On our way to Ash's next gym battle we stopped in a park within a city for a picnic, however Ash instantly began working on Turtwig's Energy Ball, practicing just like Kenny had taught them. It was looking good, though its aim was still a little rusty.
"Okay Turtwig, try hitting that tree there!" Ash called and Turtwig instantly took aim, though it quickly went off course as the ball formed and was fired.
"Wow. The Energy Ball's form looks right but its control needs a little more work." Dawn said as she chewed on a sandwich.
"That'll come with practice as Turtwig starts gaining experience with it." I said, taking a bite out of an apple and munched on it before lying backwards to relax. Something dark flit over my face and I frowned before opening my eyes to see an entire hoard of Gligar, led by a single Gliscor. What the…? What's going on? "Uh…guys?" I questioned and everybody looked around.
"Gliscor Gli!" The Gliscor suddenly dove at us and I leaped up, rolling out the way as the rest all followed. I'd only just landed on the ground when a Gligar snatched the apple out of my hand and took it away.
"Hey!"
"Look out!" Brock called and I dove to the ground, covering my head as a Gligar shot over me, nearly having knocked me over. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." I called back, getting to my feet then ran over to the others. Charizard was getting hacked off, roaring and starting to blast the thieving Pokémon with Flamethrower until I called out. "No Charizard! We're in a park, full of trees! You might set them on fire." I warned and he instantly stopped. "Return, everyone!" I called and Ponyta snorted as I summoned him back alongside Charizard and Leafeon. I went for Shieldon's Pokéball but then he charged forwards, ramming his head with a metallic gleam at one of the Gligar and sent it flying and it released its bounty of Shieldon's special food. "Wow, Shieldon, that was Iron Head." I said as I grabbed the can and quickly hid it in my bag. "Nice! We finally cracked it!" I praised, opening my arms and he jumped into them for a hug.
"Everybody okay?" Ash asked as he ran over.
"We're all fine." Dawn answered with a nod of her head. "But what are those Pokémon?"
"They're Gligar and Gliscor." Brock answered as he watched them carefully, dangling from the trees.
"Wow, I've got to see this."
"Gligar, the fly scorpion Pokémon. It glides using the membrane attached to its arms and legs, and attacks the face of its prey with its claws."
"Gliscor, the fang scorpion Pokémon and the evolved form of Gligar. It watches its prey as it hangs upside down from a branch and attacks from above when it sees its chance." I gulped slightly, leaning closer to whisper to Ash.
"Does it bother you how that's exactly what Gliscor is doing now? He doesn't think we're its prey, does it?"
"I shouldn't think so, with all that food they've stolen, they wouldn't need to eat seconds." Brock said as we all watched carefully, just to make sure. Gliscor ate on the two sandwiches it had stolen, instantly making me angry.
"Hey, that was ketchup! I made that specially for Pikachu!" I yelled at him then pointed. "Go Shieldon, Iron Head!" I called and Shieldon instantly leaped forwards with a cry.
"Shieldon! Shield…on!" He charged the tree, head shining with a metallic sheen before ramming the tree with all his might and just at that moment, an Ice Beam attack shot out of the blue, aimed for Gliscor but upon impact of Shieldon's head with the tree it was swung out of the way.
"It's Paul!" Ash yelled and I turned a glare on Paul as he pulled out another Pokémon.
"Murkrow use Haze!" He ordered but before anybody could blink, Gliscor must have used Screech because a hideous sound came from his mouth and another hoard of Gligar appeared, sailing on the winds that blew between the skyscrapers and with the distraction, the Gliscor escaped with his gang. Tough break, they'd stolen all our food!
Suddenly I spotted one Gligar still in the tree, holding an apple with a single bite taken out of it. "Hey that's mine! Give it back you thief!" I yelled, bolting forwards and climbing up into the branches. "If you don't hand back that apple, you'll be sorry!"
"Gli? Gligar!" It yelped then all in one gulp, swallowed the apple then winked with its tongue sticking out in a comical expression.
"Agh! No!" That little…I'll make him barf it back up! Nobody steals food from me and gets away with it! I tried to lunge for the Gligar but it leaped from the trees, however without an updraft to carry it, it tumbled to the ground and I winced slightly as it landed on Ash, flattening him to the ground.
"Get off of me!" He yelled and the Gligar squeaked, looking around as the Pokémon all glared before it began to panic, taking off and flying after its buddies.
"Well that's just great. Our food is all gone and we don't have the money to…AGH!" With my heart leaping to my throat as I gripped onto a branch which snapped, I tumbled down towards the ground, arms flailing as I broke another branch on my way down which failed to break my fall.
