Author's Note:
Here it is, the reunion of Brock with our main couple and also the chapter where Ash catches his best bird, (I might have a little bias towards his Swellow). I have tried to keep her tough nature from the anime, but I have also expanded upon her character. Yes, Taillow will be female, spoilers, I guess. Just so you know, out of Ash's entire Hoenn team, this is the Pokémon I am most excited to write, yes even more than the twig chewing cowboy, Treecko. I also want to say that we achieved five chapters in the first month of doing Hoenn, not sure how long I can keep up this momentum but I'll keep going as long as possible. Not much else to say, just enjoy and remember to vote in the poll, and with that, let's begin!
Chapter six: You never can Taillow
Taillow land on top of a branch from her favourite tree. A sigh of relief exited her beak, as her eyes drifted below to see a five-way battle between the over-egar males of her flock. Rolling her eyes, she turned around and stared out across the ocean.
She worked her way up to head of flock, and she did that with one thing, battle. Her species are aggressive by nature and respect those that can use such aggression. Being the first female in her flock to work up to head, many doubted her or even refused to show her respect. Of course, she'd defeat them in a one on one. Sometimes one on multiple because they would be scared to face her alone.
Her flock is probably the smallest it's ever been, ever her own parents are no-longer a part of it. Once they passed their peak, she had to kick them out. As a female in charge, she needed to be twice as tough to earn half the respect of her male predecessor.
"Ma'am! Ma'am!" a high female voice squealed from above.
She turned to see one of the younger female Taillow's flying towards her, clumsily crashing into the branch. Hopping off and flapping her wings, she watched the natural appendage fall down through the on-going dogfight. Her eyes flickered over the young one, inwardly smirking. She might not be the strongest or best in battle, but she always found herself having a soft spot of this little one. Having known the difficulties of growing up in a Taillow eat Taillow world, she felt the desire to protect her... not that she would ever divulge that bit of information.
"What do you want?" she growled, narrowing her eyes.
"S-sorry ma'am," she stuttered, "b-but I just saw them!"
"Saw who?" she asked.
"A group of humans have entered our territory!" she explained, "one male and two females."
"Interesting," she mused, "what sort of Pokémon are they packing?"
"I only saw three of them," she explained, "a Pikachu, a Wurmple and some sort of pink thing. I've never seen it before."
"Pink? Probably a psychic type, or fairy," she shrugged, "I'll go and scout ahead. Get the meat heads and have them meet me there."
Without a seconds hesitation, she shot forward. Skilfully soaring through the treelines, she always came close to hitting them but narrowly avoided as splinters flew of the trunks. A faint aroma of food filled her nostrils. Inwardly smirking, she loved attacking trainers before a meal, it makes the spoils all the sweeter.
She landed on a branch and overlooked the human campsite. A blonde women was cooking over a black pot, with several Pokémon surrounding her, along with that unidentified pink thing, she saw a Wurmple, a Cacnea, a disgruntled looking Hitmontop and a Murkrow. Continuing her scan, she saw the second female, with brown hair, coddling a second Wurmple and a Torchic running around her seat. Clearly the easiest of their targets. Her eyes finally landed on the male, he was doing some sort of work out next to... a Granbull, she thought it was. Having heard of them but never actually seeing one, while his Pikachu seemed to be refereeing a battle between a Duskull and some sort of small blue rolling Pokémon.
As a plan began to formulate in her head, the ruckus of her flock appeared behind her. Turning around, she the fourteen male Taillow's that made up the ranks, along with the smaller female from earlier. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned each of them and-
A loud shock of thunder erupted from behind them.
Turning around she saw the large lightning bolt shoot out of that small Pikachu and strike the blue rolling Pokémon. It didn't seemed affected by the attack in the slightest, almost confirming its ground typing but she was more interested in that Pikachu now... its power was certainly impressive. She could feel her blood pumping at the thought of battling it.
"Dibs!" one of the male birds shouted, jumping to the branch next to her.
"Fat chance! I'm in charge here," she growled, "in case you forgot. Now shut up before you give away our location."
"How could I forget, you only remind us every other day," he muttered.
"Stop challenging me for the position and you won't get those reminders," she smirked, turning her attention back to the humans, "and for your continued failure, I think that brown haired girl should prove more than enough of a challenge for you."
"But-"
"I said shut up," she growled, casting a glance at the only other female bird in the group, "you can help him."
"Right!" she chirped happily.
"Heh, I guess you'll get to see how a real Taillow battles, at least. Instead of hanging of her majesties every word," he smirked in the little one's direction, "we could even have this team up continue after the heist."
"Erm," the female bird nervously hopped away.
Angered by the interaction, she leaped forward and tackled the male Taillow into the tree trunk behind. A few leaves falling down from the impact as her wing slapped his face and covered his beak before another sound could be made.
"If I need to tell you to shut up one more time, then you are out of this heist and the spoils which goes with it," she hissed, "got it?"
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she let the male bird go, who flopped onto the branch. Turning back to the group, she studied them for a moment longer before focusing on the others in the flock, "you can each take who you want, apart from the one's specified for them... and the Pikachu, that one is mine."
With a series of nods of agreement, the flock split up into the specified groups. Watching carefully, she waited until all were in position.
Ash stretched his arms out as he looked around at the surrounds. A small stream was flowing to the left, with rocky gravel covering the lakebed. A large grassy field ran parrel to the water source for as far as his eye could see. On the opposite side was a thick forest, surrounded with trees.
"Man, I guess this is as good a place as any to stop for a break," he smiled, "it's perfect to get some training in as well as a little lunch."
"Not to mention, Brock could use the chance to catch up," Serena added, "remember the message he sent a couple hours back."
"Of course," Ash smiled, "man I can't wait to see him again."
