The Road to be a Pokemon Master: Johto Arc

by FanaticLAguy06

Sequel to the Orange Islands Arc. After winning the Orange League, Ash and his friends now head off to the Johto Region to compete in the tournaments there. However, an old evil resurfaces once more, and Ash isn't the only one who vows to stop it. Another one has the same goal, but his motives aren't exactly as noble as Ash's.

21. Pokemon Psychology

A/N: Well, guys, this chapter's out early! In celebration of an X/Y finale that left me very satisfied (as I'm sure most of you are), here it is. I'm in a very good mood right now so why not?! Enjoy this very important chapter and the lead up to the moment you all were waiting for. Yes. You know what I'm all referring to.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

---

Chapter Twenty-One: Pokemon Psychology

"Woah," Ash muttered in awe.

"Yeah…," Serena said in equal awe.

The group had finally made it to Goldenrod City. They had heard this city was big, but that was an understatement. The city, in fact, was gigantic. It was clearly going to be the largest city they ever visited. Saffron City was very big in Kanto, but Goldenrod City really stood out. The group couldn't believe the amount of skyscrapers this place had. They were almost a little intimidated to step foot in it.

"I can't imagine how many things there are to do here," Misty commented.

"Heheh. Yeah," Ash agreed as he gave a knowing look to Serena, who smiled back.

It looked like they had picked a great place to have their one year anniversary of becoming a couple. This place was enormous, and there would be no shortage of things to do. They would definitely want to do their anniversary the first chance they got, but there were a few other things that they had to do first.

It would be the site of several things for them. Ash would have his third gym battle. Serena would have her first Pokemon Showcase. Brock would most likely even participate in another Pokemon Breeder Competition. They would need to focus on these things first in order to succeed, and they had every intention of succeeding. Still, the things that ran through their mind of all they could do was incredible. The only thing was…what do they do first?

"Hey, Brock. I'm sure we could do my gym battle at any time. The gym's not going anywhere, but when does the breeder competition and the Pokemon Showcase start?" Ash asked.

"Man. I'm not sure. We've been out in the wilderness for so long I sort of lost track of the schedule," Brock frowned.

"I guess even someone as organized as you can't keep up with everything," Misty smiled.

"I think the best thing for us to do is go to the Pokemon Center. It'll likely have everything we're looking for there, and at the very least, I'm sure the beautiful Nurse Joy will know something," Brock suggested.

"Sounds good!" Ash agreed as he unclipped his pokeballs and released his Pokemon. "Come on out, everyone! See the big city!"

Ash released Chikorita, Noctowl, Houndour, Cyndaquil, and Totodile. Noctowl and Houndour stood faithfully by Ash and looked around at the gigantic city before them. Totodile was more interested in dancing, however, and Chikorita was more interested in snuggling Ash while Cyndaquil just took a nap.

As Ash watched his Pokemon do their own thing, needless to say he had a few reservations about his upcoming gym match. Houndour and Noctowl were strong and would probably have no trouble following his commands during the match, but Cyndaquil, Chikorita, and Totodile seemed to have their own agenda. Ash was too reminded of this in his last gym battle against Bugsy when he almost lost. Gary's harsh words still made him cringe.

Ash had trained his Pokemon a lot since then, but even so, Cyndaquil still couldn't light its flame properly, Chikorita still had an attitude problem, and Heracross still had an unhealthy obsession of tree sap. He could only imagine that the stag beetle Pokemon was probably sucking every tree at Professor Oak's lab dry.

Ash wanted to avoid a repeat of what happened at the Azalea Gym at all costs. Still, with his gym match approaching fast, Ash was now wondering if he was even ready. He sometimes wondered if his Pokemon's behavior could be corrected by something other than training. It seemed to run a little bit deeper than that, particularly with Chikorita.

"Chika! Chika!" Chikorita cooed as it snuggled against Ash's leg.

"Are you excited to see the city, Chikorita?" Serena asked.

Chikorita briefly stopped snuggling Ash to stare at Serena. For a while, the leaf Pokemon said nothing. It finally made a slight huff before it went back to snuggling Ash. Serena let out a sigh which didn't go unnoticed by Houndour. Though Serena wasn't its trainer, Houndour knew that this kind of behavior was unacceptable. This whole group was its pack now, and it wouldn't handle any insubordination.

Houndour gave a few short, angry barks to Chikorita. The leaf Pokemon turned and shouted back at Houndour before it fired a Razor Leaf in Houndour's direction. The dark Pokemon skillfully dodged the attack, but the leaves continued going until they struck Cyndaquil who was napping peacefully. Cyndaquil leaped in alarm at the sudden attack before it fired a Swift attack in a random direction. Unfortunately, that random direction was where Totodile was dancing, and it was struck from behind. The big jaw Pokemon turned around in surprise before it looked around to try to find who did the sneak attack.

Pretty soon, Houndour, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile were all in the others' faces and glaring at each other. Pikachu and Noctowl sensed the impending fight and hastily forced themselves in the middle. They then spread out their arms or wings to get the Pokemon far apart from each other.

"Guys, what's the matter with you?!" Ash cried in surprise. "We're on the same team. We don't have to fight because of a few misunderstandings!"

Houndour, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile cast their eyes downward in a guilty expression, particularly Houndour. It knew better than to behave like this. It would never start a fight, but it was just as guilty for reacting the way it did when Chikorita attacked it. Pikachu and Noctowl sighed. They couldn't play the mediator every time there was a fight.

Ash continued to watch his Pokemon before he folded his arms. He turned to look at Serena, Brock, and Misty, and he could tell they were thinking the same thing he was. These types of issues definitely went further than just training. Maybe he was going about this all wrong. There had to be something to help his Pokemon. Coming up with nothing, Ash frowned and sighed, too.

"Hey. Let's just get to the Pokemon Center," he muttered.

---

Silver glared as he stood outside Goldenrod City. He really didn't want to search here. In fact, Silver would say he hated this city. It was always so noisy, and the people here, especially the gym leader, were complete idiots.

Still, he had searched Violet City, Cherrygrove City, and Ecruteak City for any traces of Team Rocket but didn't find anything. Where the heck were those pansies hiding?! Silver slammed his fist against the Welcome sign to Goldendrod City which earned a few stares from passerbys. However, a quick glare from Silver forced them to just continue on.

The angry young man took a deep breath to calm himself. He had a strong feeling a lot of Team Rocket members were here. This city could likely hide a lot of them. Though Silver hated this place, he still knew a lot of places where they might hide. He also knew the perfect place to start looking first.

With that, Silver collected himself before he entered the city limits. He was going to find Team Rocket and make them pay for showing their faces again. They made the ultimate mistake by trying rise up. They would've been better off just staying down. Then he wouldn't have to try to find them and then destroy them…just like he did to the ones in Slowpoke Well.

---

The group had been wandering around Goldenrod City for almost twenty minutes now. It wasn't that they were lost. It was just taking them that long to wander through the streets to get to the Pokemon Center. Thankfully, the guidebook Brock had with him told them exactly where to go, but it was still quite a trek. Goldenrod City was nuts with people and buildings.

"Are we almost there, Brock?" Ash wondered.

"Hmm…according to the guidebook, we're only a little over halfway there," Brock answered.

"Y-you're kidding right? It's still another twenty minute walk?" Misty stuttered.

"Uhh…well…," Brock trailed nervously.

"Oh, brother. Isn't there some kind of shortcut we can take?" Misty asked hopefully.

"Well, there is the underground mall, but…," Brock started.

"But what?" Ash questioned.

"It's not the safest place in the city. There are usually a lot of thugs down there. I mean…security is pretty tight down there, but we could still possibly run into some trouble," Brock replied.

"What do you guys think?" Ash asked as he turned to Serena and Misty.

"I'm not really scared of any thugs," Misty answered before she lowered her voice. "After all, we've dealt with much more dangerous individuals before."

"I agree. We have our Pokemon with us, too, just in case," Serena agreed.

"Well, alright. We're actually pretty near one of the entrances," Brock said as he pointed at a stairway that apparently led underground about fifty yards away.

"Hey, Togepi. I'm going to put you in my backpack for right now. I'll take you out soon," Serena told the spike ball Pokemon.

With that, the group walked towards the stairwell. They could see several people going in and out of it. That at least reassured the group that they wouldn't be too out of place going to a place like this. They could see graffiti lining the walls, but what city didn't have some these days? They would just have to make sure to stick to the main path, and they should be fine.

---

Silver was trudging through the underground mall in one of the alleyways. It was his first stop in this crazy city. If he was a Team Rocket lowlife trying to hide from the outside world, this is definitely where he would hide. If he wanted to catch criminals, he had to think like a criminal. All he had to do was look for clues. If there was any Team Rocket members down here, there would have to be something.