"Ruby! I'm coming!" Ash yelled and lunged forwards, scrambling to try and reach me but then I managed to snag a branch with one hand, yelping as I grazed my hand but then this too snapped. What is it with weak branches in this park? I'd climbed up easily enough, I didn't want to take the fast route down!
With a short fall, I'd expected to be saved a little pain, but surprisingly, I found I felt no pain at all. "Huh?" Blinking I opened my eyes and found myself to have been caught by Paul. I had instinctively gripped my hand, which was bleeding and had a splinter or two, but for now I didn't notice. The jerk had just caught me! AGAIN!
"You seriously need to stop being so clumsy all the time." He said, letting me go so that I dropped to my feet but then he noticed my hand. "And you should get someone to see that." He suggested as I glared at him.
"Who asked for your help or your opinion?" I demanded to know, drawing back from him as Brock took my hand and inspected it. Without a word he sat me down and began to clean it up, taking out the splinters. Paul rolled his eyes then looked up after where the Gliscor and Gligar had disappeared to.
"At least that Gliscor lives up to its reputation." He noted to himself as Ash and Dawn looked at him.
"So you're here to catch a Gliscor?" He asked but Paul merely turned his nose as usual.
"Stay out of my way. Got it?"
"Sure we do, you jerk faced pun-ow!" I squeaked, wincing as Brock put on some antiseptic which stung like crazy. Paul glanced back over his shoulder at my little whimper but then carried on walking as if he hadn't heard a thing. "I seriously need to stop falling off of stuff." I noted to myself. "I hate being the damsel in distress all the time."
"I thought it was romantic, like how prince charming comes to rescue his princess." Dawn said dreamily but we all gave her a single look that read it all. "Okay so Paul isn't your typical prince charming, but he still caught you! He made the effort, even though you were only a few feet off the ground he still helped you out." I rolled my eyes as Brock began to bandage my heavy scrape.
"Pikachu Pi?" Pikachu questioned softly, nuzzling my cheek gently as he sat on my shoulder, inspecting the wound.
"No need to worry Pikachu, I'll be right as rain in no time." I promised just as the screech of tyres sounded and we all looked up. Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny stepped out of the truck and walked over to us, instantly distracting Brock from his task as he leaped to his feet with a cry of happiness.
"Are you folks alright?" Jenny asked as she approached.
"Fine, except the Gligar and Gliscor got away with our lunch." Dawn revealed and Nurse Joy hung her head.
"It looks like they've done it once again."
"And we weren't in time once again." Jenny answered as Brock abandoned me and my bandage to kneel before the two pretty ladies.
"On the contrary, your timing is perfect! My heart was feeling empty, but now it feels full again, all because of you!" Just then Croagunk appeared and stabbed Brock with Poison Jab, making him cry out as I tried to fix the bandage on my own. "Of course…I'm feeling…other things…as well…" He groaned before collapsing to the ground.
"Good shot Croagunk." I said with a firm nod of my head.
"Pika Pika." Pikachu said, reaching out and held down the bandage for me as I wrapped it myself, giving him a grateful smile before he tied it off securely. "Pikachu!"
"Thanks Pikachu, that's perfect. You'd make a great doctor." I told him with a smile, lifting him up onto my shoulder and he hitched a ride as I walked over to the others. We were taken back to the Pokémon Centre for some proper lunch where Officer Jenny explained how the Gliscor and Gligar had eaten all fruit and vegetables in the city and had now proceeded to taking food right out of people's hands.
She then went on to explain how Gliscor had been dragged in by a powerful storm and because of the skyscraper currents, it was unable to return to the forest and soon attracted all the other Gligar in the surrounding area. "But we've got a plan." She said, turning around to face us. "We're going to lure the Gliscor in with all its favourite kinds of fruit and hopefully, we can trap it and then relocate it back in the forest."
"Sounds great, I want to help!" Ash said, standing upright. "We'll all help out, right guys?"
"Sure we will." I said, leaning against the window as the others sat at the table. "It's the least we can do after you giving us such a nice lunch." Dawn giggled as I looked down at Shieldon. "You'd better take a rest buddy, this could get a little difficult." I said and he beamed up at me as I returned him to his Pokéball.
For this kind of work, I need Charizard. I broke off from the rest of the group who got into a group filled truck whilst I took to the sky with one of my oldest friends. "Okay Charizard, let's go!" I called, punching the air as I settled on his back and he rose up, powerful wings easily taking the air currents and we circled around the Gliscor and Gligar to make sure they got out of the city. "Stay steady, these winds are going to get pretty strong Charizard, it'll be great training for you to see what you can take." I said and Charizard grunted in agreement, following the Gligar at a distance.