"You've both spoken so much about this Brock guy," May spoke up, "I feel like I know him already. Right Wurmple?"
"Yeah!" her bug type cheered.
Smiling towards her, both he and Serena reached for their Pokéballs and released their teams. After a little encouragement, May followed suit and they set up a campfire to cook lunch on. His honey-blonde girlfriend started preparing stuff for their meal, as it was her turn to cook. Happy with the turn of events, he focused in on his team and gave out their training instructions. Soon joining them in the workout with doing sit ups.
Catching sight of his two smaller Pokémon, who were continuing to help Duskull master Payback, with Pikachu mentoring them. His mind went forward towards the Rustbow gym. From what he read, it's a rock type gym and that means Phanpy is his best bet... but none of his other options are great.
He got deep into the work out, with Granbull right next to him, doing push ups instead of sit ups. Smiling at her enthusiasm, he knew she wanted to get better after that battle with Norman's Swellow. While she never really bothered much about winning or losing, just enjoying the thrill of battle, being completely out matched like that. Feeling himself energised by that spirit, he doubled his efforts to match her.
The thick aroma of stew filled his nostrils as he tried to focus more on the training. His mind wondered off towards the lake, thinking he might catch a water type next. He has that lure Misty gave him before they parted, and a water type would be perfect for a rock type gym.
Something felt off.
No shadows could be seen in the lake, and no sounds could be heard either. It wasn't uncommon for Pokémon to avoid campsites, but you could normally still sense their presence, whether through sounds or smell or even sight. Now that he thought about it, the entire journey since leaving Petalburg has been quiet.
"Charge!" a female voice screeched.
He looked up from his sit up position to see a swam of black dots shooting out of the treelines. The mini birds split off, with two of them going straight for May, who curled up into a ball while protecting her Wurmple. Her Torchic ran around in panic. One went after the fire type, while the other focused on her.
A cry from his own Pokémon drew his attention. Another bird smashed into his Duskull, knocking him into Granbull. The two rolled over to Serena.
She seemed to have it all the worst, despite having her team of Sylveon, Hitmontop, Murkrow, Cacnea and Wurmple, and now both his Duskull and Granbull, a large swam of birds were attacking them. It was hard to count them due to the fast movements, but he saw three focusing on the fairy type eeveelution, as two more were taunting Hitmontop. Another set birds swooped in and began attacking his two Pokémon. Murkrow shot up into the sky, followed by two birds
Serena backed up, hiding both her Cacnea and Wurmple behind her. He sighed in relief as he knew she could handle herself just fine.
"Granbull! Get up and go to protect May!" Ash cried out, "Duskull, taking this to the air and use Will-o-Wisp on as many of them as you can!"
Refocusing his attention on his two closest Pokémon, he saw Phanpy cowering behind his leg as the bird was going one to one with Pikachu. Using great speed and flying ability, the bird skilfully dodge Pikachu's electric attacks and running in for single, powerful hits with either its wing or beak.
"Hey Phanpy, I've got a plan," he explained, "you trust me?"
"Y-yeah," he stuttered. He may have had battles before, but this ambush is something else entirely.
"on my cue, use rollout and strike it," he explained, turning to face Pikachu, "we're severely outnumbered buddy so we need to try and end this quickly! Can you remember Casey back from Johto?"
"Yep and I'm guess you want me to hit it out of the park!" he yelled back, turning to face the bird who he was lock in combat with.
His tail raised up behind him and shimmered into a metal coating. Sending a Thunder shock straight forward, it struck the bird head on.
Grimacing through the attack, it pushed forward. Wings glowing white as it rode the electricity down towards his electric starter.
Ending his electric attack, the bird dived down. His best buddy swung his tail overhead, and the opponent was too close to dodge. It was sent flying backwards, slamming into a tree behind, "now Phanpy! Pikachu, go and help Serena!"
Landing on all fours, Pikachu darted off to the side and out of view. His ground type sped across the ground, aiming straight for the slouching bird.
He was about to strike when its eyes burst open. Raising its small legs, Phanpy came to a complete stop. Flapping its wings, the bird took off, with his ground type trapped and crying out. Despite struggling, he couldn't break free.
Ash's eyes widened in fear, as his legs started running towards them. He saw the bird was aiming directly for lake. With a mighty leap, he dove for the two of them.
"Noooooo!" he cried out, diving forward.
Grabbing him out of the air, he spun around and smashed his back onto the water. Holding his breath, he held his long nose Pokémon close with one arm and spun around onto his stomach. With all his strength, he swam to the shore and tossed his ground type up.
"You alright buddy?" he asked.
"I-I think so," he mumbled, shaking the water off his body. Sighing in relief, he looked out to see how the others were getting on.
Serena was protecting some of the smaller Pokémon like Cacnea, Wurmple and Murkrow. With Sylveon stood in front of her, using her feelers to whack away any birds which came close. Pikachu was a little bit away, being attacked by a large number of the birds. Shocking them with electricity, they retreated, as a new wave of opponents flew in. Even if individually he could take them, the sheer numbers were clearly getting to him.
Up in the sky, Duskull was being swarmed by free flaming birds, each glowing with a red outline. He clenched his fist in anger, recognising the guts ability.
At least May seemed to be safe, as she sat behind Granbull, her two Pokémon resting in her arms. Granbull had the two birds which were attack her previously, one in each hand. Slamming them both into the ground as she radiated with fairy type energy.
The bird which just threw Phanpy into the stream, charged over through Duskull. Purposely diving through a will-o-wisp fire ball.
A red outline surround it as the wing glew white. Knocking Duskull sideways, it continued onward.
Speeding up, it slammed into Pikachu, beak first. Sending him flying as the other birds backed off. Its wings glew once more and it speedily made its way through Sylveon's feelers, delivering a powerful wing attack which sent her flying to the ground.
