Chapter 5
I do not own Pokemon. I only own my OCs.
Several hours after Brock gifted them their Rock Tomb TMs, Ash, Nate, and Angelina decided to set up a campsite for the night on Route 3 after walking for a while. Luckily for them, Route 3 was a short route, so they'd be able to reach Mt. Moon by noon.
Ash took some time to reevaluate his plans for training. Dexter was starting to get the hang of Psybeam, which was a good sign. He wanted it mastered by the time they got to Cerulean City.
His plans for Petal were to teach it Stun Spore, Poison Powder, and Sleep Powder. They would be a huge help for any upcoming battles, since he could severely weaken his opponents while setting up with Growth. Hopefully he'd get it down by the time they reached Cerulean City as well.
Petal already had access to these spores and powders hidden away in its leaves, as did other grass Pokemon like Bulbasaur and Bellsprout. The main problem was actually being able to scatter them in a way that could be used offensively. Many Grass Pokemon, despite having a plethora of weaknesses, carried these powders to deter predators, but mastering the technique allowed some of them to use fine particles to catch their own prey, such as Victreebel.
Ash was also able to engage in a few practice battles against Nate and Angelina. Most of the time, he was able to win, although once Nate caught him off guard with a Smokescreen from Charmander, which allowed it to take cover and shoot surprise attacks. Still, it was good training for Dexter and Petal, and he wasn't necessarily concerned about winning anyways.
They were also able to find a few Trainers to battle against, but Ash was easily able to defeat them with Dexter. The porygon was usually his trump card against strong opponents, as almost everyone he faced had never seen a Pokemon like it. One kid even accused him of cheating.
Pidgey and Rattata frequented the grassy route, and every once in a while he heard the shrieks of Spearow flocks in the sky. He'd thought about catching them, but decided against it, since he saw no need in getting one.
He looked over at Nate and Angelina who were both talking about what they would do once they reached Cerulean City, and he smiled. Ash was grateful they had stuck by him ever since they left Pallet Town. Both of them were probably his first real friends now that he thought about it.
The rest of the night was spent socializing and making jokes. The laid back atmosphere did wonders for Ash's mood, and he couldn't imagine being happier at that moment.
"Hey Ash." Angelina spoke. "I have a question that I've been meaning to ask you. Why do you and Gary always fight? It's like you guys have hated each other since you were born or something."
Ash raised his eyebrows. He was definitely not expecting a question like this. Everyone at school always assumed Gary and Ash were sworn enemies and left it at that.
"It wasn't always that way." Ash admitted. "Gary and I used to be friends. We would always play around in the Professor's corral and we'd always hang out at school or at my house." He took a few seconds to sigh.
"Then he started to change." he continued. "Both of us became distant. He started hanging out with other people, talking about me behind my back. That's when I knew our friendship died.
"A few days before I got Dexter, both of us were fishing at a small stream, and we both reeled in a rusty PokeBall. We both agreed to break it into two, symbolizing the start of our rivalry. In fact, I think I might still have it…" Ash rummaged around in his bag and produced the rusty half of a PokeBall. He identified blotchy brown spots that dotted its surface as he held it up for his friends to see.
"Wow." Nate finally said. "I never knew that about you two. Thanks for telling us though."
"It's no problem." Ash said. "We should probably get some sleep though so we can stay on schedule." The other two kids nodded, and after setting up their sleeping bags and putting out the fire as always, they let their minds drift off into sleep.
The next day, the tweens were back on the road again, determined to make it to Cerulean City as fast as possible. The plan was to reach the base of Mt. Moon by noon, get more supplies as well as lanterns from the Pokemon Center, then begin the one-day trek under the mountain to Route 4.
Ash was lost in his thoughts and didn't even realize Angelina stopped moving until he bumped into her.
"Why'd you stop mov-mhhmm!" he started to say before she covered his mouth with her hand.
"Look." she whispered as she pointed at something. Ash followed her finger and saw she was pointing at some sort of pink ball, but it turned around and he made out a small pink tuft of hair and large turquoise eyes. The creature smiled and waved at the three children, and Angelina crept up to it.
"Hi there." she said quietly as to not startle it. "What kind of Pokemon are you?" Angelina took out her Pokedex from her backpack and scanned it, and the creature titled it head.