Suddenly Team Rocket's balloon appeared, capturing all the Gligar and Gliscor in a see through container, making me gasp. "Those three, they never give up! Let's hit it Charizard!" He roared in answer and we swept forwards, flying through the air but just then, I noticed another Gligar land on top of the canister after Piplup and Pikachu's attacks did nothing to affect the case.
It pulled a face, winking and sticking out its tongue before snapping the cable with a single claw. "Uh oh, this is bad." I said as Gligar fell to the ground but when it hit Ash who'd run forwards to try and catch it, I shrugged. "Or maybe not. Okay Charizard, let's see your Fire Blast in action, get upwind from Team Rocket by circling around!" Charizard roared and I heard Team Rocket's cry of fear as he shot passed, causing their entire balloon to shake before he turned around and hit them with his Fire Blast, connecting directly with the balloon. "Bon voyage!" I yelled, punching the air victoriously as Team Rocket's balloon exploded, causing them to fly up into the air again.
"ARGH! WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" They screamed and I rolled my eyes.
"Too bad they don't just stay away." Come on Charizard, let's land." I said and he turned for the ground, landed easily and I jumped off to meet the others. "Hey, what's going on?" I asked, looking up to see Gliscor and all the Gligar helping themselves to the food in the truck.
"The road's been blocked off and the air current has changed because of it. The Gligar can't get through." Dawn explained to me and I looked at the tall wall that stood in front of us. Charizard suddenly growled and clenched his fists. I guess we could try breaking it down, but it's a little too dangerous.
"No buddy, we can't risk it." I said, holding out my hand to stop him. "If that wall comes down wrong, it could hit another building, or even someone walking by on the other side. We'll have to find a way around it." So it was back to the drawing board. Reports came pouring in from all over the city of how the Gligar and Gliscor were wrecking havoc absolutely everywhere. We had little time but somehow we had to get those Pokémon back to the forest where they belonged.
"Let me think." Officer Jenny said as we all sat around a table together. "If we could somehow produce a current of air that carried them all out of the city then our problems would be solved." Suddenly Brock's head shot up.
"That's it! We'll use Gust!"
"Of course! We'll use our Pokémon to get them all on their way out of here." Ash said confidently then stood up as Nurse Joy worked out the schematics. "Okay, time for a talk."
"A talk?" Dawn questioned him. "To who?"
"Gliscor of course. I'll just explain to him that we're only trying to help then everything will be fine." He said and Pikachu lifted his arms brightly.
"Pikachu Pika!" He agreed before jumping up onto Ash's shoulder.
"But Ash, we've only got three Pokémon that can help us out. Staravia, Charizard and maybe Sudowoodo's Mimic." Dawn said as she stood up to follow Ash but I turned around.
"Don't be too sure! Remember up on the roof it's a Pokémon greenhouse, there's lots of Pokémon up there with wings who can use Gust. Butterfree, Beautifly…we just need their help then everything will be great! Let's go!" So with Ash leading the way we head off into the streets searching for Gliscor, however it was a Gligar we found first, and not just any Gligar.
"Gligar you okay?" Ash called out as we ran towards it. It turned around in surprise as we stopped before it before closing one eye and sticking out its tongue. No way! The same one again!
"I can't believe it's the same one."
"Yeah, you ate my apple!" I accused, folding my arms unhappily as Ash chuckled.
"Don't mind her, it's nice to see you again Gligar." Suddenly another draft picked up and Gligar used it to carry himself away down an alley away from us. "Hey! Where're you going now?!"
"Gliscor must be down there somewhere." Brock said so we all chased after Gligar, following it's lead. We turned down another alley only to find Paul standing with his Weavile and Electabuzz, but all were thrown back by Gliscor's X-Scissor attack and they landed in a heap. "Watch out, it's attacking again!" Brock warned and I streaked ahead.
As Gliscor hit with another X-Scissor attack before Paul could even sit upright, I flung out one hand and stood there with a wide stance side on, concentrating on my aura as I pushed it out and formed a protective barrier in front of Paul and his Pokémon as Gligar sailed overhead.
"Gliscor!" Ash called out, finally catching up as I lowered my hand and the barrier dropped as Paul turned a wide eyed expression around at me but I ignored him, walking past as Ash and the others stepped out in front of Paul to speak to Gliscor. "We want to help you get back to the forest! We're just trying to help!" Ash explained over the heavy wind that whipped around us. "You come with us." He invited and for a moment, I saw Gliscor consider our offer but then a double hit of Thunderbolt and Ice Beam struck him, doing considerable damage and he fell to the ground.
"Gliscor no!" I yelled, running forwards and placed my hands on him, trying to shake him gently awake. "Are you alright?" I turned a glare at Paul but before I could do anything, he'd finished his capture.