Almost completely disappearing from sight, it smashed into the back of Granbull. His fairy type went flying and released her two birds.
"Forretress, explosion!" a familiar voice echoed.
Turning towards the source, he saw a bright light blind him. A loud bang followed by a deafening silence.
"Now use Rapid Spin to clear the air!"
His bug steel type landed flat on the ground and began spinning in place. A powerful wind tunnel formed upwards, blowing the black smoke from the explosion upwards and out of the immediate area. He looked around to see his old friends and some new ones scattered around.
Ash quickly made his way over to Serena, to pull her up as a bunch of their Pokémon also regrouped. He glanced to his side to see Max stood next to him, he made sure to keep in front of the young boy during the commotion. Kneeling down he slid his backpack off and pulled out his first aid box, ready to help everyone around. He quickly scanned the sky, to see the last of the flock that attacked flying away.
"May!" the little boy in green cried out, running over to her.
He stood up and walked over to them, quickly examining the young girl on the floor. She was slouched against a tree, with her Torchic in her arms. Cuts and bruises covered them as she squeezed her eyes shut and was curled up into a ball. Max kneeled next to her, tentatively shaking her.
"Urg, Max, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"We can talk about that later, for now let's just get you sorted out," he smiled, opening the first aid box, "my name is Brock, May and don't worry. We'll have you and Torchic sorted out soon enough."
He carefully took her fire type starter and gave him a furrow check over. Smiling at the small one, he placed him down on the floor and took out a purple spray bottle. Giving it a light shake he sprayed it over the chick Pokémon, who grimaced at the contact.
"Tor Tor-chic!
"Sorry bud, I know it stings but we'll have you feeling better in no time," he apologised, putting the potion away and switching it with a Pokéball, "come on out Ninetales."
In a flash of light, his pure fire type appeared right in front of him. A pleasant smile on her face.
"Ninetales, do you mind sharing a little fire with Torchic?" he asked, "he got a little hurt and could use the refresher."
Smiling at him, his fully evolved fox Pokémon cautiously moved Torchic to the side, releasing a light flamethrower over him. The starter seemed to relax in the fire bath, cooing as he spun around on his legs.
"Why are you doing that, Brock?" Max asked.
"Because depending on the injuries and stage of said injuries, depends if you should apply cold or heat," he explained, "cold restricts the nerves and helps with holding injuries in place, while heat helps with relaxing. When relaxed, a body can focus all its energy on healing and with Torchic being a fire type, he'd need a lot more heat than either of us would. See, he's looking better already."
"Whoa Brock, you sure know a lot about medicine," Max smiled.
"Thanks Max, I am aiming to become a Pokémon doctor, after all," he smiled, "but now let's take a look at your sister."
As he turned back to the young girl, he began looking at her injuries. She was far more relaxed down and he couldn't see any signs of greater injuries then a few scratches. Reaching into his box of medicine, he pulled out another bottle, this time a white one filled with disinfectant.
"Okay May, this is going to sting," he explained, "none of these look deep do you shouldn't need stitches, and none are bleeding heavily either. But we don't want them getting infected."
"O-okay," she stuttered between her gritted teeth.
Shaking the bottle, he held her arm out and spayed it across the exposed skin, ensuring to cover each cut on her arm. She grimaced from the presumably stinging sensation as he moved onto her other arm. Finally spraying it over her legs, which were also covered in scratches.
"There," he smiled, putting the disinfectant away, "give it a few hours and soon you won't even notice marks from them."
"Thanks," she took a deep breath and relaxed, "and I'm guessing you're the same Brock that those two won't stop talking about."
He turned towards where she gesturing to see his two old friends relaxing on the ground and checking over their own Pokémon. Seeing them effortlessly tend to the injuries endured brought a smile to his face. Guess he taught them well during their original travels in Kanto and Johto.
"Aww shucks, I guess I would be," he chuckled nervously, "I'm just glad we were able to help."
"But there's one thing I don't understand, Brock," Max drew his attention, "how could Forretress use Rapid Spin straight after explosion? It should've drained all his energy so he would still be out of it, even now."
"Maybe for most Pokémon, but you see Forretress here is kind of an expert at exploding," Brock smiled, rubbing the top of his bagworm Pokémon who cheered in affection, "he's been exploding ever since I caught him as a little Pineco, way back in Johto. Isn't that right buddy."
"Forretress," he nodded in reply.
"Well thank you Brock and Forretress for scaring those things away," May thanked.
"Your welcome, May," he smiled, holding his hand out, "I'm just glad everyone's alright."
"Those things, as you so kindly put it," Max spoke up, "we're a whole flock of Taillow, the pre-evolved form of Swellow and extremely territorial. With them around here, it's no wonder we couldn't find any other Pokémon. Right Brock?"
"Right Max," Brock smiled, "but they normally know when beaten. I wouldn't expect them to come back unless we venture deeper into the forest."
"So those Taillow evolve into Swellow," a familiar voice drew his attention, turning towards the source he saw his old friends along with their Pokémon approaching, both with a smile on their faces. Ash turned towards the electric type on his shoulder, "it makes sense why they were so strong. Remember Norman's Swellow, Pikachu?"
"Pikapi!" the electric mouse cheered in agreement.
"Ash, Serena, nice to see you again," he smiled, standing up to greet them properly. As soon as he did, he found his little-sister-like friend engulfing him in a hug which he gladly returned.
"It's great to see you too, Brock!" she exclaimed, a certain giddiness in her voice, "we've really missed you."
"Yeah, Brocko," Ash held his hand out as the hug came to an end. He gladly accepted the firm handshake with his little-brother-like friend, "so how was everything back in Pewter?"