"Jigglypuff." the Pokedex stated. "The Balloon Pokemon. Jigglypuff's vocal chords can freely adjust the wavelength of its voice. This Pokémon uses this ability to sing at precisely the right wavelength to make its foes most drowsy. Recordings of Jigglypuff's strange lullabies can be purchased from department stores. These CDs can be found near the bedding area."
"It's so adorable!" Angelina squealed. "Do you mind singing us a song?" The Jigglypuff nodded and proceeded to pull a microphone out of its fur.
"Angelina, I don't think that's such a good idea." Ash said. "Didn't you hear the Pokedex?"
"Relax!" Angelina said with a wave of her hand. "I'm sure it's fine. It'll only be one song."
A few seconds later, Jigglypuff started to sing. Its voice was soft and sweet, like a child's. Ash immediately felt more relaxed and calm as the singing continued to soothe him and his friends.
"I dunno guys." Nate said. "I think it sounds pretty…" And then Nate proceeded to collapse on the ground, dead asleep.
"Nate!" Angelina exclaimed. Soon she started to feel the effects of Jigglypuff's voice as well, and she tried to fight the numbness in her body. She looked over at Ash, who was also on the floor, asleep.
Angelina pulled a PokeBall out from her backpack, and using her remaining strength, chucked it at the Jigglypuff, who was still too preoccupied with singing to notice.
She finally closed her eyes and succumbed to the feeling of sleep once more.
Ash groaned as he sat up. He rubbed his eyes and looked at his companions, who were also starting to wake up from their slumber.
"Erghh…" Nate moaned. "What happened?"
"We fell asleep after Angelina told that Jigglypuff to sing." Ash said. Both of them glared at Angelina, who recoiled after seeing both of their angry faces.
"Sorry guys." she said apologetically. "I didn't think we'd fall asleep that fast…"
Ash just pinched his temple in frustration. They were behind schedule. "Great, it's already 2 PM. We should move." he said.
"Hey, wait a minute. Where'd that Jigglypuff go? Did it just leave?" Nate inquired.
"Well, after both of you fell asleep, I threw a PokeBall at it and…" Angelina started before realizing something. Had she caught the Jigglypuff?
She looked around until she spotted a lone PokeBall on the ground. Angelina picked it up and pressed the release button. Sure enough, a pink, rotund Pokemon was released, with what looked to be a pout on its face.
"I actually caught it… guys I caught my first Pokemon!" she exclaimed. Finally after weeks of just being with her bulbasaur, Angelina finally caught another friend to add to her team.
She kneeled down until she was face to face with Jigglypuff, who looked at her as though it had been betrayed. "Hi there, Jigglypuff. My name's Angelina, and these are my friends Ash and Nate. The black-haired kid with the cap is Ash, and the annoying one with the glasses is Nate."
"I HEARD THAT!"
"Anyways, I'm sorry for putting you in this position. I know you were only trying to sing us a song." she continued. "But I have a proposition for you. You can come with me and we'll travel the entire Kanto region with me and a friend you have yet to meet. I'll help you get stronger too. Or you can choose to stay, and I'll release you, and we'll never bother you again. It's your choice. What do you say?"
The Balloon Pokemon contemplated the offer before it, before pulling its microphone from its fur and taking Angelina's hand. The jigglypuff popped off the bottom of the microphone, which was revealed to be a marker, and drew a smiley face on her palm.
"Is that a yes?" Angelina asked.
Jigglypuff nodded and Angelina beamed. "Thanks a lot!" she said. "You and I will be great friends, I know it!"
"Now that you're done, can you put that thing back in its PokeBall?" Nate said. "I don't want it putting all of us to sleep again." Angelina just shot him a glare before returning Jigglypuff to its PokeBall, and the three of them were on their way once more.
Not thirty minutes later, the group arrived at the Pokemon Center at the base of Mt. Moon. Ash decided to heal his Pokemon along with gathering supplies. They only sustained a few cuts and bruises, but he didn't want to take any chances. It was free anyways.
