ash told it.
"Cynda," Cyndaquil squeaked in response.
"How's your leg?" Ash asked it.
Cyndaquil looked at its back leg that had been caught in the trap and then back at Ash. The truth was that its leg didn't hurt anymore, but it still had a nasty scab on it.
"Well, it doesn't look too bad," Ash muttered as he observed it.
A thought then came to Ash. He remembered how before the whole disaster with Rico had happened, he had been looking for another fire Pokemon on his team. In fact, it was a Cyndaquil in specific he had searched for. All of that was quickly forgotten once they ran into Rico, but now that Cyndaquil was free, he didn't feel comfortable letting Cyndaquil go off by itself since Rico was looking for it. This Cyndaquil was also a friendly Pokemon.
Ash was about to voice his suggestion when Pidgeot came into view. The bird Pokemon found Ash and swooped down next to him. Ash then ran over to Pidgeot to hear its report. He'll officially ask Cyndaquil when they find the others.
"Hey, Pidgeot. Did you find anything?" Ash asked it.
"Pidgo!" Pidgeot answered and swiftly pointed its wing to its right.
"Great! You saw some of the others?! What about any sign of Rico?" Ash questioned next.
"Pidgooo," Pidgeot replied lowly and shook its head.
Ash thought that was rather strange. He would've thought the Pokemon hunter would've been actively searching for him or the others and would be in plain sight. Ash wasn't a Pokemon hunter, but even he knew Rico wouldn't simply leave them alone and go off to another area unless he found them first. Something wasn't right.
"Pika?" Pikachu asked once he saw Ash's tense look.
"Pidgeot said it found the others, but it couldn't find where Rico was," Ash replied.
"Chu?" Pikachu inquired and cocked its head in curiosity.
"I know. I'm a little nervous, too. Still, Pidgeot found the others and showed me what direction they're in. Let's regroup and we can figure out about Rico once we do that," Ash said.
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.
Ash then went over to Cyndaquil. "Will you come with us, Cyndaquil?"
"Cynda!" Cyndaquil nodded.
"Great. Let's head out," Ash decided and returned his Pidgeot.
He wanted to keep it out, but its scouting might give unwanted attention to his location. Not to mention if Rico was around, he probably wouldn't hesitate to shoot Pidgeot out of the sky if he saw it.
With that, Ash, Pikachu, and Cyndaquil took off in the direction Pidgeot had shown them. Judging by how long it took Pidgeot to come back, the others were still probably a few miles away. He also soon discovered this was a rather winding trail, but he didn't care. He was just so glad that he got confirmation that Serena, Brock, and Misty were okay. That was all that mattered at the moment.
Ash was beginning to get a little tired from running after a few minutes. Still, he just wanted to get to the others as fast as possible so he didn't let that stop him. Soon, he could reunite with them, and they could find Officer Jenny and take care of Rico.
"We're almost there, guys," Ash told Pikachu and Cyndaquil.
Pikachu smiled but Cyndaquil got a curious look. What did this boy mean by 'almost there'? Was he including it as part of the group now? If Cyndaquil recalled correctly, it hadn't been captured by this boy. Still, he was rather nice and helped free it. Well, Cyndaquil could worry about that in a moment. Just as long someone wasn't that awful Pokemon hunter, things would be okay.
"Just a little more," Ash panted as they passed a tree that was rather close to the trail.
Abruptly, Ash felt a shooting pain in his stomach as the wind was knocked out of him. The raven-haired boy collapsed into a heap and assumed the fetal position as he struggled to breathe through the immense pain he was in.
Pikachu and Cyndaquil screeched to a halt to check on Ash, but they didn't get the chance. Having their worst fears confirmed, Rico stepped out from the behind the tree with his shot gun in his hand. His jeep was nearby. Rico must've hit Ash in the stomach with the butt of his gun as he passed by the tree. Rico wasn't wearing the usual evil smirk he had on his face. He looked quite infuriated and snarled down at Ash who was still on the ground clutching at the pain in his stomach.