Silver soon passed by two thugs who were smoking a cigarette against the wall, and they looked quite drunk, too, due to how they were stumbling and kept coughing on the cigarette. They looked really nasty from head to toe which told Silver they didn't even bother to keep clean regularly. Silver rolled his eyes in disgust. Smoking and drinking never appealed to him. He considered it a sign of weakness, and he hated the weak with a passion. These thugs were pathetic.

"Hey, you!" one of the thugs yelled out.

Silver simply ignored the guy and kept walking. These guys weren't worth his time. However, that only seemed anger the thug, and he went stumbling after Silver.

"Hey! You with the long hair like a little girl! I'm talking to you!" the thug shouted.

Silver stopped in his tracks and turned around to fix the thug with a deadly glare. It wasn't because the thug had insulted his hairstyle. Silver couldn't care less about that. It was because this loser was actually trying to start something with him. The cold man wanted to make it quite clear that he shouldn't be messed with. However, the thug didn't seem intimidated by Silver's glare and still marched right up to Silver with his buddy following him.

"What?" Silver uttered.

"What's with the crappy look you gave us? You got some problem with us?" the thug asked and tried his best to look intimidating. However, it wasn't working on Silver.

Silver sighed in aggravation. "As a matter of fact, I do. You idiots would rather waste your life getting drunk or being high every day than actually do something with your lives. You're so pathetic it makes me sick."

With that, Silver turned to leave, but that only seemed to enrage the thugs even more. First, this little punk gives them a dirty look and then he insults them by calling them pathetic? They were about to teach this guy a lesson.

"What'd you say to me?!" the thug shouted and went to clumsily swing his fist at the back of Silver's head.

However, Silver sensed the move coming, and he moved his head to the side to dodge the attack. So these losers wanted to pick a fight? So be it. Silver turned around and grabbed the first thug by the arm and twisted it before he used his other hand to grab the thug's jacket and slam him against the wall. Silver wasn't a world class street fight master, but he was good enough to take on these idiots.

The thug moaned in pain as Silver continued to twist his arm against the wall. The second thug came to help, but Silver's voice stopped him dead in his tracks. These guys were asking for it.

"You see that pokeball at the front of my belt? I have a Feraligatr in there that wouldn't hesitate to tear you limb from limb if you try to attack me again. Now, what should I do with your friend here?" Silver said darkly to the second thug.

"Hey, man! Lemme go! Lemme go! I-I-I'm sorry!" the first thug cried.

"Why should I?" Silver smirked.

"I-it was just a put on! A gag! Hahahaha! Yeah!" the second thug laughed nervously.

"Heh. Maybe I should send my Feraligatr out and have it crush you guys anyway. My Sneasel could use to work on the accuracy of its slashes. Not to mention my other four Pokemon would like some action, too. Hmm…what to do?" Silver sneered.

The two gulped nervously at that. They only had a couple of Grimer with him, and they would be no match for a Feraligatr or whatever else this dude had with him. They didn't quite know if this scary guy was bluffing or not, but the dark look in his eyes made them think he was leaning towards the truth. One thing was sure, they certainly didn't want to find out. This guy's ruthless eyes actually scared them.

"Hey man. We're sorry. We'll leave you alone and never bother you again. We promise," the second thug said slowly.

The first thug was no longer moaning in pain and was instead just fearing for his life. Would this guy really just kill them like that? The thug had several beads of sweat going down his head as he stared at the scary guy who seemed to be thinking it over. Finally, Silver gave his answer.

"Fine. You two aren't my concern anyway," Silver muttered before he let go of the guy.

The first thug gave a huge exhale of relief which was followed by a cough because of the smoke he was inhaling from earlier. His buddy came and made sure he was okay before they both looked up to see what the guy was going to do next, but he was already walking away from the two without a word. Just who was this guy anyway?

Silver stepped back into the main pathway of the underground mall and resumed walking. He wasn't really going to kill those guys unless he believed they actually posed a threat to him. Those guys were just losers who tried to act tough. Still, he did want them to know that he wasn't kidding around. If anyone did seriously attempt to harm him, Silver would show no mercy.

Silver stopped and looked around. He had heard there was some kind of underground passage here, but details were scarce. He didn't want to draw too much attention to himself by asking one of the local vendors as they might think its quite suspicious. Well, whatever. There was still plenty of time left for him to search.

The cold man went to one of food stands to get something small to eat so he could just sit down and think. Once he got there, the food vendor greeted him with a typical smile found in any food service business.

"Large fry, please," Silver muttered.

"Yes, sir. Would you like anything to drink?" the vendor asked.

"No. I have a water with me," Silver muttered again.

The vendor nodded his head and rang up Silver's order before Silver paid for the food. About thirty seconds later, the vendor returned to Silver and politely handed Silver the fries and a few napkins. Silver gave a swift nod in the vendor's direction before he went over to one of the tables and sat down.

Silver grabbed his hair long hair in frustration. He knew those Team Rocket losers were here in the city somewhere. They had to be, but he just didn't know where. He should've squeezed information out of those ones in the Slowpoke Well before he killed them. If they resisted, he would've simply tortured them until they gave him the information he wanted, but whatever. It was in the past, and there was no sense on dwelling on it now.

As Silver took a fry and went to eat it, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Silver snapped his head to his right, and his eyes widened in horror. No. It couldn't be. Please. Anybody but him! How was the kid here of all places?! Why did he have to have the misfortune of seeing this kid again? Silver cursed his luck. He had to get of here fast. Searching for Team Rocket could wait. With that, Silver abandoned his fries and took off as fast as he could.

---

The group was walking through the underground pathway, and they were actually quite impressed. There was actually quite a variety of shops here. One of the things that particularly stood out to the group was a Pokemon Salon. It was one of the nicer things there. The group briefly considered to check it out, but they really needed to get to the Pokemon Center. They may try it later, though.

There was also a shady place ran by a lady who was pitching herb medicine. Apparently she claimed that her medicine worked better than any Potion, and it was cheap, but she admitted they tasted terrible. A quick grimace from Pikachu immediately told the group that they wouldn't be stopping by. They would never give any medicine to their Pokemon that they would actually detest.

"So far, everything appears okay down here," Serena commented as they passed a food stand.

"Yeah," Ash replied before there was a slight commotion.

A few people were pushed aside and made a cry of protest in front of the group. There were several shouts of aggravation before the small crowd of people simply huffed about rudeness and went on their way. Serena, Misty, and Brock shook their heads. Apparently, someone was in quite a hurry and forgot their manners. Just who on Earth would have to get somewhere that badly that they would actually have to shove people out of the way to get there? Some people.

The group turned to Ash, and the boy was staring straight ahead where the commotion was and had a slight look of surprise on his face. It was almost as if he was thinking hard about something, or if there was some sort of recognition on his face.

"Pika?" Pikachu questioned at seeing its trainer's strange look.

"Ash?" Serena asked, too.

"Uhh…nothing. Let's just go," Ash muttered.

"Well…I think the exit to for the Pokemon Center should be right here. After we get out, it'll only take a short walk," Brock mentioned as he pointed to a set of stairs to the group's right.

The group then continued on out of the underground mall. It was definitely an interesting place, but as Brock mentioned, not the safest of areas. As long as they didn't go in there at night, they should be fine. There were still a few thugs down there, but the group was sure to avoid them at all costs to prevent unnecessary trouble.

Before they stepped outside, Ash glanced back one last time. If he wasn't mistaken, he could've sworn the person hurrying through the crowd had thick, dark red hair and dark clothing. If Ash didn't know better, it looked almost like…

"Ash? You're sure you're alright?" Serena asked in slight worry. He still looked out of it.

"Yeah. Really. I'm fine," Ash smiled and shook his head. Maybe he was just analyzing the situation too intensely. The chances of that being who Ash thought it might be were quite slim indeed. He should just forget about it for now.

As the group stepped outside, they sighed in relief. There it was. Not too far away. They had finally made it to the Pokemon Center after an arduous amount of walking. It was also a lot bigger than the other Pokemon Centers they were used to seeing, probably because of Goldenrod City's size. Here, they could heal their Pokemon, and they could probably also find a great map of the city which would probably serve them better than the guide book they were using.

A couple of minutes later, the group was walking through the doors of the Pokemon Center, and they looked around. What they saw surprised them. They were expecting this Pokemon Center to be just as noisy and crowded as the rest of Goldenrod City. However, the crowd here was actually pretty reasonable. They must've come on the perfect day.

As the group approached Nurse Joy at her desk, they could tell something was different about this one. She still had the same hairstyle, outfit, and face as all the other Nurse Joy had. They then realized it was because this Nurse Joy was wearing glasses. So maybe eyesight was the only thing that wasn't shared by all Nurse Joys.