"Everything's fine now," he smiled, "and it was nice to meet my new step-mum. I think I kinda misjudged her beforehand though, but I feel safe knowing she'll be with Forrest and the others."
"That's nice, it can always be hard to accept new people into one's life," Serena smiled, "but-"
"Wait a minute!" May screeched as she jumped to her feet, "why are we still hanging around! Those Taillow could come back at any minute!"
"I doubt it would be that quickly, May," Brock smiled, taking off a Pokéball off his belt, "but if it will make you feel better, then go Golem!"
"Golem!" the rock ground cried as he materialised in front of them. He crossed his arms over his rocky chest with a fierce expression. The young Hoenn girl moved in closer to have a look at him, to which stared back, not making any sort of movement whilst being examined.
"Why should that make me feel better?" May asked.
"Because as a rock type, Golem have a massive advantage over Taillow," Max pipped up, "and also the fact its fully evolved shows-"
"And what are you doing here anyway Max?!" May yelled, "when mum and dad find out-"
"Nu-huh, they already know!" Max retorted.
"Oh yeah?!"
"Yeah!"
"Calm down, both of you!" Brock raised his voice, stepping in between them with arms crossed. He faced May full on, which forced her to look up at him, "now listen May, Max is right. Both your parents know he's here and asked me to take care of him whilst we're on this journey."
"But why?" she asked, "they said he was too young and us three weren't ready for such a responsibility."
"I bet I know why," Serena stepped in, "you see, May, Brock isn't like myself or Ash. He is much older and use to be a gym leader. He still holds a license to hold such a position should he wish to. And he has a tone of experience looking after kids."
"Not just his own siblings either," Ash added, "but he has helped both my and Serena out a tone. If it wasn't for Brock, we probably never would've learnt how to cook or run an efficient campsite or half of the training tips we know now."
"Even a lot of how to take care of our own Pokémon," Serena continued, "without Brock's help, we never would've become the trainers you see today."
"Your parents knew how stubborn he could be and also know that there's no experience like that on a journey with Pokémon," Brock continued, "so with me looking after him, he has their permission to travel with us."
"Oh great," she muttered, hanging her head down.
"You should be thankful, May, after all without me you wouldn't have the first clue about Pokémon!" Max declared, "have you even thought about what you'll do for the Rustbow gym? Your Torchic and Wurmple are hardly prepared for a rock type gym!"
"What would you know about it..." May muttered, shrinking back down against the tree.
He knew not all siblings got along, he never got into sibling rivalries with his own siblings but that's because for as long as he could remember, he was more of a father then brother. He has definitely had to intervene with a bunch of rivalries like that, however.
"Anyway Brock, we see you've brought Golem, Ninetales and Forretress, but what other Pokémon did you bring?" Serena asked.
"Well I also brought these two with me," he smiled, holding two devices out. In a flash of light, his Shuckle and Omastar appeared in front of them, "and I also brought Stantler but then I got this little guy who replaced her but I'm going to be sure to rotate them around regularly."
In a flash of light, his last Pokémon appeared on the ground, snoozing lightly. He kneeled down and picked him up. The normal types arms loosely draped over his shoulders as he bounced him up and down.
"Is that the same Slakoth that my dad wanted me to take?" May asked.
"I believe so," Brock smiled, "your dad did mention offering him to you before, but you wanted to catch your team yourself. It's a completely normal thing to want, especially for trainers just starting out."
"So why did you say yes?" she asked, "if you don't mind my asking."
"I've been a trainer for a long time, and the most important thing I've learnt," he turned up to the sky, "it doesn't matter if a Pokémon is met in the wild, hatched from an egg or given to you by a stranger. All are special and make great friends. Besides that, the Slakoth line are meant to be incredibly difficult to raise. I would like the challenge present."
"I'm sure you'll make a great trainer for Slakoth, Brock," Ash smiled, "I just wish I caught that Taillow when I had the chance. After seeing Norman's Swellow, I kinda want one myself."
"That's because my dad is the best trainer ever!" Max exclaimed, "but if you want one that badly, why not head after them?"
"Because provoking the flock would be stupid," Serena stepped in, "even with Golem, and Brock's other Pokémon, the chances one or more of us would get seriously hurt in going after them would be incredibly high."
"Exactly," Ash replied, "and it's not like these will be the only Taillow we encounter. If they are anything like Pidgey's in Kanto, or Hoothoot in Johto, then I'll have plenty of other chances to catch one."
"So, I don't know about you guys, but Max and I were about to break for lunch when we heard the commotion," Brock smiled, "how about I rustle us all up some grub?"
With a series of agreements from his friends, he smiled and looked towards the campfire and cooking pot previous set up. It had already been turned over and the content mostly over the floor... however, a single red Wurmple was slurping up the spilt stew like her life depended on it. Chuckling at the sight, he made his way over and set his newly met normal type down. Picking up the utensil, he truly felt like he was back... too bad Misty wasn't here with them.
Taillow mumbled to herself as she landed on top of a branch, overlooking her flock as they began to roost on top of their own branches. Each one sorting to their injuries in their own way, mostly gulping down berries from their collection. Whether it would be to handle the burns inflicted with rawst berries or cheri berries for those struck by Pikachu's electricity. Some just simply munching on oran berries to boost their energy back up.
Her eyes filtered through the trees, scanning each inch for her target. The heat of her own burn fuelling the anger in her veins. Finally, she came to two that she had been looking for. Without a moment's hesitation, she dove straight down, talons first.
Narrowly avoiding the only other female in her flock, she smashed straight into the gun-ho male that almost gave them away beforehand. Crashing into him, she sent him straight down into the grassy dirt. Without a moments break, she followed him and landed over his lying body.