He checked his balance and was shocked that his spending had barely made a dent in the amount of funds he had. Battling Trainers was a good source of money after all, if you were strong. It was the reason why so many people became Trainers. Along with the perks of owning Pokemon, you could get a decent amount of cash by battling several times a day.
Just as he was about to leave the building, something caught his eye. A board with photos of people with the title "MISSING" displayed above their heads. Many of them had last been seen in Mt. Moon, and Ash immediately felt a shiver go down his spine.
Ash walked out of the Pokemon Center and stared at the mountain before him. It was way bigger than he expected, bigger than the pictures he'd seen on the pamphlets at Pewter City's Pokemon Center. The top of the mountain was hidden away in the clouds, and he could vaguely make out a few large Fearow circling the mountain.
After stuffing his provisions and gear into his backpack, the three of them gathered at the base of the tall mountain, switched on their lanterns and headed inside.
The first thing they noticed about the inside of Mt. Moon was that it was extremely dark. The only other source of light inside the cave besides their lanterns were some torches rooted into the ground every hundred feet or so.
They also noticed that the cave was very cold. No natural sunlight meant very little heat inside the cave. Ash almost stepped back outside to go back to the Pokemon Center and buy some spare coats, until Nate released his Charmander, providing them with even more light and heat.
The three of them walked through the caverns for a few hours or so, occasionally being ambushed by swarms of Zubat that clung to the ceilings of the cave. It got to the point where Ash had to keep Dexter out just so he could scare them away with an Ice Beam.
A grievance many Trainers had about Mt. Moon as well as other caves in the Kanto region were the sheer amount of Zubat that occupied them. They reproduced fast, tended to stay in groups, giving them safety in numbers, and oftentimes were accompanied by a leader Golbat or in rare cases, a newly evolved Crobat.
Surprisingly, Trainers inhabited Mt. Moon as well, looking for a challenge. Some of the Trainers were like them, trying to traverse the caverns to get to the other side of the mountain. Others ambushed unsuspecting passersby, using the darkness as cover. Ash silently wondered if they spent their entire lives only doing that.
Ash thought about catching a Zubat, or maybe one of the Geodude that hid among the rocks in Mt. Moon. However, he didn't see any purpose in trying to catch another Pokemon yet. He was confident that Dexter and Petal were more than enough for now.
During their trek, Angelina and Nate found a large Moon Stone on the ground. Both were fighting over who would get it, and as a result it eventually broke in half. Needless to say, they didn't talk to each other after that.
The number of Trainers started to thin out the more they traveled through the cave, so Ash guessed they were probably halfway between Route 3 and Route 4.
Eventually Nate started complaining that his feet were hurting, and the three of them agreed to set up camp for the night. They dug into their rations, and Ash decided to train a little before returning back to the campsite to sleep.
He walked a good distance away from the campsite where Nate and Angelina were talking and took a breather. He was able to find a site with a few small rocks that would be useful for target practice.
Ash sent out Dexter who let out a couple of beeps and looked intently at its trainer.
"I want you to practice Psybeam a bit more today." Ash said. "It'll be very useful if we go up against a Fighting type and we need the coverage. You ready?"
Dexter nodded.
"Great! Use Psybeam!" Ash ordered.
But Dexter did nothing. It just floated there and gazed toward a random direction. "Dexter." Ash said. "Did you hear me?" And then he stopped.
Dexter's eyes flashed red and he started beeping and warbling. Something was up, and Ash didn't like it one bit. He recalled Dexter and looked around for any signs of life. Soon he started to hear voices in the distance. Ash hid behind a rock and waited.
Just then, two men wearing black shirts emblazoned with an R walked out of a corridor a couple hundred feet away from where Ash was hiding. He felt a surge of panic as his eyes passed over the familiar R, the same symbol he saw those two criminals in Viridian City sporting.
"Tch. The Trainers we captured are total weaklings." one of the men spoke. "Absolute morons. Some of them can't even catch anything better than a stupid Rattata."
"I just hope we can leave soon." the other complained. "I'm tired of being stuck in this blasted mountain for days."
"Don't worry." the first man spoke again. "Once we get those fossils we'll be out of here fast."
Ash then remembered Nate and Angelina were still at the campsite. He had to warn them. He slowly crawled away from the two grunts, and once they were out of sight, he ran toward his friends and sighed in relief when he saw that they were still there.