"Hello. What can I do for you?" the Nurse Joy asked kindly once they saw the group.

"Hey. I was wondering if you could check our Pokemon and find us a place to stay," Ash requested.

"You actually came on a great day. The gym leader, Whitney, is off today so business is slower today. It's normally so crammed here that they've had to expand this center several times," Nurse Joy replied.

"Well, hello there, my lovely Nurse Joy. Might I say that those glasses make you look very smart. Would you by chance be smart enough to know my love for you?" Brock asked in a goofy voice before Misty pulled him back by the ear.

"I'm sure she's at least smart enough to stay away from you," Misty muttered in aggravation.

"Well, now that you mention it, I do happen to have a degree in Pokemon Psychology," Nurse Joy replied to Brock, ignoring the pickup line he gave.

"Really? You're the first one we've encountered that has a second degree. That's impressive," Serena commented.

"Yes. Being the Nurse Joy in such a large city as this calls for some qualifications that go past the normal standard. Of course, that's not to discredit all of my cousins at the other Pokemon Centers. They're just as capable as I am," Nurse Joy smiled.

"Thanks for this, Nurse Joy. My Pokemon have been a little fussy today," Ash sighed.

"Really? How so?" Nurse Joy asked in interest.

A though then suddenly came to Ash. This Nurse Joy did say she had a degree in Pokemon Psychology. She might know something to tell him or have advice.

"It's just…I don't know how to explain it. I'm just worried about them. I train them hard, and they get stronger, but it doesn't change their behavior. I don't know if they're ready for a gym battle. I almost lost my last one," Ash frowned.

"Hmm…if you don't mind, I'd like to see them. Would you be willing to meet with me in my office tonight at seven o'clock? Business is slow today so it will be fine," Nurse Joy asked.

"What do you mean?" Serena wondered.

"I'd like to have you join me for a Pokemon counseling session. If you say that no amount of training is helping your Pokemon, then this must be a psychological factor. I'd like to help if I can," Nurse Joy elaborated.

Ash grinned broadly. This was better than he could've hoped for. Maybe after this, he would at least have an idea with what's going on with most of his Johto-caught Pokemon. One thing was sure. Only good could come from this so it would definitely be worth his time. They really did come on the perfect day.

"That sounds great! Thanks, Nurse Joy!" Ash exclaimed.

"My pleasure," Nurse Joy smiled.

"Nurse Joy, if you don't mind, I'd like you to take a look at a couple of my Pokemon, too. I have a few that are…different," Serena said for lack of a better word. Her Poliwhirl, Mareep, and new Teddiursa immediately came to her mind.

"I hope Nurse Joy won't get overwhelmed," Misty said.

"It will be no trouble at all. I have Blissey for backup who also is excellent with psychology. Any Pokemon that I can't handle will be taken over by it. They'll be just fine," Nurse Joy nodded.

"Nurse Joy, I need you badly, too…for psychological purposes that is," Brock spoke up as he got in Nurse Joy's face.

"Goodness! What's wrong?" Nurse Joy wondered.

"You see, I have this feeling in my heart…a sense of emptiness," Brock said as he put his hand over his heart and seemed to be in pain.

"I'm sorry. I only deal with Pokemon," Nurse Joy replied apologetically.

Brock hung his head dejectedly. Another Nurse Joy had refused him. Be still, his aching heart!

---

It was six-thirty in the evening right now in Goldenrod City. The group had just finished supper in the cafeteria of the Pokemon Center and prepared for Nurse Joy's counseling session. Before they did that, though, Ash had one phone call he had to make to Professor Oak, and he was a little apprehensive about it. He would be asking for a quite a special privilege that few people could do. He hoped it would go over well so he could make the most of this session.

Ash made his way over to the video phone and dialed Professor Oak's number while Serena, Brock, and Misty stood behind him. In truth, they were wondering, too, about what Professor Oak's response would be. They had never even thought to ask what Ash was asking for. They just assumed it was out of their reach and only reserved for champions, the Elite Four, or league winners.

After a few rings, Professor Oak picked up on the other line. It looked like he was in the middle of cooking his dinner, probably tofu. Upon seeing what the Professor was doing, Ash frowned. Great. He caught Professor Oak making his supper, and he probably couldn't talk right now. There was no other time Ash could ask, though.

"Hello, Ash, my boy!" Oak greeted as he held the video phone in one hand and chopsticks in the other.

Despite the friendly greeting, Ash was still nervous. "Hey, Professor Oak. I hate to do this while you're in the middle of cooking, but I have something important to ask you," Ash requested.

"Oh? What might it be?" Professor Oak asked curiously as he set down his chopsticks and gave Ash his full attention.

"Well…," Ash began as he took a deep breath and mentally crossed his fingers. "I was wondering if I could have seven Pokemon with me…just for the evening, though!"

"Hmm? Why would you need seven Pokemon with you, Ash? You know the limit for trainers is six Pokemon. It's in the official trainer's pledge, and the Pokemon League and Federation forbid it. Only very privileged trainers can do that. As much promise as you show, Ash, I'm afraid you haven't reached that level yet," Professor Oak stated.

"Well…you see…I've been having some trouble training most of my Johto Pokemon," Ash began. "The Nurse Joy here in Goldenrod City doesn't believe it's my fault, though. She wants to try to help in a counseling session. She has a degree in Pokemon Psychology."

"Ahhh…Pokemon Psychology, eh? One has to be very intelligent in order to achieve a degree like that," Professor Oak nodded.

"Smart and beautiful…," Brock murmured, but the group ignored him.

"Right. The reason why is because I really want all of my Johto Pokemon to be a part of this session…and Heracross has been with you since Totodile joined," Ash finished.

"Oh. Yes. Your Heracross. It was transported here the other day after you got your Totodile, I believe. Its stay here has been….," Professor Oak trailed.

"Wait. Is Heracross causing you trouble?" Ash questioned.

"Well…I wouldn't say trouble exactly. It's just it refuses to eat anything other the sap that comes from the trees here on the ranch. It's appetite for tree sap is incredible. This wouldn't be a problem, but I'm worried it will harm my trees…which would eventually harm the Pokemon that live in them. Tracey's been trying other forms of food, but Heracross refuses," Professor Oak explained.

"Oh…wow," Ash muttered, not knowing what else to say.

"Not to mention…your Ivysaur doesn't like it too much," Professor Oak added.

"Wait. Why would Ivysaur not like Heracross? It and Wartortle are some of my most welcoming Pokemon," Ash said in confusion.

"Well…apparently Heracross has taken a liking to the nectar that's in Ivysuar's budding flower. It's always trying to suck on Ivysaur's flower every chance it gets. Ivysaur always has to end up using Vine Whip to shoo it off," Professor Oak said.

Ash, Serena, Misty, and Brock almost wanted to laugh at that. Poor Ivysaur. The image of Heracross trying to suck the nectar out of Ivysaur's flower was pretty funny…though apparently not for Ivysaur. Still, it did ring a bell that something had to be done to try to quell Heracross' appetite for tree sap. It knew not to do so in battle now, but it had to know that it couldn't do it always in its free time, too. Its life shouldn't resolve around food. It wasn't Snorlax.

"That's kind of why I need Heracross for this session. It's really important," Ash tried again.

"Hmm…I don't know. It's a lot of work to try to get this special privilege…even if it is for tonight. You have no idea what I would have to go through," Professor Oak replied doubtfully.

"Please, Professor Oak. Just this one time? I'm not going to leave the Pokemon Center or try to battle anyone with seven Pokemon. It'll just be for a few hours," Ash pleaded.

Professor Oak sighed. The truth was…he believed Heracross could use some counseling, too. According to Ash, all of his Johto Pokemon should be a part of this session, and he didn't have enough room for all of them. He was just missing one and couldn't afford to swap any of his Pokemon on hand for Heracross. He also knew Ash was trustworthy and wouldn't ask this unless it was absolutely necessary.

Professor Oak looked once more at the screen and saw Ash looking at him pleadingly. It really was important to him. Maybe he could cut he boy some slack and make the exception just this one time. As Ash said, it was very important, and he knew the difficulty of this.

"Okay, Ash. I'll let you have seven Pokemon for tonight only," Professor Oak relented.

"Alright!" Ash cheered along with Pikachu, Serena, Misty, and Brock.

"Just remember, you can't tell anyone I did this for you. I've never even done it for Gary. I don't want people to think this is a common occurrence," Professor Oak said seriously.

"Don't worry, Professor. I won't. My lips are sealed," Ash smiled.

"The Pokemon will be in good hands, Professor Oak," the Nurse Joy stated as she passed by the group on her way to the counseling room. Apparently, she was aware of the situation, too.

"Very well. Thank you, Nurse Joy," Professor Oak nodded towards the nurse.

"Thanks a lot, Professor! Really!" Ash said in excitement.

