Alexa's Training Day Part 3: The Heart of the Forest
"What's next Ash?" Alexa said walking down a forested path with her older brother on her left.
On his shoulder sat his Meowth. "I'm going to take you to see something special," Ash said, following the area map on his Pokegear.
The two adoptive siblings entered a small clearing in the woods, with a large pine tree sitting in the middle. Alexa looked up the tree and saw many forest Pokemon climbing, sparring and sleeping around the area. The young trainer's eyes widened at the magical sight of the forest Pokemon that lived here.
"This is beautiful," Alexa said.
Ash smiled at his sister and pulled out a Pokeball. He threw it into the air, releasing his Sceptile. Sceptile said hello to Alexa, and placed its signature twig in its mouth. Alexa admired Ash's Sceptile since it was one of the Pokemon who had protected her when she was eight years old, on the fateful day she met Ash.
"Sceptile!" The Pokemon called out into the clearing, which caught the attention of many of the Pokemon living there.
From the top of the large pine tree scurried down 10 Treeckos, who made their way over to the trainers. These Pokemon were all very friendly towards Ash, Meowth and Sceptile.
"Sceptile and I saved these guys about a year ago from a couple of poachers here in Kanto. I brought them to this tree so that they could live out the rest of their lives far away from humans. I like to come visit them so they can all play with Sceptile," Ash said to his sister. "All 10 of these little guys had just hatched from their nest and were trapped in cages a few minutes later. The poachers wanted to inject these guys with all these steroids and enhancers so they would become cold hard battlers."
"That's so sad," Alexa said. "And you saved them?"
"That's right. One of the major parts of being an Aura Guardian is keeping peace between people and Pokemon. I have seen a lot of bad people over the years, and some put price tags on Pokemon. That's not the way that things should be." Ash looked over at his Sceptile, who was currently buried underneath the young Treeckos. "While Pokemon are capable of doing incredible things, not all of them can, so it's up to us to help them grow stronger. And if they decide that it's not for them, that's perfectly fine too."
"I guess I never realized how much of a hero you really are," Alexa said to her brother. "Obviously you have changed my life, but I never really stop and think about all the Pokemon that you have saved in your time as a Guardian."
"Your brother sure as hell helped me," Meowth said, leaping off of his trainer's shoulder. "When your bro found me in Viridian City, I was in some pretty rough shape. My two best friends at the time kicked me to the curb, and I was fendin' for myself in the streets. Ash found me and took me in and I can't thank him enough for that."
"Thanks buddy," Ash said. "But I don't think of myself as a hero, though. I'm just doing what's right. The saddest part is that I can't save everybody."
Alexa understood where her brother was coming from. She had learned herself that you cannot force a Pokemon to get strong, but she now understood the harsh reality that comes when people go out of their way to harm them. Alexa walked over to Ash's Sceptile, who played with the Treeckos. All 10 hid behind their larger counterpart as the girl approached, but she sat down on the forest floor to show she wasn't a danger. One Treecko popped its head out from behind Sceptile's tail and slowly moved over towards Alexa. Alexa reached out her hand so the Pokemon could sniff it. The Treecko did, and Alexa rubbed the Pokemon's head. The remaining nine Treeckos poked their heads out from behind Sceptile, seeing that Alexa was not a threat.
For the next 30 minutes Ash, Sceptile, Meowth, Alexa and her Pokemon all played with the young Treeckos. Eventually, the clock struck noon and the trainers had to leave. The two trainers returned their Pokemon and turned to leave. As they walked down the trail, nine of the 10 Treeckos scurried back up the tree. One, however, went to climb up the tree, but then turned back to look at the trainers. It jumped down to the base of the tree and called up to its siblings. All nine met the one Treecko at the base of the tree and began to chatter with each other.
"What are they saying Ash?" Alexa said, turning around in the direction of the grass types.
"I think that little guy wants to come with us," Ash said, hearing the one Treecko saying goodbye to its siblings. The grass type ran on all fours across the trail and jumped into Alexa's arms.
"You want to come with me, little guy?" Alexa said.
"Tree," The Pokemon said.
"You want to battle me first?" Alexa said. This earned a nod from the Treecko. "Alright. Let's go Butterfree!"
Alexa's Butterfree burst from the ball and hovered in the air. The young Treecko jumped from Alexa's arms and prepared itself to battle the Pokemon.
"Alright Butterfree, use String Shot!" Alexa called. Her Butterfree obeyed, sending a stream of silk in the direction of the Treecko. The Pokemon dodged the attack and shot several seeds from its mouth.
"Use Stun Spore!" Alexa called. Alexa's Butterfree dive bombed the Treecko and covered it in a cloud of yellow powder. As a defense, the Treecko covered its mouth with its hands, and spun around using its tail to disperse the powder. The Treecko then fired another round of Bullet Seeds, which hit Butterfree, knocking it out of the air. The Treecko then leapt into the air and came down on the Pokemon with its tail. When it did, Butterfree sent another cloud of yellow powder. Treecko stumbled back a little bit as its body went rigid from the paralysis.
"You're mine," Alexa said, winding up. She threw an empty Pokeball at the Treecko. The Pokemon was hit by the ball and went inside of it. The ball dropped to the ground, shaking several times. When it stopped, she walked over and picked up the ball. "I promise to take good care of your sibling!" The crowd of nine Treeckos cheered for the trainer. Alexa threw out her new Pokemon and fully healed it with some items from her bag. The Treecko rode on top of her shoulder as it left the forest with Ash and Alexa, excited for its new life to begin.