"Guys. We have a problem" Ash said frantically.
"Can it wait?" Nate asked. "I'm really tired…"
"No, it can't." Ash said firmly. "There's a group of criminals stealing Pokemon and capturing Trainers in Mt. Moon. I battled with a couple of them back in Viridian City."
That got Nate's attention. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" he inquired.
"I didn't want you guys to worry." he responded. "But that doesn't matter right now. If we just stay here they might come for us next."
"B-but we can't just storm a criminal base!" Nate sputtered. "We only became Trainers a month ago! We won't stand a chance!"
"Why don't we just report it to the police?" Angelina suggested. "We have an emergency call setting on our Pokedexes."
"There's no signal, Angelina. We're inside an Arceus-forsaken mountain!" Ash yelled. He was getting frustrated with the fact that they weren't complying, and pinched his temple. "It'll be days before we reach civilization, and by the time we report it to the police, those guys are going to be long gone. So are you two coming or not?"
Both of them nodded, determined looks on their faces. "I hope you know what you're doing, Ash." Nate said.
"Don't worry." Ash reassured him. "I've got a plan."
A little while later, Ash led them to the corridor he saw the grunts go in. It blended in well with the rest of the cave, which was probably why no one had discovered their operation yet. Either that or whoever decided to go down there was probably captured by now.
Nate had Charmander provide light for them as they cautiously crept through the long path. The fire lizard was pretty on edge, which was unlike its usual proud self. Soon they came across a fork in the tunnel.
"Let's split up." Ash said. "Nate, you take the left path, Angelina and I will go right."
Nate and Angelina both nodded and they went their separate ways. Ash took out his lantern and Angelina did the same, now that Charmander was gone.
It wasn't long before Ash and Angelina came across a couple of grunts patrolling the hallways, and both sides froze.
"What're kids doing here!?" one of the grunts exclaimed. "Wasn't someone guarding the door?"
"Guess not." the other said and shrugged. He turned to the kids with a menacing grin on his face. "I'll give you brats two choices. If you leave now, we might reconsider capturing you and taking your Pokemon. If you don't, let's just say you'll receive a fate much worse than that."
Ash said nothing, instead releasing Dexter. "Ice Beam!" he yelled. The ray of cold energy manifested itself onto its beak, and it fired the attack at the grunt, who opted to send out his own Pokemon, a Koffing, to take the blast.
The grunt's eyes drifted over to the Porygon, and his face twisted into an evil smile. "That Porygon must be worth a lot of money." he said to his partner. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Capture both of the kids and sell the Porygon?" the other said. "I'm all for it." He then proceeded to send out his own Pokemon, a Zubat, and ordered it to use Bite on Porygon.
"Use Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled. A bright bolt of electricity shot from Dexter's beak and zapped Zubat out of the air, causing it to fall toward the ground with a loud thump. The grunt looked in disbelief as he saw his Pokemon out cold.
During all the commotion, Angelina managed to send out Jigglypuff, while Porygon charged up another Thunderbolt to take of the enemy Koffing. The remaining grunt, who realized he was outnumbered, tried to make a run for it with his partner.
"Use Sing, Jigglypuff!"
"Dexter, return!"
Ash returned Dexter and covered his ears, and Angelina did the same. Jigglypuff's melody soon reached the ears of the grunts, and in a few seconds they collapsed on the floor, fast asleep.
"Great. Now they won't be able to alert anyone of intruders." Ash said. "We should hurry though. We can't let anyone else have their Pokemon stolen. If we can find and free the captured Trainers and Pokemon, we can take down these criminals."
Angelina nodded and returned Jigglypuff, and the three of them continued onward.
Nate patrolled the long corridors of the base cautiously, ready to immediately attack if someone were to spot him. Charmander stayed ahead of him to give Nate light, and constantly bared its fangs as if it were challenging an invisible foe.
So far, they hadn't found anything, but Nate was still on his guard. He couldn't believe Ash had convinced him to do this…
Oh well. No turning back now.