"Get up," she growled. His eyes seemed dazed as he struggled back to his feet. A nervous sweat could be seen forming on his forehead, "what? Nothing to say. Has a Skitty got your tongue?"
Almost the entire flock joined them, circling around as if to watch what was about to happen. Her eyes flicked upwards for a brief moment, where only the other female Taillow remained on the branch. She quickly turned her attention back to the male who was hesitantly stepping backwards.
"You know before when you challenged me for head of this flock, I took pity on you. I held myself back and you only just survived," she stated, "but after the mess up today. I'm starting to think we'd be better off without you. I gave you the easiest target and back up to boot, yet I still needed to rush in and save your sore arse."
A series of cries came from their audience. Taking a deep breath, she turned her head and had her eyes scan each and every one. Making sure to have direct eye contact, bring them to an eerie silence.
"None of you were any better," she continued, "we had them out numbered and vulnerable. Completely off guard, yet I ended up having to swoop in, eliminate your targets and pull you all out because what? You was surprised they fought back. I'm going off to try and come up with a second plan to handle these humans but now they'll be on guard to our movements. Get cleaned up and don't screw anything else up whilst I'm gone."
Taking off from her position she flew straight past the branch where the other female was roosting. With a flick of her head, she took off into the trees, and her scout was following shortly behind. She came to a stop on a tree, which overlooked the ocean, her favourite spot within their territory.
"What is it ma'am?" she asked.
"You need to get out of here," she sighed, "I don't care where you go or who with, but you need to leave now."
"Wh-what?" she asked, "but why?"
"Because I'm not going to be around for much longer," she stared straight into her scouts eyes, "and that means I won't be able to protect you from them."
"Wh-why won't you be around?" she asked, tears welling up in her eyes.
"It's because I'm going back to that human settlement and I'm going to challenge that Pikachu again," she sighed, "his trainer, the boy, is going to catch me."
"How could you be so sure?" she asked.
"Well..." she paused, trying to find the right way to explain her plan, "if he doesn't, the only other choice I'll give him is to kill me because I will never stop pursuing him."
"B-but you hate humans," her scout gasped, "why do you want this trainer to catch you?"
"I hate everyone, it's the only way to ensure I'm not hurt," she sighed, pausing to go through ways to explain her thinking, "alright, imagine I'm a Magikarp and I have my own pond. It's not massive but it's mine, I'm the strongest Pokémon in that pond and no-one could tell me otherwise."
"Right..." she hesitantly replied, "I don't see what this has to do with anything, though."
"Well, because no matter how tough I am in that pond, there's still a whole ocean out there," she explained, "with hundreds of Magikarp tougher than me."
"So... at the minute you're a big fish in a small pond," her scout mused, "but you want to become a big fish in a bigger pond?"
"Exactly," she replied, turning her attention back to the vast ocean in front of them.
"But why pick that trainer?" she asked, "out of all the ones available, I mean. We've seen countless pass through these woods."
"Simple," she replied, "because he's good at what he does. Every other human we've ransacked has ran and fled. None of them tried to stand up to us or those that did, didn't get very far, but surely you saw him during the commotion. He kept his cool and focused on all three battles going on. Even re-splitting the teams up, to better concur our own."
"I don't like this idea, Tailow," she sighed, "but I guess you've already made up your mind."
"Uh huh," she nodded, "so do like I said. Fly away and don't look back, it's the only way you'll be safe."
The female Taillow looked towards her with an annoyed expression. She sighed in relief as she saw her disappear in the treelines, flying away from their territory. Knowing that her little protege will be far away from here, she turned upwards where a sitrus berry was hanging. Plucking it down, she used it as a quick refresher of her energy, she could've gone to find a rawst berry, but she could really use that guts boost she's getting from it.
Feeling energy burning and her heart beating at a neck-break pace, she took off through the forest, entering a speedy quick attack. Her eyes scanned the ground as she charged past each tree. A thin veil of smoke soon being her guide towards her target.
She always wanted to find a way out of this flock, and she knew eventually it would have to be a human catching her. Of course, she'd never let just any human catch her. If she's being completely honest, the real reason she's interest in him is because of that Pikachu. She has battled many in her time and while electric types are more difficult for her species, none had a bolt like that one... and it was holding back too. If he could make a rat that strong, imagine where she would end up under his training.
Soon the sight of that human settlement came into view. Resting on a branch which overlooked the campsite, she noticed a couple more humans and a bunch more Pokémon with them. Knowing her flock couldn't outmatch them with the new recruits, she scanned them for her target that she wants to battle.
Ash sat down at the table with a bowl of stew, fresh out of the pot. Boy was he glad that Brock went with the same meal, even if Serena is a great cook in her own right, the breeder literally taught them everything they both know about food.
As he began to dig into the meal, he cast a glance around at everyone else. Seeing both May and Max take their first bite of Brock's cooking was a sight to behold. He also took in the sight of all of their Pokémon chowing down on the home-made Pokémon food. Something about travelling in a large group with a bunch of friends just made him excited. He truly meant the phrase 'the more the merrier'.
"So, Ash, what's your plan for the Rustbow gym?" Max asked.
"Huh?" he turned towards the young boy, "I haven't really thought about it yet? Well not completely at least."
"What?!" he cried out, "but it isn't that far away."
"You need to think Max, we still have a good week of travelling before we get there, if not longer," Serena pipped up, "Ash could catch several knew Pokémon who would make great counters to rock types between then and now."
"Hmm, I still think you're making a mistake not having the plan ready to go," he grumbled, taking another bite of his meal, "and what about you May?"
"What do you mean?" she asked, finishing off her second bowl of Brock's stew. It seems that she could have an appetite to rival his own, with similar table manners to how he used to be, before Serena taught him better.