"You're welcome, my boy. I'll have Heracross over to the Pokemon Center in Goldenrod City in about twenty-five minutes. I have to make a call to the Silph Company and Pokemon League Corporation Office," Professor Oak said.

"Great! Thank you so much!" Ash grinned again.

"Oh no! My tofu's done! I have to go, Ash! Bye!" Professor Oak hurriedly said and hung up the phone.

Ash set the phone down and smiled. He did it. He was really worried that Professor Oak would say no, but he realized that was probably a little silly. Professor Oak was a very understanding man. Ash would just need to make sure he realized the hoops Professor Oak had to go through. As he and rest of the group knew, it was a very special privilege.

"That was good, Ash. I think we'll really get the most out of this session now," Serena smiled.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

"Yep! Hopefully this will be a great first step for everyone on my team!" Ash agreed.

---

The group was now sitting in a circle inside a large room now with Nurse Joy at the head with a clipboard. They needed one after all due to the amount of occupants that were in there at the moment. In addition to Ash's Pokemon, Serena had out her Poliwhirl, Teddiursa, and Mareep while Misty had out her Psyduck and Shellder. Surprisingly, all of the Pokemon were quiet at the moment with the exception of Mareep who was twitching uncontrollably like it was having some sort of seizure.

"Serena, I must ask if your Mareep is alright?" Nurse Joy asked in alarm upon seeing Mareep…and the fact that it had no wool.

"I…think it is. I know it's like this all the time. We just can't get it to sit still. It's too hyper for its own good, and it freaks out at the tiniest things," Serena explained.

"Hmm…," Nurse Joy mused as she wrote something on her clipboard.

"Do you think you can help it…or at least figure out why it's this way?" Serena asked hopefully.

"I'll certainly see what I can do," Nurse Joy answered as she pushed up the ridge of her glasses. "I've never seen a Mareep like this before."

"I don't think anybody has," Serena giggled lightly as she glanced at Mareep.

Nurse Joy then noticed Chikorita was in Ash's lap and snuggling into his chest. "Your Chikorita seems very affectionate to you. That's very sweet."

"Eheheheh. I guess it would be normally," Ash chuckled.

"Normally?" Nurse Joy inquired in interest.

"Well…I think it's nice that Chikorita likes me so much, but it's causing problems for my other Pokemon…and Serena," Ash replied.

"Problems?" Nurse Joy questioned.

"Yeah. Whenever I battle, Chikorita refuses to switch out until it's beaten. It also has a really strong dislike for Serena, and none of us can ever figure out why. I'm the only person Chikorita has warmed up to, and Totodile," Ash said with a frown.

"Hmmm…I think I know the problem," Nurse Joy responded as her glasses seemed to shine.

"Really? Please tell me," Ash pleaded.

"Your Chikorita suffers from envy," Nurse Joy replied.

"I'm envious of Nurse Joy," Brock muttered.

"One mental case at a time, Brock," Misty said in annoyance.

Ash looked down at Chikorita who was still snuggling into his chest. It wasn't like it was trying to hide its emotions from anybody. Chikorita could definitely hear that everyone was talking about it, but it wasn't even denying it. Maybe Nurse Joy was right, after all.

"Envy," Ash mused before he spoke up. "Why would it feel envy? I give Chikorita plenty of attention."

"When a Pokemon battles for their trainer, they are always doing their best to please them,and some to a greater extent than others like your Chikorita," Nurse Joy explained. "In Chikorita's case, it really wants to win for you, and when you want to switch out a Pokemon, Chikorita feels that you trust that Pokemon more than it so it's jealous."

"I wonder if that's why Chikorita always acts so coldly to the other Pokemon, especially Pikachu," Ash muttered.

He recalled all the times when he would have practice battles with random trainers whom he passed by. Chikorita did always seem upset when he would switch it out. It's just been getting worse lately, however. He recalled a particularly bad incident not too long ago when he was battling another kid and his Raticate. He wanted to switch Chikorita out for Pikachu, but Chikorita kept dodging his pokeball when he tried to recall it.

"Then why doesn't Chikorita like Serena? She's always so nice to it, and she's not a Pokemon," Ash wondered.

"Serena is your girlfriend, correct?" Nurse Joy inquired.

"That's right," Ash smiled, and he felt an undeniable flinch from Chikorita when he said that which didn't go unnoticed by Nurse Joy.

"It's just as I thought," Nurse Joy sighed. "It all links back to envy. Since Serena is your girlfriend, Chikorita knows that she's the most important person in your life, and Chikorita wants the same."

"But I do love Chikorita. It should know that," Ash frowned.

"I think what Nurse Joy is saying is that Chikorita wishes it was in Serena's place," Misty sighed.

"Ohhhhhh…," Ash mumbled before he looked at Nurse Joy again. "What do I need to do?"

"Unfortunately, something like this can only come with time. You need to let Chikorita know that you love and care for it just as much as your other Pokemon. You also need to let it know that teamwork is important and that you need to love your other Pokemon, too," Nurse Joy responded.

"But what about me?" Serena asked timidly.

"Deep down, Chikorita knows it can't have the same type of relationship with Ash as you do," Nurse Joy replied. "It just has a hard time accepting that. Once again, Ash just needs to show Chikorita that he loves and cares for it, too."

"I see," Ash muttered as he watched Chikorta continue to snuggle him.

Houndour noticed this and rolled its eyes. It knew what Nurse Joy was saying. Chikroita's just acting like a spoiled brat. Ash is the leader of a pack and needs to treat all of them equally. He shouldn't have to give special attention to one Pokemon just because it's jealous. Being the former leader of a pack, it would know.

"Is something wrong, Houndour?" Ash questioned once he saw the dark Pokemon's tense look.

Houndour merely gave a short huff in response. It wanted to growl in disapproval at Chikorita, but it didn't want to start a fight in the middle of a therapy session. It knew when it was supposed to behave itself unlike some others.

"What about my Psyduck?" Misty asked eagerly as she picked up and showed it to Nurse Joy. "What's going on in its head?"

"What do you mean?" Nurse Joy wondered.

"I love my Psyduck, but it's so goofy that there has to be something wrong with it!" Misty cried in exasperation.

Nurse Joy leaned forward and stared at Psyduck intently. The duck Pokemon stared blankly back while holding its head in its typical fashion. Nurse Joy said nothing as she continued to study Psyduck. Finally, Misty's curiosity got the better of her.

"What is it, Nurse Joy?" she asked eagerly.

"I can't find anything wrong with your Psyduck at all, Misty. It seems perfectly healthy, and everything seems alright in its head, too. I can tell just by looking at it," Nurse Joy answered.

"You-you're kidding, right?" Misty said in disbelief.

"Psy aye aye!" Psyduck cried proudly.

"Shellder!" Shellder chimed in and licked Misty's leg which caused her to shiver.

"I see your Shellder seems to like you very much, too! You must have a great bond with both your Psyduck and Shellder!" Nurse Joy smiled.

"You really think so?" Misty asked as she looked at both her Pokemon.

"Absolutely! There's nothing wrong with them! They just really like you!" Nurse Joy nodded in approval.

"Well…who knew?" Misty chuckled as she patted both her Pokemon. It seems like the Pokemon that gave her the biggest headaches just did it because they like her. Still, that didn't make them any less annoying when they were…being themselves. Speaking of Pokemon that were annoying when they were being themselves…

Poliwhirl and Teddiursa were both glaring at each other hatefully. It was quite clear that these two were not going to be friends unless something was done about it. The scheming Teddiursa caper was still fresh on everybody's mind. Ash, Misty, and Brock couldn't help but wonder what Serena was thinking when she decided to capture the Teddiursa, and quite frankly, Serena didn't, either. It was in just the heat of the moment, and she wanted to teach it a good lesson. That ire had died down a little over the past few days, though.

"Feuding Pokemon?" Nurse Joy figured as she watched the two.

As if to answer her question, Poliwhirl sprang forward and tackled Teddiursa to the ground. In response, Teddiursa gave a cry of rage and swiped its claw at Poliwhirl's face. The two Pokemon were soon in an all-out brawl on the floor of the Pokemon Center which created mayhem in the rest of the room.

Upon seeing the fight, Mareep began shooting several bouts of electricity all throughout the room which caused everyone to hit the floor. Pikachu, Heracross, Noctowl, and Houndour ran over to Poliwhirl and Teddiursa in an attempt to break up the fight. Cyndaquil and Psyduck merely stood to the side and watched blankly. Chikorita continue to try to snuggle Ash despite the chaos, and Totodile merely danced at the excitement that was going on.