"I saw your Pidgeot in the sky and followed it through a thick patch of trees so it couldn't see me. I knew you could come through here looking for the others," Rico said.
Ash only coughed in response.
"You little punk! You thought you and your friends could get away from me!?" Rico hollered before he kicked Ash in the stomach with his boot.
Ash felt a fresh wave of intense pain in his stomach once Rico did that. He coughed and groaned at the massive pain he felt. Despite this, he was still able to look up at Rico and give him a hateful glare. He wanted to say something, but his lack of air and the pain made it impossible.
"I told you that you shouldn't be messing with a Pokemon hunter, kid. This wouldn't have happened if you had just left well enough alone after I took your Pokemon. Now that you've really made me angry, I'm going to take your Pokemon and kill you, too!" Rico growled.
Pikachu wasn't about to let that happen, though. The yellow rodent lunged at Rico and latched onto his face as it clawed at him with its tiny limbs. Rico dropped the gun and began to pull at Pikachu to release his face, but the rodent's grip was surprisingly tight.
"Get off me, you little rat!" Rico bellowed.
Pikachu didn't comply, however. It sparked its cheeks and let out a Thunderbolt. Rico screamed as the jolts traveled through his body. Pikachu made sure to make this shock extra long so they could buy more time. It wasn't expecting Rico to give an extra powerful tug while it was shocking him, though. The yellow rodent was pulled of Rico's face as it stopped the Thunderbolt. Rico held Pikachu by its throat and gave it an evil look before he smashed its back against the large tree as hard as he could.
"Chaaaaaa!" Pikachu cried and fell to the ground.
Rico watched the yellow rodent fall and picked up his gun again. He then gave an angry glance at Pikachu and spat at it.
"I'll deal with you in a second," Rico muttered as he turned towards Ash to finish him off, but something unexpected happened.
Cyndaquil had run in front of Ash and spread its front arms out protectively in front of the raven-haired boy. That was something it had never done in its life before. It happened so fast that even Cyndaquil didn't process what it did until after it happened. For some reason, Cyndaquil could just sense that Ash was a good human worth protecting. He had protected it and saved it from the Pokemon hunter. Now, Cyndaquil would do the same.
"Huh? What's this? You want to end up like the other two?" Rico questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Cynda!" Cyndaquil replied rather seriously, another first for it.
"Fine by me," Rico replied menacingly as he pointed his gun at Cyndaquil.
The fire mouse Pokemon wasn't about to just roll over and allow Rico to kill it, though. Cyndaquil began concentrating as hard as it could. It had desire to beat to the Pokemon hunter. It had a desire to protect Ash. It felt really warmed up and actually wanted to fight this time.
Finally, the flames on its back ignited for what was the first time in a long while. Cyndaquil could actually feel the flames burning inside of its body. They were screaming to be released, and Cyndaquil knew the perfect candidate to use them on. With no time, Cyndaquil immediately blew a powerful Flamethrower from its mouth straight at Rico.
Rico screamed as he was engulfed by the flames. Though he was in pain, Ash watched in awe of the amount of power this Cyndaquil seemed to possess. It took Cyndaquil a really long time to get charged up, but once it did…wow. Cyndaquil finally let off the Flamethrower and gave a short sigh.
Rico, meanwhile was covered in burn marks. He grimaced as he tried to shoot Cyndaquil, but was unable to from the attack he just experienced. Finally, he gave a grunt and fell to the ground, seemingly unconscious.
Ash breathed a sigh of relief. He shakily stood up, though his stomach was still in a lot of pain. Cyndaquil then turned back to check on Ash as the raven-haired boy stared at it. He finally then let out a weak smile at Cyndaquil.
"Thanks a lot, Cyndaquil. You really saved me," Ash panted.
"Cynda!" Cyndaquil nodded.