Soon enough, Nate spotted a large room, and treaded carefully. He could make out two grunts in the distance, and hid behind a nearby rock. He needed a plan to dispose of them. He could battle them with Charmander, but he didn't know how strong they were. He had the element of surprise however, so maybe he could put that to use…
Nate sent out Pikachu, who cocked her head, wondering where she was. He put a finger to his lips, and she nodded her head in understanding.
"There are some criminals in that room that I need out of here. I want you to go there and give them your best Thunder Wave. Got it?" Nate instructed.
Pikachu nodded with a small smile on her face and ran into the room. A few seconds later, he heard the pained cries of two men, and assumed Pikachu had done her job. When he walked into the room, he saw both of them unconscious in a heap on the ground. Pikachu giggled with glee, and he patted her head and returned her to her PokeBall.
He and Charmander stepped over the bodies and Nate took some time to look around the room. He seemed to be some sort of security room, with a large monitor in the back hooked up to a generator.
As he looked at the security feed, he saw tons of grunts patrolling the caverns of the base. As Nate scanned the cameras, he saw that Ash and Angelina had managed to take down a couple of grunts, and then proceeded to put them asleep with Jigglypuff.
Well that was a relief. They weren't captured yet. Maybe while he was here he could get some information…
He closed out the security cams and started sifting through documents and downloads that were stored on the monitor, trying to find anything with information. Most of the downloads were just reports and numbers. Finally, something caught his eye, a document with details about some sort of project. He enlarged it and started to read.
"Recent reports of the three legendary birds from our research teams have prompted Teams 646, 527, and 331 to explore the Kanto region in search for them. Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres all possess immense power that'll be useful toward our operation Although no trace of them has been found, strong energy seems to be radiating from the-"
"Well, well, well." a voice behind Nate said. "A kid managed to take out two of my grunts. Disappointing, I would've expected better from them. Especially my grunts."
Nate whipped around to see a man dressed in a similar uniform as the grunts, except he sported white gloves and boots instead of the usual black. He had short turquoise hair and a smirk lingered on his face. Judging from his demeanor, he looked like someone important.
"Still, I must applaud you." he continued. "The name's Proton by the way. You and your Charmander have potential. So I'll make you an offer. Join Team Rocket. You'll be the youngest member here, but that won't matter. Soon enough we'll be powerful enough to control the entire Kanto region. You'll get whatever you want when you're with us. What do you say?"
"Never." Nate said viciously. "I'd rather be captured than lowering myself to your standards." Charmander growled and bared its fangs, its tail flame becoming hotter and brighter. Proton frowned.
"Hmph. I guess I'll just have to dispose of you then." Proton huffed. "No sense in keeping someone alive if they won't be useful." He took out a PokeBall and clicked the release button. A large purple bat with a gaping maw materialized and stared at Nate, intent on ripping him to shreds.
"Golbat!" Proton yelled. "Let's teach this kid not to mess with Team Rocket! Wing Attack, now!"
"Dodge and use Ember!" Nate commanded.
Charmander just barely managed to jump over the Wing Attack and shot a few small fireballs at Golbat, which it dissipated with Air Cutter. Nate managed to send out Nidoran and Pikachu before Golbat could recover.
"All of you, attack and don't hold back!" Nate shouted. The fight became more and more intense as both sides launched attacks at each other, although it was clear Golbat had the upper hand. In one swoop it managed to catch Pikachu in its jaws and sink its poisonous fangs before throwing it toward the cave wall.
Pikachu impacted with the wall quite hard before losing consciousness and slumping to the floor. Nate felt his fear growing. Golbat had managed to take out one of his team members without breaking a sweat, and was continuing its onslaught, catching Nidoran with a Wing Attack and sending it flying.
"Let's finish this quickly shall we? Use Poison Fang on that kid, and don't let up until he's down." Proton said, without a hint of remorse in his voice.
Nate's eyes widened as he saw Golbat swoop down on him, and immediately started running away, but to no avail, as Golbat caught up to him before He then felt a pair of sharp fangs puncture his skin, and he collapsed on the floor, writhing in pain.
"Perfect." Proton said. "Now finish his Pokemon quickly."
Nate could feel the poison starting to enter his system, and he looked over at his remaining Pokemon, who looked enraged as they battled against Golbat. He felt himself starting to lose consciousness, and the nausea in his stomach started to grow more and more.