Serena was crawling across the floor as she tried to get to Poliwhirl and Teddiursa while trying to dodge Mareep's erratic bursts of electricity. It was absolute chaos despite being a rather large room, and Serena knew her Pokemon were mostly at fault. It was pretty embarrassing. The two feuding Pokemon were still swinging at each other despite being held back by two of Ash's Pokemon.

Teddiursa was feeling particularly nasty at the moment, and it turned around and used Swift on Pikachu and Noctowl who were the ones restraining it. The attack forced the two Pokemon to let go, and Teddiursa dashed forward and began slashing at Poliwhirl who was still held back by Houndour and Heracross. Since it couldn't break free of the stronger Pokemon, Poliwhirl instead opted to just use Water Gun on Teddiursa.

Serena had enough. If they didn't stop soon, this whole room would be destroyed. Nurse Joy was trying to help them, and they were making things incredibly difficult. Serena's face turned as red as her sleeveless vest as she let out a tremendous scream.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Every activity in the room stopped at those two words. Everybody was staring at Serena in complete disbelief as the room was dead quiet. Even Mareep had stopped shooting electricity and was being quiet. Serena took deep breaths as she stood up and steadied herself as she glared at Poliwhirl and Teddiursa before her. The honey-blonde girl then noticed the stares of everyone and blushed in embarrassment. She then took one last deep breath to calm herself.

"Please, you two. Nurse Joy is trying to help. Try to set aside your differences for right now," Serena requested as nicely as she could.

Teddiursa then gave its extra cute look to Serena in order to get on her good side, but she did buy it. If anything, it only made her glare at Teddirusa again, and the little bear Pokemon shrunk back at knowing its fake cutesy poo act wasn't going to work anymore.

"Serena, I think it would be better if Blissey took a look at Poliwhirl and Teddiursa. It's calming presence should be enough to soothe those two enough to where they can be more manageable," Nurse Joy suggested as she and the rest of the group stood up.

"Okay. Thank you, Nurse Joy," Serena said apologetically.

It turned out Blissey didn't need to be called, though. All the racket that was going on in the conference room was enough to cause Blissey to stick its head through the doorway to make sure everything was okay. Upon knowing that it was being summoned, Blissey waddled its way into the room and gave a happy smile to Poliwhirl and Teddiursa.

"Blissey!" it said jovially.

Though the Blissey sounded peaceful and friendly, both Poliwhirl and Teddiursa could tell there was an underlying tone to do exactly what the Blissey was telling them to do or else. There was a hidden scary side apparently that they didn't want to see. The two trouble-making Pokemon shuffled out of the room as Blissey bounced after them. It then gave a small bow to Nurse Joy and the group before it left the room and closed the door on the way out.

"I wonder what Blissey is going to do to them," Serena wondered.

"Don't worry. Teddiursa and Poliwhirl are in good hands. I know Blissey will be able to calm them down enough to where they will at least talk it out," Nurse Joy reassured before she turned to Heracross, Houndour, Pikachu, and Noctowl. "I take it these are the peacemakers of your team, Ash?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call them peacemakers, but they are leaders," Ash replied. "Heracross and Houndour used to be leaders of their own kind so they're used to disputes. Pikachu was my first Pokemon and is used to playing peacemaker, and no one matches wisdom like my Noctowl to help out."

"I'm glad that some of your Pokemon have taken the initiative to help you out some," Nurse Joy smiled.

"Yeah. Though Heracross has a problem of its own," Ash agreed and glanced at his stag beetle Pokemon who glanced back at Ash.

"Really? What kind of problem?" Nurse Joy asked curiously.

"My Heracross really likes tree sap, and I mean really likes tree sap…even to the point where it gets distracted from doing other things like battling," Ash said.

"So it's an obsession?" Nurse Joy figured.

"Yeah. I guess so," Ash shrugged.

"Hmmm…I'll be right back," Nurse Joy replied as she stood up and walked out of the room.

Once she left, there was a small silence among the group. Both the people and Pokemon all had different thoughts going on. Ash was thinking if this counseling session would actually help his Pokemon. Serena was wondering if Mareep, Teddiursa, and Poliwhirl would settle down enough to at least be trainable. Misty was staring curiously at Psyduck and Shellder wondering how Nurse Joy considered them perfectly normal. Brock was thinking along the same lines and Ash and Serena and worried for them. He was serious in the counseling session now and had pushed aside his desires.

"So what do think so far, Ash?" Serena whispered, though she didn't know why.

"I like it. At least I know what Chikorita's real problem is. I just hope we'll be able to work through it," Ash replied.

"I'm worried for my own Pokemon, too," Serena sighed.

"Hey. It'll be okay," Ash smiled as he reached over and touched her arm for comfort. "Our Pokemon know it, too."

"Thank you, Ash," Serena smiled, but a slight cough from Chikorita got their attention.

"It's fine, Chikorita. I can't forget about you, either. We'll all be just fine," Ash smiled.

"Chika!" Chikorita cried in delight as it jumped back into Ash's lap to snuggle into his stomach, which prompted Houndour to roll its eyes again.

"Hey, Chikorita. Why don't you go interact with the other Pokemon? Totodile looks pretty lonely over there," Ash pointed out.

Chikorita turned to look at Totodile who was doing its typical happy dance. It then noticed Chikorita was watching it and gave a small wave and beckoned it over. The leaf Pokemon glanced back and forth between Ash and Totodile before it sighed and went over to join Totodile. The big jaw Pokemon smiled at her choice before it did a happy dance again. The two Pokemon then began to converse as Ash and Serena looked on.

"Maybe the fact that Chikorita gets along with Totodile would be a good first step in socializing with the other Pokemon," Serena observed.

"And getting along with you, too," Ash added, to which Serena nodded.

At that moment, Nurse Joy returned, and she was holding a small jar of some substance. The others were wondering what it was until she opened the jar, and they got their answer.

Heracross gave a quick sniff of the air before it got an excited look on its face. It then began to fly over to the incredible smell of tree sap and went to dig its face into the jar only to stop. It got a puzzled look on its face and inspected what was in the jar. It smelled like tree sap, but something about it was…off.

"It's not really tree sap," Nurse Joy explained to Heracross and the rest of the group. "It's just a scented candle. I wanted to see for myself what I was dealing with."

Heracross sighed and slumped back over to the rest of the group. Man. It was really looking forward for the delicious sweet treat. Upon seeing its despondent look, Nurse Joy gave it a comforting smile.

"It's okay, Heracross. It's fine to love tree sap, but sometimes too much of a good thing won't be, especially when it comes to other priorities," she told it.

"Like Pokemon battling?" Ash suggested.

"Yes, or just other things in general. I propose a gradual decrease of Heracross' intake of tree sap to try to help it with its addiction," Nurse Joy said.

"Sort of like we're weaning it?" Serena asked.

"Precisely," Nurse Joy nodded.

"Is that really going to work?" Ash wondered.

"Yes. You see, Heracross loves tree sap so much that it thinks it can't function without it. You need to show it that it can. Just give a small amount of tree sap to Heracross a day, and then after a while, see what happens without it. Then Heracross should realize that the tree sap's purpose is just a nice treat rather than its life force," Nurse Joy smiled.

"Heheheh. I get it," Ash chuckled.

"Hera?" Heracross questioned.

"Sorry, Heracross. We know you like tree sap, but it's for your own good. You'll only have to settle for a small amount a day to try to curb your craving," Ash told it.

Heracross nodded. It would try, but it certainly wasn't going to be easy. Already it was picturing the sweet, gooey substance dripping into its mouth, and then deliciously sliding down its throat. Heracross then shook its head. Maybe it did have an obsession if that's even what it was thinking about at the moment. In fact, that was almost all it ever thought about.

"Going back to your other Pokemon, Ash, I understand that your Cyndaquil has trouble lighting the fire on its back," Nurse Joy said.

"That's right. I've been training it, and Houndour has been helping, too, but maybe you could figure out the reason why," Ash responded. "I think it's because Cyndaquil lived an easy life so it doesn't know how to respond to battle."

"Quil?" Cyndaquil asked in interest now that they were talking about it.

"That's exactly it," Nurse Joy nodded. "Cyndaquil's battle instincts have been suppressed because it's never had to use them."

"So I guess what I've been doing by having it battle often is the way to go?" Ash guessed.

"I think your Houndour has been helping, too. Cyndaquil just needs to literally search for the fire within itself and channel that energy to battle," Nurse Joy replied.

"Cynda," Cyndaquil muttered and gave a yawn.

Houndour made its way over to Cyndaquil and nodded its head at it. The dark Pokemon would make sure this Cyndaquil would be able to battle with pride one day just like it did. It was almost like having another pack member to look after.

"You're doing just fine, Houndour," Ash nodded with a smile.

Nurse Joy then shifted her attention to Mareep. The truth be told, she hadn't seen any Mareep…or Pokemon like this before. She's known some hyperactive Pokemon, but this Mareep took it to a whole new level. There had to be a root to all of this.