Pikachu stumbled over from its own injuries and gave a thumbs up to Cyndaquil who quirked its head but nodded, nevertheless. Cyndaquil then turned back to Ash who knelt down beside it. Ash then rubbed its head.
"You're a really awesome Pokemon, Cyndaquil," Ash told it.
Cyndaquil blushed a little bit. It had never gotten that amount of praise before or had been called 'awesome'. It was always seen as sort of like a baby and extremely lazy. It just lived a regular life and went with the flow. Still, this type of praise was rather nice to receive. Cyndaquil could get used to it.
Ash then decided to go ahead and ask Cyndaquil about his earlier offer. "Hey, Cyndaquil. How would you like to travel around with me? I'd love to have you on my team," he said.
Cyndaquil thought it over for a moment. It had never really thought about ever having a trainer. It was just too laid back for that kind of lifestyle. On the other hand, that did sound like a nice offer. Yes. It preferred to keep things simple and easy, but maybe it could use some excitement in its life. Now that Cyndaquil knew it could ignite the flames on its back, after all, it could protect itself. However, it only did that because of Ash. Maybe if it came with him, it could learn to control its flames better.
"Cynda!" Cyndaquil nodded.
"That's great, Cyndaquil! We'll be one hot team!" Ash joked.
It was then Ash heard the sound of a jeep. Fearing that it was the Pokemon hunter again, Ash glanced wildly around and saw Rico was still unconscious on the ground so it couldn't be him. Ash soon got his answer as he saw the jeep soon come into view, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Officer Jenny. Not only that, but Serena, Brock, and Misty were with her! As soon as they saw Ash, they all gave a huge wave.
"Heeeeeeey!" Ash called out and waved back to him.
The jeep soon skidded to a halt once it got close, and Ash ran over to them. Serena was the first to jump out, and the two immediately hugged each other tightly. He was soon joined by Brock and Misty. They had been so worried about what had happened to each other with a Pokemon hunter on the loose. Now, they had finally been reunited after splitting up, and everything was going to be okay! Officer Jenny got out next. She then made her way over to the group.
"So I guess I've found all of you, now," Officer Jenny commented before she turned to her right and saw the unconscious Rico. "It looks like Rico has been found, too."
Serena, Brock, and Misty looked over at Rico and then back at Ash. Needless to say, they were quite surprised.
"Ash, you took on Rico by yourself and won?" Misty asked.
"Hahaha! Actually, no. It wasn't me. It was all thanks to Cyndaquil right here. It saved me," Ash replied as he turned towards the fire mouse Pokemon at his feet.
"Really? This Cyndaquil seemed to dislike fighting from what I had seen from it," Brock replied as he knelt down to inspect the Cyndaquil.
"I know, but it ignited the flames on its back and used Flamethrower to save me," Ash told them.
Serena smiled down at Cyndaquil and patted it on the head. "Well, thank you very much for that, Cyndaquil. Ash is very special to us, and that was a brave thing you did."
"Cynda," Cyndaquil muttered as it started to feel itself blushing again.
"Cyndaquil even decided to come with me," Ash told them next.
"Great. So I guess now you have that new fire-type you were wanting, after all," Misty said.
"Yep!" Ash nodded.
"Speaking of captures, I was able to find that Mareep, and I captured it, too!" Serena said excitedly.
"Wait. You mean that crazy Mareep?" Ash questioned a little unsurely.
Serena placed her hands on her hips and frowned at Ash. "That isn't very nice, Ash. Mareep isn't crazy. It's just…,"
The others waited patiently to hear her reply. Serena herself wasn't quite sure how to end that sentence. What was the best way to describe the Mareep she just captured? Crazy wasn't a nice term to describe her new Pokemon. Even so…it was the only one that fit.
"It's just…different," Serena finally finished and sighed. She would definitely have to train with it.