"Your Torchic and Wurmple aren't great match ups for a rock type gym leader," he pointed out, "you'd be best trying to catch a water or a grass type. Or both."
"You know, Max, type advantage isn't everything," Ash pointed out.
"Maybe not for the super strong trainers but for you two who are still in training, its best to get all bases covered," he smirked with a glint in his glasses.
"Actually Max, as a gym leader in a rock gym, I once handed over a badge to a trainer who beat me with a Pidgeotto and Butterfree," Brock explained, "and it was their first gym battle. They also ended up walking out with the badge with that team."
"What?!" he cried out, "what sort of rookie would-"
"That was me, Max," Ash interjected, "and I went with that team because they were my best options at the time. What you need to remember Max, is no matter what sort of opponent your facing or what sort of field you're on, there is almost always a way to win."
"And a gym leaders job isn't to demolish every trainer that comes looking for a badge," Brock added, "they are there to give a proper test for the trainers capabilities. Most tricks new trainers use to counter their Pokémon, they've seen a thousand times before, but they can't devalue the individual's efforts for it."
As the young boy nodded in understanding with Brock's assessment, Ash found his eyes drawn towards May. She had finished her second helping of stew and was now sat in silence. Her arms hugging her body with a worried expression on her face. He was about to ask 'what's wrong' when-
A black blur out of the corner of his eye drew his attention, turning towards the source, he found a Taillow stood on top of a nearby rock. It's eyes were fixed dead on him, despite not moving, he was able to see her daring him to approach.
"Is that the same Taillow from before?" Max asked.
"I think it is," Serena replied.
"But what does it want?" May asked.
"And where's the rest of the flock?" Brock added.
"I don't know but I'm going to find out," Ash reassured. Standing up, he cautiously made his way over and kneeled down to make them eye level. Even if he was a lot bigger than her, he felt a very intimidating presence radiating off it. "Hi. I'm Ash and-"
"I don't care," a female voice replied, "I came here to finish what was started with that spark plug."
"Hey!" Pikachu cried out.
"You want to battle Pikachu?" he asked.
"Of course," she growled, "last time I beat your Phanpy, Duskull, Hitmontop, Granbull and that other pink thing all in a row. Why-"
"I'm a Sylveon," the fairy type eeveelution interjected. Not that the bird cared.
"Why would I waste my time repeating those matches?" she asked, glancing over the two Wurmple, Cacnea, Murkrow and Torchic, "if you really want me to beat those first then I will. But their fate will be on your hands."
"I'm not asking you to battle any of them," Ash raised his hands up, "I just want to know why you want to battle Pikachu? He could seriously hurt you."
"I'd worry more about what I'll do to him," she smirked, rolling her eyes when the electric starter shouted out in anger, "and the reason why? Because we had a battle without a specific victor. I control that flock from before, if I let a battle go undecided then I won't be controlling it for much longer."
"And if we refuse?" he asked.
"Then I will bring the rest of the flock, we'll attack you again and split you up from spark plug," she explained, "then he'll have a choice between battle me or get beaten into an inch of his life... but we'll end up with the same result, either way."
"I want to shock that smug look of her face," Pikachu growled running up.
"You can try," she smirked.
"Your flying type!" his starter yelled, clearly getting agitated by her... Ash has to admit, she does not suffer from self-confidence issues.
"And you're a rodent," she growled, flapping her wings to take off. Soaring away to the grassy patch behind where they were set up, lopping around, she was waiting in the air as Pikachu ran to face off against her, "now are we gonna do this the easy way or hard way?"
With his electric starter rushing out onto the grassy terrain, entering his own battle stance. Ash stood up and narrowed his eyes. While he really did want to catch a Taillow for himself and this one would be amazing with her tough-no-nonsense attitude, he didn't like the idea of the flock coming after them for catching their leader. Either way, if she has proven one thing, it's that she won't go down so easily even with Pikachu's type advantage.
Ash verses Taillow
He had to dive to the side as Taillow dove towards both himself and Pikachu. His electric type also dodged to the side, as the normal flying type swooped upwards behind them, disappearing amongst the blinding sun.
Pikachu let out a cry, with sparking cheeks. A bolt of electricity shot out towards the sky. He looked up just in time to see Taillow get struck.
She shook of the hit as the bolt ended. Shooting straight down, her wings glew white as she made a b-line towards his starter.
"Taillow has shown she is more than fast enough to of dodged that," Ash mused to himself.
The female bird dove down, and her wing scrapped the ground. His starter leaped overhead and avoided her attack.
Her body turned and came to a stop right in front of him. Taillow's beak glew and expanded, thrusting it into the electric types eye.
"Ow!" Pikachu cried out.
Ash spotted static sparks over his starter, which jumped over to the flock leader. He sighed in relief, having her paralysed will make ending this battle a whole lot easier. Although that relief turned to confusion as her body burst into flames, pushing the static away.
"What?!" he cried out, "how did you burn her, Pikachu?!"
"I didn't!" he called back.
As she smashed into him. Sending him flying clear across the grass, skidding over the floor, and pulling up the shrubbery along the way. Following on after the impact, she shot into the sky, the flames disappearing as the sun blocked her ascent once more.
"What even was that move?!" he cried out.
"Facade is a move which doubles in power if the user is suffering from a status condition," Max called out, "like burns or paralysis!"
Oh great! She might be small, but a facade powered by both her guts ability and facade's nature boost from the same thing really packs a punch. Seeing his starter push himself back up, he is clearly angered by the birds antics. He'll give her one thing; she is definitely tough.
"Pikachu, we might need to up the juice some!" he called out.
Just in time as Taillow swept back down, wings glowing. She charged close to the ground; blades of grass thrown up in the tail wind.
Pikachu spun his tail to the side. It shimmered in a metal coating, knocking her sideways and to a momentarily halt.