"Serena, would say Mareep is a happy Pokemon?" Nurse Joy questioned.

"Huh? Yeah. It'd say so. I've never seen an upset look on its face the whole time I've had it," Serena replied, a little caught off guard.

"I mean do think Mareep is happy with the way it is?" Nurse Joy elaborated.

Serena looked at Mareep who had begun twitching uncontrollably again. It was true that everyone recognized this Mareep as being different, but Serena never really thought about if Mareep liked the way it was. She just simply assumed so because she's never seen it sad. Sure. It was…naked, but that never seemed to bother it.

"I…really don't know," Serena replied.

"Serena, this may be a serious issue. The actions that you described to me about Mareep are not normal. This isn't merely a case of an eccentric Pokemon. It's something more," Nurse Joy stated seriously. "I just need one test to make sure."

"What?" Serena asked in surprise as she and the others gave Nurse Joy their full attention.

Nurse Joy then pulled a pair of rubber gloves out of her pocket before she slid them on her hands. She then went over knelt down in front of Mareep who turned to give Nurse Joy and inquisitive expression while still twitching. Nurse Joy sighed before she reached out and lightly touched Mareep with her rubber gloves.

As soon as she did that, it was like dynamite. Mareep seemed to give a panic attack as it began blasting electricity out of its body. However, thanks to Nurse Joy's rubber gloves, the effects for pretty minimal. Everyone still had to shield themselves. Finally, after about fifteen seconds Mareep had settled down, and Nurse Joy stood up with a frown on her face.

"It's just as I thought," Nurse Joy muttered.

"What is?" Serena asked asked.

"There's a reason why Mareep can't control itself or its electricity," Nurse Joy said. "Some Pokemon are born with deformities in their genes. It's very rare, but it can cause some Pokemon to lose control of their natural abilities."

"What do you mean?" Serena wondered.

"For instance, fire Pokemon can't control the fire in their body. Grass Pokemon can't maintain the health of their plant characteristics and become shriveled up, a poison type Pokemon is vulnerable to its own toxins, and an electric Pokemon…" Nurse Joy started.

"…Can't control its electricity. That's why it can't sit still, either. Its electricity is going haywire constantly," Serena finished.

"Precisely. This isn't a psychological problem," Nurse Joy stated. "It's a health problem, and it's very dangerous to Mareep."

"What-what's going to happen to it?" Serena asked fearfully.

Nurse Joy sighed and gave a sorrowful look. "Mareep's electricity will continue to build up and become too much for it to handle. Then it will eventually succumb to the pressure…and die."

Serena, as well as everyone else, stared in shock. This was crazy beyond words. All this time, they thought Mareep was just an eccentric, hyper Pokemon, but its health was in danger all along. This was truly important news. Serena's eyes began to well up with tears, and she began to cry.

"I-I had no idea," Serena cried before she felt a brush against her leg.

She looked down and saw Mareep staring up at her. It was the only one in the room who didn't appear upset by the information despite it was directly involved. It was smiling at Serena and twitching uncontrollably. As Serena saw it like that, she only realized now it couldn't help it. This tic movement was because it was sick and not because it was hyper. Her poor Mareep was in so much pain and it never showed it or complained. Serena bent down and hugged the electric Pokemon as the tears fell freely from her eyes. Mareep let out a slight jolt of electricity when Serena hugged it, but the girl didn't care.

The other Pokemon in the group were affected by this a lot, as well. In particular, Fennekin and Smeargle felt guilty. They had believed this Mareep to be extremely annoying and destructive with its spastic attitude. Now, they felt pity for the electric Pokemon. They should probably apologize to it later if they got the chance.

"Isn't there anything that can be done?" Brock spoke up.

"Please help it, Nurse Joy!" Misty cried.

"I'm afraid that this type of condition is above all Nurse Joy," Nurse Joy sighed.

"Then what can we do?" Ash asked.

"I'm going to refer you all to a wonderful Pokemon doctor in Cianwood City. He's famous for his incredible knowledge of Pokemon conditions and medicines. He may be the only one who can save your Mareep," Nurse Joy stated.

"Cianwood City? That's across the ocean! We'd never make it!" Serena cried.

"Please relax, Serena. While your Mareep's condition is serious, it isn't in any immediate danger. It hasn't reached a critical point yet," Nurse Joy said.

Serena breathed a little upon that. At least Mareep's life wasn't in danger…yet. That didn't make her any less concerned, though.

"That being said, the sooner this is treated, the better. Your Mareep will be fine the next few months, but once the critical stage is reached, there will be nothing that can be done for it," Nurse Joy said gravely.

The group exchanged glances with each other. It seems like they wouldn't be able to take their time leisurely strolling around while Mareep was like this. They would have to get to Cianwood City as quickly as possible. The group wondered if that would mean they would have to put Ash's gym battles, Serena's showcases and other activities on hold. Ash, however, had an idea.

"We could fly in a plane to Cianwood City from the airport here. I'm sure our parents will help us with the travel expenses if we tell them what's going on," Ash spoke up.

Nurse Joy must have read their thoughts based on what she said next. "The best thing you can do for Mareep is to act naturally and try to keep calm. You can still do activities that you would normally do. Though I advise against you wasting time, you don't want to travel at too quickly a pace. You have to put the least stress on Mareep as possible."

"Not to mention if we had to let Mareep out in the plane for any reason, it wouldn't go so well due to Mareep's tendency to shoot electricity everywhere," Brock said.

"So does that mean we have to go on foot?" Serena questioned.

"If what Brock says is true, then I'm afraid so, and it would put the less stress on Mareep," Nurse Joy frowned

"Okay…," Serena mumbled.

Nurse Joy got up from her chair and walked over to Serena. She placed a comforting hand on the girl's own and gave her a reassuring smile. Serena stared back at the Nurse Joy and could tell there was real wisdom there. This Nurse Joy knew what she was talking about.

"Please don't despair, Serena. I have every faith the doctor in Cianwood City will be able to take care of your Mareep," Nurse Joy encouraged. "Just know that your Mareep is already hyper enough as it is because of its condition. Don't let it overexert itself."

"So that means to make sure I don't use it in performances or battles until it's healed?" Serena questioned.

"That's right," Nurse Joy nodded.

Serena then once again looked towards Mareep, and she was filled with determination. Her Mareep wasn't worried…not that it would be…so she shouldn't be worried, either. She's going to be strong for her Pokemon and get it the best help possible! Now that she and the others had a true grasp on what was wrong with Mareep, they would be supportive of it in every way possible. This counseling session had proved rather enlightening, after all.

"If you don't mind, it might do your Pokemon some good if they spend the night in the special field area of our Pokemon Center. It's set up just like a natural environment and can really help all of your Pokemon relax and rest after tonight," Nurse Joy suggested.

All of the group's Pokemon seemed to perk up at that suggestion. The idea of being in a natural environment like that instead of pokeballs was quite appealing. Though the pokeballs were safe and comfortable, it was always nice to sleep…somewhat outside for a change.

"Sure. That sounds great," Ash replied with a smile. The truth was they could all use a nice rest after this evening.

---

The group exited the room from their session with Nurse Joy at the same time Blissey came out of another room with Poliwhirl and Teddiursa. The two Pokemon had slightly nervous frowns on their faces as they shuffled in front of Blissey back to Serena. The honey blonde-haired girl knelt down in front of the two Pokemon and offered them a smile.

"Hey, you two. How did it go with Blissey?" she questioned.

"Ur," Teddiursa mumbled.

"Poli," Poliwhirl mumbled, too.

"Blissey!" Blissey cried happily before it picked up the two Pokemon in each hand and practically crashed them into each other for a hug.

Poliwhirl and Teddiursa instantly put forced smiles on their faces and wrapped their arms around each other. The group couldn't help but sweat drop at this. They knew as well as anyone that the hug was totally forced. Blissey then set the two Pokemon down and gave them both a pat on the bottom like they were small children to shoo them along.

Both Pokemon burnt with embarrassment and aggravation. They couldn't believe this Blissey! How dare it try to make them be friends and find things in common! It also had the nerve to tell them to respect their trainer more! It was a total nightmare in that room!

"Poli," Poliwhirl muttered.

"Ursa," Teddiursa agreed.

The two Pokemon then stopped and stared at each other. That was the first time they ever agreed on anything. The two then narrowed their eyes at each other and promptly turned away which caused the group to shrug. At least it was a start.

"See. Blissey planted the seed," Nurse Joy whispered to the group.

"I guess on that note, it's been quite a night. I'm about ready to hit the sack," Ash said as he gave a stretch and a yawn.

"Any idea about what we should do tomorrow?" Misty questioned.

"My gym battle, of course. Serena's Pokemon Showcase isn't for another three days," Ash replied.