He fought the urge to throw up, and looked at his two remaining Pokemon, desperately trying to fend off his opponent's attacks. Nate only blamed himself for what had happened. That Golbat was really strong, and it was his fault for rushing into battle against someone with a Pokemon that vastly outclassed his own.
The last thing he saw was a bright glow coming from Charmander and Nidoran's bodies before he blacked out.
Meanwhile, Ash and Angelina were able to take out quite a few grunts as they made their way deeper into the cave. If one were to follow their footsteps, they would see many unconscious grunts the farther they trekked.
Frankly, Ash was surprised that they were able to defeat their opponents so easily. These were criminals, with more experience than them, and yet Ash could beat as easily as any other Trainer. Apparently whatever organization they were working for believed in quantity or quality. He couldn't deny that there were probably hundreds of grunts in this mountain.
Finally, the two of them approached a large opening that looked like it was hollowed out to store something. Both of them gasped as their eyes scanned the room, where they saw people, mostly kids, tied up together with rope. Some of the faces of the Trainers lit up when they saw that someone was going to save them.
"Are you guys here to save us?"
"Finally!"
"Kids!? How did kids get here!?"
Ash ignored their surprise and sent out Petal. "I need you to melt these ropes with Acid. Don't put too much power in it, just spit a little on the ropes so you don't hurt anybody." The Weed Pokemon nodded and the acid burned through the ropes with a sizzle. It snapped and fell, and the captive Trainers got up and thanked Ash, finally being freed.
"Ash!"
The ten-year old looked around to see who said his name, and saw the familiar face of Satoshi in the crowd of Trainers. The boy waved to him with his Pikachu on his shoulder.
"What're you doing here?" Ash asked. "Shouldn't you be back in Viridian City?"
"Well, my mom said I could go on a journey right before I got ambushed, so I went to Pewter City with Pikachu here." Satoshi responded. "I even got my first badge!"
Ash's eyebrows raised. Satoshi was able to get his gym badge with just a Pikachu? That had to be the cause of some serious skill, or maybe just a bit of a dumb luck. Either way, Ash was impressed.
"So how'd you end up here?" Ash asked.
"The same people in Viridian City found and ambushed me in Pewter City." Satoshi replied. "Pikachu still couldn't beat them, and they brought me here. I'm lucky you came here though!"
Ash grinned at the sight of Satoshi's smiling face. Now that he got a good look at him, he realized both of them looked similar. REALLY similar. Almost as if they were brothers or something.
"Hey! Someone let the prisoners free!" he heard a voice say. Both boys whipped around to see around twenty grunts at the entrance to the room where the Trainers were contained, all with furious looks on their faces. The other Trainers caught wind of the situation and turned to look at their opponents, hands on their PokeBalls.
"ATTACK!"
What happened next was pure chaos. Both sides sent out their Pokemon and tried to overwhelm the other side. Ash and Angelina both sent out their Pokemon into the fray as well.
After ordering Petal to use Acid on an already damaged raticate, Ash took some time to re-evaluate the situation he was in.
The Trainers he was fighting with were decent, some of them having seemingly stronger Pokemon than himself, but they were slowly being outnumbered as more grunts slowly poured into the room. A good portion of the Trainers were newer like Satoshi, whereas the grunts seemed to be more experienced and had stronger Pokemon than them.
Ash also got a look at Satoshi's other Pokemon, a butterfree and a pidgeotto. They seemed to be doing pretty well against the grunts along with his Pikachu. Good for him. But they wouldn't last long as more koffings, ekans, and rattatas poured into the room, firing off attacks.
Suddenly, two Pokemon came running into the room where the ongoing battle was taking place. Normally, Ash wouldn't have paid them any mind, but saw that one of them, a Charmeleon, was carrying a boy in his arms. He took a closer look and his eyes widened.
"NATE!?"
His surprise caused Angelina to look over at what Ash was gawking at, and she had a similar reaction. Nate's Charmeleon and Nidorino were staring intently at Ash, as if they were waiting for Ash to magically heal Nate. Both of them looked worried for their Trainer, which was understandable to Ash, considering that both Pokemon were probably pretty young and Nate was sort of a father figure to them.