"Now go Pokéball!" Gliscor disappeared into the Pokéball and it trembled on the ground, red light flashing before finally it clicked shut. I stared down at it with wide eyes until Paul picked it up and scanned it. "This Gliscor might be useful to me." He murmured quietly before pocketing it.
"You…you…JERK!" I yelled in his face, leaping to my feet. "The Gligar need Gliscor to lead them back to the forest!" Our friend Gligar suddenly dived down, aiming straight for Paul with a determined expression, probably to free it's leader.
"Electabuzz, Thunder Punch." Paul said without even blinking so without even breaking my glare, I flung out a hand and created a barrier before me, stopping Thunder Punch in its tracks as it hammered once against my wall, protecting Gligar who had stopped upon seeing the blockade however the attack didn't even make contact, so he was safe.
My eyes remained hotly on Paul and he too didn't look away, challenging me without even saying a word. He returned his Pokémon and I dropped the shield, taking a deep breath as I felt my legs weaken a little, but I clenched my fist tightly. "Have this, it's a Ruby Punch!" I snarled at him then swung my fist, putting all my anger behind it and successfully hit Paul straight in the face, causing him to stumble backwards and he bit back a curse as his hand jumped to his face, covering his eyes where no doubt there would be a black mark by tomorrow. "That was for Chimchar too, you know." I said, cracking my knuckles threateningly as I took a step forwards. "Now get out of here, I don't want to ever see you again!"
Paul glared at me before turning around, walking away without even saying anything. "Wow…Ruby…I know you always say you'd punch him, but I never thought you'd actually do it." Dawn said as I turned around.
"I'm always serious. Now, what about these Gligar?" They were flying around without control, none of them having a clue as to what they should do next.
"Now that Gliscor's been captured, they don't know what to do!" Brock said.
"We need to get them back to the Pokémon Centre and fast!" Ash said as the Gligar continued to fly around in circles.
"Then leave that to me." I said, pulling out my flute with a twirl then tossed a Pokéball into the air as I ran out the alley. "Charizard, I choose you!" He spread his wings and roared as I ran up his tail then jumped up onto his back. "We'll play follow the leader, take us to the Pokémon Centre." I said then began to play. The Gligar all turned to listen and as Charizard moved off, they followed after us, drawn in by the sound of my playing as the wind carried it around and Gligar from all over the city began to fly towards us.
The glass roof on top of the Pokémon centre opened and I spotted all the Pokémon ready to go, so I guided Charizard in and he landed as I stopped playing and the Gligar all attached themselves to trees. "Okay everybody, use Gust!" Nurse Joy called and instantly all the Pokémon began to flap their wings and Charizard helped out, using the strength in his wings to add some extra oomph before all the Gligar were sailing across the sky and towards the forest beyond.
"Alright, it worked!" I cheered as the gang made it up the elevator.
"They'll be back in the forest in no time." Nurse Joy said as we watched them all disappear.
"Hey look, our friend's still here." Dawn said so Ash smirked.
"Okay Turtwig, use Energy Ball, focus your mind and your strength and you'll get it!" He said and Turtwig instantly began to power up, taking his time before launching his Energy Ball directly at the tree Gligar was hanging out in. "Direct hit!" Ash cheered as I chuckled, sitting happily on Charizard's shoulder as the last of the Gligar were blown away. "Bye Gligar! Hurry home!"
"And please, stay home!" Dawn added as we all waved.
"Well that's a relief. Now we can rest easy." Jenny said with a sigh as the last of the Gligar sailed on the wind that the Pokémon had made for them, but something made me squint into the distance as I spotted it moving closer.
"Uh…I wouldn't be too sure about that. Heads up Ash, Gligar at twelve o clock." I warned and Ash blinked before looking up at the sky. WHAM!
"Agh! Where'd you learn how to fly?" Ash yelled as our friend Gligar came back, crash landing on Ash for a cushion though I don't think Ash appreciated it much. Oh well, at least I caught it on camera! Have to love this thing.
"Gligar, why didn't you go with all your friends?" Dawn asked and Gligar pulled his signature face whilst looking up at Ash. I have to admit, it looks pretty darn adorable.
"I'll tell you what I think. I think Gligar likes Ash." Brock said and Ash looked down at Gligar.
"Really? Is that true Gligar?" He asked and Gligar closed both eyes, making its sticking out tongue smile look even cuter than before. "Then you can come with us! Let's go Pokéball!" He called and flung a Pokéball at Gligar, capturing him swiftly and I smiled as I leaned against Charizard's long neck.
"You know buddy, I love travelling." I sighed as he turned to look at me. "The fun just never seems to end."