Officer Jenny soon came by with Rico in handcuffs. She also had taken custody of his Pokemon and had their pokeballs clipped to her own belt. She then shoved the evil Pokemon hunter into the jeep and gave a salute to the group.
"Well, kids, I guess I ought to thank you for everything. Though you were reckless and disobeyed me by leaving the Pokemon Center, it looked like it all worked out in the end. I guess I can see where you're coming from," she said.
"Yeah. We definitely love out Pokemon," Ash replied with a smile down to Pikachu and Cyndaquil.
"So what's going to happen to Rico now?" Misty inquired.
"We'll be taking him down to jail, of course. There are several questions we want to ask first, however, like who he deals with. I'm sure he'll have loads tell us," Officer Jenny responded.
"Good. He's going to jail where he deserves," Brock said in disdain and folded his arms. "I'll never forgive him for what he did to Stantler."
"So what happened with Stantler?" Ash asked Brock as he turned to him.
"I found it, but it was badly injured with a gunshot wound. We'll need to get it properly treated at a Pokemon Center," Brock replied.
The others frowned at that. They were happy and relieved that Stantler was still alive, but this just gave it one more reason for it to be scared of humans. It seemed like Stantler may have taken a step back from this experience. Brock would definitely have to give it the love it deserves.
By then, Rico was beginning to come around. He groggily opened his eyes before he looked down and saw his hands cuffed behind his back. He then noticed his pokeballs were gone and saw he was in the back of another jeep with Officer Jenny in the front. Rico gave a cry of rage and struggled to break free.
"It's no use, Rico. Those won't budge. You're going to jail," Officer Jenny told him as she started the jeep.
Rico then flashed a hateful glare at the group. He then clenched his teeth and had nothing but fury in his eyes. This time, the group glared back at him. They each stared back to each other until Rico finally broke the silence.
"You haven't see the last of me. I swear I'm going to break out and destroy you all!" Rico threatened.
"We'll see about that," Officer Jenny said.
The group said nothing as Officer Jenny gave one last salute to them before she drove away. Rico never took his eyes off the group as the jeep got farther and farther. Still, he kept his eyes on them until the jeep was finally out of sight. The group breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally over. Rico had been brought to justice.
"Hey. What do you say we find the Pokemon Center and rest up before continuing on to Azalea Town. It's been quite a day," Ash suggested.
"I know. I feel so icky and could use a nice bubble bath," Misty sighed.
"I even know where we are now thanks to Officer Jenny so we won't get lost," Brock spoke up and pulled out his trusty guidebook.
The group smiled as things were already starting to go back to normal. They then set off towards the Pokemon Center with the new members of their group in Mareep and Cyndaquil. Their brush with a Pokemon hunter had been rather scary, but it also taught them the dark side of humanity from something other than Team Rocket. They were sure there were other Pokemon hunters just like Rico, probably worse, out there. They just hoped they never ran into any again. Right now, however, it was back onto the road to Azelea Town, where they would finally be able to deliver the GS ball.
And that concludes this arc! I hope you all liked it. I have some crazy situations with Serena and Mareep to provide for some hilarity. Now that Ash has Cyndaquil, I have the first noncanon Pokemon for Ash to capture in a few chapters that should be pretty interesting.
As far as the order of captures for Ash: Noctowl is next, and then the noncanon Pokemon after it, and then Totodile. Serena's next Pokemon won't be until Goldenrod City. Misty gets a new Pokemon before Goldenrod City, and Brock will get Pineco next chapter and then another one right after Goldenrod City. Those are the captures in the near future.
Togepi finally uses an attack! It only gets more from here on out!
Rico will appear once more in this arc in the later half. I have one more use for him. I didn't simply write that he promised he would break out unless I intended to do it.
Well, Azalea Town is next up, and also a special moment for Ash and Serena is coming. I bet you guys know what it is since a few of you have mentioned it. ;)
Thanks for all the reviews and support! Have a good one!
Chapter Fifteen: Kurt, the Pokeball Researcher