"Speaking of performances, are you going to do the Pokemon breeder competition, Brock?" Serena asked.

"Oh…well…," Brock stuttered.

He still remembered the last competition he did. He did it because Suzy was there to watch him, and he even won. Brock didn't doubt his skills, and it wasn't like he didn't believe he could win. He was just very modest when it came to Pokemon breeding. He had to have motivation.

"I might," Brock finally said.

"You know, if you can hold off the gym battle for one day, I have a suggestion of something for you all to check out," Nurse Joy spoke up.

"Really? What is it?" Ash asked curiously.

"The annual Pokemon Trade Festival. It's held in the city square of Goldenrod City. Trainers from around the world gather to show off and trade their Pokemon. I always find it really interesting!"

The group looked at each other. That did sound rather interesting. Though they didn't like staying in the cities any longer than possible due to Mareep, they knew they had to in this case because Serena's performance wasn't until three days from now. At least this gave them something to do for a day while they waited. If they went, Ash could have his gym battle the next day. Serena could do her showcase the day after that, and then Brock could do his breeder competition if he chose to. The decision was quite clear.

"Sounds good to me!" Ash smiled.

"Me, too!" Serena agreed.

"I can't wait to see all the Pokemon that will be there. There will probably be a lot of Pokemon we haven't even seen yet," Misty beamed.

"Count me in!" Brock nodded.

Poliwhirl and Teddiursa made a gagging face. These people were going to a trading festival? Why would they want to do that? Unless…the two Pokemon got scared looks on their faces. What if Serena decided to trade them off to someone else because she was tired of their shenanigans? What if the new trainer was mean and didn't tolerate them? Poliwhirl and Teddiursa clearly didn't know how good they have it with Serena as their trainer.

Serena noticed their looks and couldn't help but giggle. Still, she decided to mess with them a bit.

"Don't worry, you two. I won't trade you off if you behave," she smirked.

Poliwhirl and Teddiursa both saluted. They would be as good as gold! The two then looked at each other again and grimaced. Great. That was another thing they agreed on, and they hated it with a passion.

---

It was well into the nighttime in Goldenrod City. Everyone in the Pokemon Center had gone to bed, and all of the group's Pokemon were asleep in the nature area. It was so refreshing to sleep in a place like that. The water Pokemon of the group even had a nice pool to sleep in. However, one member of the group was still awake.

Chikorita stared up at the moon from the huge skylight that took up the ceiling. It had been thinking about what Nurse Joy and Ash had said to it. Was it really just being a nuisance with its affection to its trainer? A few of the other Pokemon seemed to think so, in particular Pikachu and Houndour. To be fair, though, Chikorita knew it wasn't like it had tried to be fast friends with them, either.

The leaf Pokemon then decided it should go on a nice walk to clear its head. It had a lot of thinking to do. It loved its trainer so much, but it was causing him trouble. Why? Why did he like the blonde girl so much?

Chikorita then looked towards the open door of the nature area. It knew it shouldn't leave the Pokemon Center, and this place was very comfortable. However, it just wasn't a great thinking spot due to all of the Pokemon here, especially since a couple were snoring. Houndour and the redhead's Gyarados sounded like a dang dump truck when they slept, and Psyduck and Cyndaquil's high pitched whistling, complete with a snot bubble, was really annoying.

With a sigh, Chikorita then began to move towards the door. It would just have to be quiet and make sure no one saw it leave. It would be back well before anyone woke up. It would be like it didn't leave at all. It wasn't even going to go very far. Chikorita then stepped by Serena's Mareep and watched curiously for a brief second before it continued on. Despite how wild and crazy and sick it was, the naked Pokemon was actually a very peaceful sleeper.

Chikorita had almost made it to the door when it heard footsteps behind it. The leaf Pokemon sharply turned around to see who was following it and discovered it was Totodile. The big jaw Pokemon had a disapproving look on its face. Chikorita sighed and continued to turn around, but Totodile stopped it.

"Toto, Totodile?" it asked, wondering what Chikorita was doing.

"Chika, Chika," Chikorita replied.

Totodile then went over to Chikorita with the intention to go with it, but Chikorita shook its head. It didn't need anyone to look after it. In case they've forgotten, it was a tough cookie and perfectly capable of taking care of itself! It then turned to leave again before Totodile stopped it again.

"Totodile," the big jaw Pokemon suggested.

Chikorita stopped and turned. So Totodile wanted to go with it now just to keep it company so it wouldn't get lonely? Well, Chikorita supposed it could live with that. Besides, it was rather sweet of Totodile to risk disobedience and go with it. This happy go lucky Pokemon did really make a conscious effort to be its friend, and Chikorita appreciated it. Totodile did have a certain charm to it. With that, the leaf Pokemon nodded its head to signal it was alright.

Totodile then smiled and nodded its head and ran up to walk alongside Chikorita. With that, the two Pokemon exited the area and made their way the doors to the Pokemon Center. The doors were locked, but Chikorita smirked and slapped the scanner next to the doors with its vines which forced the doors open. They then stepped out into the seemingly quiet streets of Goldenrod City.

Unbeknownst to them, a certain yellow rodent Pokemon had watched. It wanted to go after them and call them back, but it knew they wouldn't listen. Pikachu sighed as it made its way over to Ash's room. It wasn't being a tattletale, but it did believe Ash had a right to know what his Pokemon were doing at nighttime in a huge city.

Pikachu had to leap into the air to grab the door handle to Ash's room. Thankfully, he wasn't keeping it locked tonight. It then ran into the room and could hear the soft breathing of Ash coming from one of the two beds. The yellow rodent then climbed on his bed and shook Ash gently in order to wake him.

"Mmm…," Ash mumbled and turned over his sleep.

"Pika," Pikachu whispered as it shook him harder. Please don't make it shock him.

"What, Pikachu," Ash yawned as he opened his eyes and turned to the clock beside the bed. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Piiiiika," Pikachu frowned before it made a likeness of Chikorita and Totodile before prancing across the bed to signal they walked off.

Ash shook his head as he appeared a little more awake now. "You're saying Chikorita and Totodile walked off?"

"Chu," Pikachu confirmed.

Ash rubbed his eyes as he scooted out of bed. Why on Earth would those two leave the nature area like that? Though it wasn't as though Ash told them specifically to stay, he couldn't help but wonder why they would venture into the late night of a city that probably wasn't safe.

"Come on, Pikachu. Let's go find them," Ash mumbled, still somewhat asleep.

"Oh, my smart, Nurse Joy. You do look good with your dress off," Brock muttered goofily in his sleep. "Don't you want me?"

Ash grimaced at Pikachu. "Hey, buddy. You couldn't have woken me up about a minute earlier just so I wouldn't have to hear that?"

"Chuuuuu," Pikachu gagged.

With that, the two quietly but quickly walked out of the room. Whatever dirty fantasy Brock was having right now was something they did not wish to spectate.

---

Chikorita and Totodile ambled through the empty streets of the city. For as nutty as this place was during the day, it sure was quiet at night. As they walked, Totodile tried to strike up a friendly conversation with Chikorita, but the leaf Pokemon was quick to remind it that it wasn't in the mood for talking right now. It had a lot of thinking to do about the relationship it should have with Ash, Serena, and all the other Pokemon.

Totodile, however, for all of its silliness and happy dancing, was actually quite insightful. It knew that Ash was a human and Chikorita was a Pokemon. The relationship would never work out, nor was it supposed to. It was pretty clear that that this was what was bothering Chikorita.

"Dile. Totodile," Totodile said.

"Chikaaaaa," Chikorita muttered.

Totodile then decided to try this from a different angle. It decided to figure out exactly why Chikorita loved Ash so much. It wasn't there when the raven-haired boy had captured Chikorita so it was in the dark.

Chikorita then told Totodile about how Ash took care of it even after it was injured. Even though it ran off, he still then took the initiative to go out in a heavy thunderstorm just to find it. The poor boy had twisted his ankle, and it was all Chikorita's fault. It had spent its whole life wanting to be a loner, sort of like it was doing now, but Ash showed so much care for it. In short, Ash was like its hero.

Totodile nodded at the story, but then it shook its head. Though it was sweet, the feelings Chikorita had were all wrong. The leaf Pokemon looked inquisitively at Totoidile before it glared. What would it know?!

Totodile then sighed. "Dile. Totodile. Toto," it said.

"Chiiii?" Chikorita questioned, taken aback.

"Dile," Totodile nodded.

Chikorita then hung its head and felt slight anger. Totodile had just told that its feelings weren't real, and it was more in love with what Ash did rather than Ash himself. Still, as Chikorita thought more about it, the more of what Totodile said made sense. Was it all the feelings it had for Ash just in its head? Did it really like Ash like that, or did it just see him as a hero?