Using the opening, he launched a close ranged thunderbolt. It struck Taillow head on and she cried out as she took the blast. When his attack came to a stop she was panting heavily. Only two or three deep breaths before her head raised and looked at them with narrowed eyes.
In the blink of an eye she disappeared once more. Turning towards his starter, Pikachu took off as well.
Both Pokémon could be seen running across the grassy field. She was over head, occasionally diving down to try and hit with her wings.
His starter energetically dodged each one, getting in whacks with his tail to counter. Although no-energies were running through as he didn't have time.
"Pikachu, split and regroup!" he called out.
The pure electric type nodded and made a complete u-turn, momentarily causing distance between them. As he ran back towards him, his starter formed into several copies. Each running in a separate direction.
Looking across the grass, he saw Taillow sweeping across, targeting each copy, and redirecting on a new one as one vanished.
She locked eyes with him, and her beak seemed to flick into a smirk. Speeding up, she ignored the copies and flew into the wooded area.
"Did she give up?" Max asked.
"No..." Ash uttered, as his eyes drifted over to the treelines. Glancing back to the field, he saw one of the Pikachu stand up and look as well.
He went flying to the side, spinning sideways. Landing down with a double pair of wings to his head.
"She used it to locate the real Pikachu," he shook his head, as she continued to beat the starter up, "Pikachu, we might need to up the juice some more!"
A ball of electricity surrounded them and Taillow went flying backwards. As it came to a stop, she was smouldering with soot and coughing.
Shaking her head, a smirk reappeared on her beak and her tongue licked it with a satisfied glee in her eyes, "now we're talking."
Her body burst into flames and she dove straight down. Her glowing wings were set to crash into Pikachu, who was watching intensely.
He made a dodge to the side as she landed in front of him. Spinning forward, she continued to push him back. It almost looked like a dance as he went from wing to her feet, beak and back to wing again. While his starter was able to match her move for move and avoid the facade, it was clearly both were fatigued.
Pikachu landed on his back feet and burst out in a ball of electricity. Charging forward, he smashed into her and she went flying backwards.
Taillow crashed into the dirt as he came to a stop, recoil damage causing him to wince. She slowly pushed herself up, bloodshot eyes and growling in anger.
"Ash!" Brock called out, drawing his attention from the battle, "Taillow is clearly exhausted."
"I know that, Brock, but she just won't quit," he replied, "I actually kinda admirer her tenacity."
"But if she keeps pushing herself, at this rate she'll do some irreversible damage," Brock called out, "even if it risks her flock attacking, you might need to catch her just to end this."
"Got it, Brock!" he called back, turning towards the battle once more.
The flock leader charged up from the ground, entering another speedy ascent as her wings glew white. Pikachu launched out a powerful thunderbolt, he couldn't be certain, but it didn't seem he was holding back any longer. Taillow took the bolt head on, revealing in the pain as she pushed forward.
"Are you sure this isn't Lugia or something, cosplaying as a Taillow?" Pikachu asked, ending his attack, and diving out of the way once again.
"I dunno buddy," he replied, taking out an empty Pokéball, enlarging it in his hand. He watched as she swooped past towards him, slowing and turning back.
With a deep breath, he gave a hard-overhead toss. The device spun through the air and landed directly on the female bird. A red light shot out and burst open. Taillow was engulfed by the light and sucked inside as it closed up once more. Landing on the red side, it began shaking back and forth. Ash held his breath as he watched the battle going on. It continued for what felt like forever, each shaking slowing down to a few seconds apart. It eventually came to a stop, as the tension became thick enough to cut. His eyes refused to blink as he locked on the device. Hopefully, Taillow let's up, she can't take much more.
It dinged.
"I... caught it," he uttered, his lips stretching into a large wide smile. Taking off straight across the grass towards the device, he held the Pokéball up and struck a pose, "I caught Taillow!"
A clapping drew his attention as he turned to see Serena approaching him, "well done. And you haven't done that pose in a while, especially for a catch."
"It just felt right," he smiled, engulfing her in a hug and swinging her around. A gleeful squeal sounded to his ears, as the twirl came to an end, "she was a real tough cookie. I bet she'll prove to be a real great battler when we get to a gym."
"Your gonna keep her?" Serena asked, as they entered a short walk back to the campsite.
"Of course," he smiled, "if she doesn't mind... I mean. I wouldn't want her flock to be left alone."
Walking back to the camp, he saw Brock already had a blanket spread out with a first aid box ready. Giving a small nod, the breeder returned the gesture with a smile. He kneeled down on the blanket and held the device out. In a beam of red light, his newly caught bird appeared, breathing heavily and slowly.
"Hey Taillow, sorry about the capture but you didn't really leave us much of a choice," he explained, holding out a blue berry with a green top. Placing it on the ground in front of her she leaned down, locked eyes with him once more and began pecking the treat, "why did you challenge us when burnt?"
"Gives me that extra kick in battle," she replied, "and don't worry I once held onto a burn for seventy-two hours. This was nothing."
"Why hold onto it for so long?" he asked.
"There was a trainer with a Magcargo who wanted to catch me," she shrugged, "his mistake."
"You beat a Magcargo?" he raised an eyebrow, "impressive."
"It was a slow day," she continued to eat her berry, "and afterwards the flock chased him north out of the forest."
"Why?" he asked.
"They needed the exercise," she shrugged, "but they don't matter now. I'm caught."
"If you wanted to go back then-"
"You're a trainer and used a Pokéball. It was a fair catch, end off," she interjected, "I know you did it to save your rodent, but it was a legit capture."
"Guess again, sweet cheeks," Pikachu smirked, running up to the blanket, "he did it to protect you, not me."
"Keep telling yourself that, spark plug," she grunted.