The boy had a large gash on his shoulder, and Ash could see blood seeping out of the wound. Whatever had put him out of commision must have been strong, and was probably the same thing that caused Charmander and Nidoran to evolve.
Ash then proceeded to put bandages on the wound and lay Nate down on a nearby rock. "Guard him." he said to Nate's Pokemon. "I know I'm not your Trainer, but I'm his friend, and he needs protection until we can get him to a hospital, which won't be for a while." Charmeleon and Nidorino nodded, and stood in front of Nate's unconscious body, attacking any Pokemon that managed to slip through the onslaught Ash and the other Trainers were causing.
Suddenly he saw Dexter fly past him, landing face first into the ground. It must've been blasted back by an attack, and the Virtual Pokemon looked pretty beaten up. Ash recalled it and scanned the crowd of Pokemon for Petal, who was being attacked by a Zubat and was struggling to dodge. One Wing Attack later, the oddish was knocked out and he recalled it as well.
More and more Pokemon started to fall and Ash's dread started to increase. Haughty grins appeared on the grunts' faces as soon as they realized they were winning.
Suddenly, a loud explosion shook the mountain, catching the grunts off guard. A Pokemon shaped like a palm tree with three egg-shaped heads stomped into the room, firing off powerful psychic attacks at the grunts' Pokemon, utterly destroying them. A familiar man in a lab coat came rushing in and spotted Ash.
"Ash!" he yelled. "What in Arceus's name are you doing here!?"
"Professor Oak! You're here!" Ash exclaimed. "No time to explain. Nate needs to get to the hospital. My Pokemon are out of commision and he's bleeding really badly." He pointed to the slumped form of Nate on the rock that Charmeleon and Nidorino were guarding so fiercely.
The professor rubbed his temple and sighed. "Alright." he said. "But once we get to a hospital I expect an explanation. I alerted the league and they're on their way here. Those Rockets won't be able to escape."
Ash blinked. The grunts he was fighting the whole time were Team Rocket? No wonder there were so many. If they were really an organization like Professor Oak had said over the video phone, there must be thousands of members.
"How'd you even know Ash was here?" Angelina inquired. "Did he tell you?"
"His porygon did." the professor answered. "I received an alert that Ash was in danger around forty minutes ago, showing coordinates somewhere in Mt. Moon. I came as fast as I could."
Ash mused. Could the beeping from earlier have been an alert to Professor Oak?
Professor Oak called over his exeggutor, who was currently launching multiple Koffings into the air with a Psychic attack. The Coconut Pokemon lumbered over and awaited its Trainer's command.
"Take us to the Cerulean City hospital, quickly." he ordered. Angelina stood close to Exeggutor, while Charmeleon and Nidorino dragged Nate's unconscious body over to the group.
Soon Exeggutor's body started to glow, and they were transported away.
Nate grunted and started to open his eyes. It felt like he had been out for weeks. He heard mumbling a few feet away and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and looked to the side of his hospital bed where he saw Ash, Professor Oak, and Angelina.
Angelina immediately caught him off guard and embraced him in a hug. "Nate! You're okay!" he said.
"This can't be happening." Nate said in surprise. "I have to be dead."
"You're not." the Professor spoke. "The doctors were able to get the poison out of your system in time. May I ask what caused you to sustain that injury?"
Nate's mind immediately flashed back to his battle with Proton. The fear during the battle. The numbness and pain he felt when that golbat sunk its fangs into his skin.
"A...A golbat." he said. "I had found a security room and took out the grunts in there. I was able to find some information about some sort of project they were doing, but my memory's a little fuzzy right now. I was attacked by this man named Proton and his golbat took out Pikachu and bit me in the shoulder. The last thing I remember before I blacked out was Charmander and Nidoran's bodies glowing."
"Ah. So it seems they evolved when they were trying to protect you." Professor Oak said. "Seeing that you're still alive, they must have been able to defeat the golbat and brought you to Ash."
Nate's face immediately lit up. He couldn't wait to see his friends and congratulate them. His eyes drifted over to Angelina, then to Oak, and finally to Ash, who seemed to be looking at the floor in shame.
"Hey, dude." Nate said. "What's the matter?"