Totodile," Totodile reminded and told Chikorita that it was okay to like Ash, but the way it was feeling was causing trouble for everyone. It was being selfish and that it wasn't right.

Chikorita looked down to the ground. If any other Pokemon had told it this, Chikorita would've gotten very angry and ignored them. However, since it came from the one Pokemon out of the whole group that Chikorita considered a friend, it knew Totodile was wanting to help and told the truth.

The two Pokemon turned into a dark alleyway, and Chikorita let its emotions take over. It began to cry, and it was doing so for multiple reasons. It was crying because of the trouble it caused for Serena. It was crying because of the trouble and how rude it was to the other Pokemon. It cried because it had acted like a selfish brat this whole time. What hurt the most was that it just found out it its feelings for Ash weren't real. It was just hero worship. It had a lot of apologizing to do.

Totodile stood by solemnly and let Chikorita let its emotions out. It was surprised when the leaf Pokemon then dashed forward and gave Totodile a hug as it continued to cry. The big jaw Pokemon nodded its head and patted Chikorita's back consolingly. It knew that everyone would be able to work through this. It still had to remind Chikorita of one thing.

"Totodile," it said.

Yes. It was still okay to be great friends with Ash and even snuggle him every now and then. However, it told Chikorita that it shouldn't get jealous anymore, and Chikorita nodded its head. As long as it got to show its affection to Ash, it would be just fine, and Totodile believed so, too. After a couple of minutes, Chikorita finished crying and stared up at Totodile.

"Chika," Chikorita said thankfully with shining eyes.

"Toto," Totodile nodded in response before it did a happy dance that Chikorita was feeling a little better now, to which the leaf Pokemon giggled.

They were just about to leave and head back to the Pokemon Center when they heard a noise behind them. The two Pokemon turned in alarm and gasped when they saw two thugs walking through the alleyway. Upon seeing the two small Pokemon before them, they smirked.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" one asked.

"Looks like a couple of pipsqueaks are here in our alley," the other one responded before he turned to the other. "Do you think they're wild?"

"Who cares?" the first one replied with a shrug. "Finders keepers. They're ours now."

Chikorita and Totodile glared and got in a battle ready stance. There was no way they were about to be captured by these goons, especially not Chikorita. It had just made an amendment to try to turn over a new leaf, and it wasn't going to let them take it away from Ash!

"Heheh. So you two wanna play, huh? That's fine. It makes it fun," the first thug smirked again. "Go, Grimer!"

"Go, Electrode!" the other one shouted.

The two thug's Pokemon then appeared from their pokeballs and loomed over Chikorita and Totodile. The two smaller Pokemon backed up and grimaced. They went to run in the opposite direction, but the Electrode quickly rolled past them and blocked their exit. Chikorita and Totodile gasped now that they were surrounded. Despite this, they would fight with everything they had. It looked like a fight was in order, and they refused to lose.

"Heheheh. If you didn't want to be captured, you shouldn't have wandered out at night. If you had a trainer, they must've really hated you to cast you out like that," the first thug taunted.

That made Chikorita's emotions flare up. How dare this creep talk about Ash like that! He didn't know anything at all about him! In fact, Chikorita was sure that Ash was on his way to save them, right now! In fact, Chikorita knew he was! He would come along any second now and chase these goons off. Then Chikorita would leap into his arms to snuggle and apologize for acting like such a selfish brat all the time! The leaf Pokemon then fired a Razor Leaf at the thug to show it meant business.

The thug hastily moved to the side before he smiled which showed horribly dirty teeth. "Heh. You're one tough cookie. I like that. I'll definitely make sure to capture you first!"

The Electrode and Grimer then began to move in closer to attack the two smaller Pokemon. Totodile and Chikorita backed closer to the center. Totodile turned to Chikorita and nodded its head to let it know they were about to give it everything they have to try and get away. Chikorita was prepared as it crouched low on the ground. Here it comes. The two thugs were just about to order their Pokemon to attack when a new voice broke the silence.

"Hydro Pump," it said.

Out of nowhere, a massive blast of water shot through the alleyway and struck the Grimer and Electrode head on. The two Pokemon let out surprised gasps and were propelled backwards until they slammed into the ground, completely dazed. The two thugs gave a surprised cry as they glanced around wildly for who did that while Chikorita and Totodile turned into the direction of their savior.

They were expecting it to be Ash, but they gave a confused glance when they saw it wasn't. Instead, it was young-looking man with wild red hair, and he had a very powerful-looking Feraligatr next to him. The young man and his Feraligatr began to walk forward to reveal themselves more as Totodile stared up in awe at its final evolved form. Wow. It would look like that someday?

"Hey! What's the big idea, you little punk?! These Pokemon belong to us now! Get your own!" the first thug snarled.

"You idiots," the redheaded young man said coldly. "These Pokemon obviously belong to somebody. There's no way a wild Chikorita and a Totodile would be wandering the streets of Goldenrod City at night. Use your heads…if that's even possible."

"You little piece of…!" the second thug shouted, but he didn't finish his sentence because he was too angry and instead just snarled at the insult.

"Why don't you two just get out of here before either of you get hurt," the young man muttered somewhat threateningly.

"You don't scare us!" the first thug yelled.

The young man smirked. "Feraligatr, use Slash."

The mighty Pokemon turned to a nearby trashcan before it gave a powerful slash at the tin can. The thugs, as well as Chikorita and Totodile gasped in surprise, as Feraligatr cut the trash can completely in half! It didn't stop there. It continued to shred the trashcan before it was nothing more than a tattered piece of metal. The young man then turned back to the thugs.

"You three have until the count of ten to get out of here before my Feraligatr does to you what it did to that trashcan," he said before he began to count. "One…"

The thugs grinded their teeth in anger, but they knew a threat when they heard it. This guy was pretty scary and probably wouldn't hesitate to commit the deed if they didn't do what he said. They hastily returned their Pokemon and dashed off. They were long gone before the cold man even got to five.

The young man then glanced at Chikorita and Totodile who stared curiously back. Though this wasn't the type of guy they were expecting to rescue them, they were still grateful. They were pretty intimidated, though, especially by the Feraligatr, but they should still express their thanks.

"You two should get back to whoever your trainer is," the young man muttered. "It's irresponsible to wander off at night. I won't be there to save you next time."

Chikorita and Totodile nodded their heads in thanks and were about to run off, but they found they didn't have to. Ash soon came around the corner of the alleyway with his Pikachu, and when he saw the two, he let out a relieved smile.

"Chikorita! Totodile! There you two are! I've been looking for you guys. Don't scare me like that by running off without telling me first!" Ash told them.

Chikorita and Totodile grinned brightly that their trainer had returned to them. They ran past the young man and his Feraligatr and made their way to their trainer. The young man watched them, and when he saw who were there, he felt his blood run cold, and he felt like throwing up. This had to be some sort of sick joke. These Pokemon were his?! Why was fate being so cruel to him?!

Ash knelt down and welcomed his Pokemon as Chikorita leaped into his arms while Totodile danced beside him. Chikorita then began crying to Ash which startled him initially, but he still welcomed it.

"Hey. It's okay now," Ash said as he rubbed Chikorita's head.

"Pika!" Pikachu said and gave a V shape at Chikorita and Totodile. The big jaw Pokemon returned it, and both Pikachu and Ash were surprised when Chikorita returned it, too!

Totodile then did a happy dance before it pointed enthusiastically at the person who had saved them. It wanted its trainer to meet him. Ash got the gist of what Totodile was saying before he turned to look up at the young man.

"So you saved Totodile and Chikorita from trouble, huh? Thanks a lot! My name's…," Ash began with a smile, but he soon stopped his sentence dead in its tracks when he saw who it was.

A bit of moonlight had cast down on the ground below where the young man and Ash were so they could get a clear view of each other. Ash had his mouth open in complete shock while the young man stared back in disgust that he had run into this person again, and so casually. He had been the one to save his Pokemon! This situation was completely unbelievable.

Totodile and Chikorita stared back in confusion at the suddenly tense atmosphere. Pikachu, however, recognized who it was, and it advised the two Pokemon to hang back a moment. Things could get ugly soon.

"It..it's you," Ash mumbled, almost at a loss words.

Yes. Ash and Silver Ketchum had just officially met each other.

---

This chapter was exhausting to write as I put a lot of effort into it. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Ash and Silver's meeting is next chapter along with a lot of other things that go on. In fact, the next chapter's title has somewhat of a double meaning. There is more then one fateful encounter next chapter.

That's in November, however. Mareep's condition is explained in detail now, and the cure was revealed to be the famous doctor (pharmacist in the games) in Cianwood City. Pray for the poor Pokemon!

See you all in November! Have a good one, and look forward to the next chapter.

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Fateful Meeting