"Alright, enough you too," Ash cut them both off, reaching into the first aid box he pulled out a red bottle with a golden-yellow cap, "now Taillow, this super potion will help restore your energy, but it might sting."
Receiving a nod from her, he held the spray out and she closed her eyes. Spraying it over her, she seemed to wince and gritted her beak. As he placed the bottle down, she shook herself dry and looked at him expectantly. Without a word, he brought out his Pokedex to scan her:
Taillow, The Tiny Swallow Pokémon. Taillow courageously stands its ground against foes, however strong they may be. This gutsy Pokémon will remain defiant even after a loss. On the other hand, it cries loudly if it becomes hungry.
Type: Normal / Flying
Ability: Guts
Hidden Ability: Scrappy (Note: This hidden ability is currently unlocked)
Gender: Female
Nature: Adamant (Note: This could change when/if this Pokémon evolves)
Move(s): Peck, Growl, Focus Energy, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Double Team, Work Up, Facade
"So, I guess this is welcome to the team," he smiled, putting the device away, "we can introduce you to the others... after we eat, finally."
"Fine with me," she replied, taking off and landing on his shoulder, "now what was this I heard you say about a gym?"
Ash placed his collection of four Pokéballs down in his backpack, with all four Pokémon secure inside of them. The flock came looking for them after a late lunch which his newly caught Taillow sent packing. He was expecting a bigger problem with them, but it seems those birds we're terrified of her so when she said they were off limits, they listened. Although she was hardly making friends among the others.
They got down to business and Taillow quickly made a name for herself, out battling Duskull, Phanpy and Granbull without much of a break. She wanted to prove her worth in hopes he'd use her against the Rustbow gym... when he tried to reason that it'll be rock type, she just became more determined.
Smiling at the thought of her determination, he remembered the deal he made. The idea that he'd use her against that gym leader, provided she masters the move Steel Wing by the time they get there. At least that way, she'll have a decent attack and not just injure herself by hitting a defensive beast head on. He also had to make her agree not have Duskull burn her prior to said battle. While he's taken advantage of guts before, he'd never enable it himself beforehand.
Deciding to forget about that for now, he turned back towards the spread-out sleeping bags and his girlfriend lying on her stomach with her legs kicking back and forth. She was dressed in his black shirt once more and pink pyjama shorts. Her head was buried in her Pokegear once more.
He crawled over and straddled over her. She seemed to notice and rolled onto her back, putting her Pokegear away, "hey."
"Hey yourself," he smiled, leaning down to peck her lips, "today has been one hell of a day, right?"
"First things first," she smirked, snaking her arms up around his neck.
He felt himself pulled down, as his arms buckled under him. With their bodies smushed together and their lips following suit. Her arms moved down and around his back as she continued to passionately show her affection. He tried to keep up but was limited following her lead.
Not that he minded, of course. He was just happy to take part.
He found himself lying on his back with the honey-blonde girl on top. Their lips hadn't parted for coming up to two minutes and while he wished it could've continued, the need for air was becoming quickly apparent and breathing through his nose wasn't cutting it anymore. Within inward sigh, he pulled back and relaxed onto the makeshift bed, glancing up at the cerulean-eyed beauty.
"What was that for?" he asked, resting his head on his two hands and his arms made triangle shapes next to his head and neck.
"Like you said, it's been one hell of a day," she smirked, resting herself down and placing her head on his bicep, "and with Max around, who knows how often we'll get our alone time, so I need to make the most of it when I get it."
"Hehe, I guess you're right," he chuckled with a hint of nervousness, "but speaking of Max, and May, I've been thinking."
"What about?" she asked.
"Maybe we should tell them," he replied, "about our aura and ESP, I mean."
"Ash..." she sighed.
"At least, May," he replied, "it seems like they are in for the long haul and we never kept it secret from Misty or Brock. Why shouldn't we tell them?"
"We never kept it from them because we found out about it with them. We never had a chance to keep it from them," she shook her head, "and I'm not saying we should never tell them but-"
"But what?" he asked.
"But... I dunno, I don't fully trust them yet and this is kind of a big secret," she explained, "I wouldn't want to tell them then they spill the beans later on."
"They wouldn't do that," he replied, "or at least May wouldn't. As a kid, I could see Max doing it even if unintentual."
"I still don't trust May," she replied, "I can't say for certain what but she's hiding something herself."
"Your over exaggerating," he shook his head, while trying to forget the conversation with her the night he caught Duskull. She is half right in that she's hiding something from her, but he promised not to tell, "she told us straight away about her father being a gym leader. What else could she be hiding?"
"I don't know what, Ash, if I did, I wouldn't be so suspicious," she replied, "but whilst I feel like she is hiding something, I don't want to risk telling her."
"Fine... I might not agree with you, but I won't tell her until you're ready," he sighed, "but just think, your keeping this secret because you think she's hiding something. If your right, maybe she's also keeping whatever it is secret because she feels we're hiding something. Our explanation of just, knowing what our Pokémon mean wasn't exactly the most convincing."
Without another word, she nuzzled into his embrace and her light breathing indicated she was trying to fall asleep. Realising the discussion was over, he turned up towards the ceiling and closed his eyes. Sure, they disagreed on stuff before, like what to do when first reaching a new town or what to have for dinner but this was the first disagreement on something serious. While he could certainly understand her feelings, he just couldn't agree with them.
Knowing what they are destined to do and why they were sent to how, regardless of how limited that knowledge is, should be something they tell their new friends, so they know what they are getting into travelling with them... right?
Thanks for reading... Please Favourite, Follow and Review. Also, feel free to ask any questions through PM, I will answer them all, although don't expect too big of spoilers. Don't forget to vote in the polls. I really appreciate the support. Thank you and see ya next time...