Ash rubbed his nose. "I'm sorry." he spoke softly. "I put you guys in a dangerous situation and didn't think things through enough. You almost could have died, and Angelina and I could have been kidnapped. I'm a terrible friend."
Nate and Angelina gave him a sympathetic smile. "It's fine, Ash." Angelina said. "Nate's still alive aren't he? And besides, because of you, we managed to stop some criminals from stealing Pokemon. Don't feel bad. You couldn't have predicted that this would happen."
"Yeah, dude." Nate piped up. "If you hadn't convinced us to go, tons of Pokemon and Trainers would have been captured right under everyone's noses."
That seemed to make Ash feel a little bit better, and his smile brightened.
"However," Professor Oak began. "I expect you three to never do this again. Had I not gotten to Mt. Moon in time, all of you would be in serious trouble. Team Rocket is a dangerous organization that wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone that stands in their way. I'm sure you've already experienced that firsthand, Nate."
All three of them nodded. "Good." the professor said. "Now Ash, you should probably call your mother. She's been worried sick about you."
Ash nodded, and went outside of the room to find a video phone. Luckily, there was one in the lobby of the hospital. He dialed his mom's number and waited.
The distressed face of his mother appeared on the screen, and Ash braced himself.
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?" his mother screamed. "It has been a MONTH since you left home, and you never thought to call me ONCE! I was already very worried, and now I find out that you almost got kidnapped!?"
Ash just hung his head in shame. "Sorry mom…"
Delia Ketchum took a deep breath to relax herself. "It's a good thing I love you too much, or else you'd be super grounded." she said. "I'm not going to tell you to come home, but I expect you to call me every few days. Promise?"
Ash nodded, and her face relaxed. "Good." she said, sounding much more calm than before. "So how has your journey been so far?"
"Great." Ash said. "I'm in Cerulean City right now. I already got my first badge, and I caught another Pokemon, an Oddish."
His mother nodded. "Professor Oak told me he gave you a porygon instead of a squirtle. How's it behaving?"
"Oh Dexter is great." Ash said. "It's super strong. I'm confident we'll be able to win against the Cerulean City gym leader."
"Alright, Ash." Delia said. "Stay safe. I hope I don't have to yell at you about this again. Remember, call me every few days."
"Yes mom."
"I love you."
"Love you too."
With that, Ash hung up and walked outside. He missed being exposed to fresh air and the sky. It felt good finally being out of that mountain.
It was around nine PM, so he told Nate and Angelina that he'd be in the nearby Pokemon Center. Professor Oak already left for Pallet Town and Nate still had to stay in the hospital for another day, so he only asked for two beds.
Soon Angelina arrived, and the two of them talked a little before finally drifted off into a deep sleep, exhausted from the day's events.
Author's Note: WOW! 1k views! And my story is in a community archive! Thank you guys so much!
This chapter was mainly focused on our characters' first encounter with the Rockets. I wanted to have Nate's Pokemon evolve in an epic showdown, since both Charmander and Nidoran evolve at the same level. It gave Nate a little bit of a chance to shine as well.
As always, thank you to everyone who submitted a review, followed, favorited, or even just looked at the story! People showing interest in my work is a big motivator for me to keep going! I'm always looking for new ideas, so if you have an idea for how you want this story to go, feel free to shoot me a PM! This story is still in its early stages, so if you want to contribute, now's your chance!
I'm going to be taking some time off to work on school stuff, so don't expect to see the Cerulean City gym battle too soon. Anyways, here are a couple more reviews I responded to! I took away copying and pasting the actual review and just put my answers.
Ashpool: I do notice that my first chapter shares quite a few qualities with Traveler or Challenger. Not sure how I can differentiate the first chapter too much, since at the end of the day, the first chapter mainly just introduces the characters, starter Pokemon, etc.
The Amelia thing was just a subtle nod to the fanfic though. Although now I'm kind of worried it might be too subtle...
Also you literally just predicted Chapters 5 and 7 correctly. Wow. And about the "Good luck charm" that Satoshi gives, yes, it is a Leaf Stone. I'm still planning a scenario in which Petal evolves using it, but that probably won't happen until much later though.
Hope this clears up any questions! I'll see you in the next chapter! Peace!