I don't own Pokémon, only the OC's that I make up.
Prologue
An explosion sounded in the forest, scattering strange birds, sending creatures scattering. These creatures, called Pokémon, are rapidly captured by a group of poachers, each throwing a net of sorts over them, a dragon creature next to them. One Pokémon, a large steel-bird, tries to struggle, slashing a net to shreds.
"Salamance! Use flamethrower!" a man shouts, and the blue and red dragon next to him blows out an enormous column of fire, which hits the bird. The bird caws its name in vain, and then falls to the ground, smoking. Another net is shot out, before the group moves on. Nearby, yellow eyes look out of the bush, before disappearing.
A breeze sweeps through as nearly a kilometer away, a rocky cave with a blocked entrance is opened, the enormous boulder being simply shoved to the side. Inside, there is evidence of life, a strange sort of mat on the ground, more chambers leading to other areas, and things that just make the room feel lively. A short little Pokémon with blue fur regards the intruder.
The little Pokémon has blue fur, and an all-around jackal-like appearance, standing on two legs. It's paws have no fingers, and its ears are perked a bit as it listens for any intruder. It's eyes are wrapped in a sort of black ninja mask, and it opens its mouth to speak.
"Memma? Is that you?" it asks uneasily. It shifts into a fighting stance as a person enters, a cloak being thrown off, revealing a Pokémon looking similar to the smaller one, only large, with small changes, such as the uniform. Rather than wearing nothing, the larger creature has guards everywhere, a large patch of black fur on it.
"Yes, it's me. How are you, little one?" the mother asks kindly, walking over and petting the child on the head.
"I-I'm fine, Memma. How is it outside? Are the hunters coming? Do we have to move?" the little Pokémon asked, bewildered.
"Now now, you needn't worry about them. How have your studies been going? Well, I hope?" the larger Pokémon asked. The younger one lowered its head, and the larger one sighed. "You know, many other Riolu are far more powerful than you are by now. How do you expect to become strong enough to be a Lucario, like me?" she asked, directing a paw at herself. The Riolu slouched, saddened, but the Lucario hugged him. "It's okay, just keep practicing! Now then, do you know where your father is? I have to speak with him about something."
"I think I saw him in your room. He still looks a bit upset…" the Riolu said, turning. He looked a bit nervous. The Lucario looked at him and concentrated for a moment, focusing her Aura. She located his and noticed that he felt sadness and despair, and a general gloomy Aura came off of him. She hugged him again, making sure he was fine.
"Are you okay, son?" she asked softly. The Riolu nodded, as was expected, but she knew how to make him cheer up since he didn't seem to want to divulge his source of sadness.
"Yes, Memma. Why don't you go talk to Papa now…?" he said gloomily. The Lucario frowned, and instantly began to tickle him.
"Hahaha…! St-stop it Memma!" he gasped, rolling as he was tickled. She smiled. That was always an easy way to make him better.
"I'm going to go see your father now, okay? Cheer up! I'll help you learn something new later!" she exclaimed, and her son beamed back, resting her uneasy mind. His Aura was still a bit traced through with depression, but otherwise, he was fine now. She walked through the halls towards her room, where her husband, and Blaziken, would be.
She walked into her room to see her husband trying to meditate, sitting on the ground. A dozen candles were lit around him (probably from his own miniature Flamethrower technique, an ember) and his eyes were closed. Blaziken was a large, bird resembling creature due to its white 'hair' and beak, the rest of its body structure humanoid. It was red from the legs down, and a small red tail perked up. Lucario was just to say something when she heard an explosion, and a small cry that she easily recognized. Her husband's eyes shot open along with her own, as the two seemingly disappeared and reappeared next to the boulder, both combat ready. Behind them, their son was on the ground, shocked.
The boulder was cracked down the center, splinters traveling up and down as he heard the human's command. They had told the Pokémon to use a Hyper Beam, meaning that she had a moment before they got in. Quickly assessing the situation, she realized what she had to do. Turning to the son, she began to speak.
"Son, it's time. When I was on my last trip, I traveled really far, you remember?" she asked him. The Pokémon nodded slowly, still shocked. "I traveled far because there is a boy, a human boy that can understand our language. There are an infinite number of possible reasons for this, but whether or not it was important, I disregarded, and I sought him out simply for the sake of it. He lives far away, in a region called Kanto, however, which is over the sea, and so I never met him."
"A-a human that can understand us…!?" the surprised Pokémon asked. His mother nodded in affirmation.
"Go and seek him out. Explain what happened to us," she told him, and the child's eyes widened.
"Now go! Don't worry about us," the Lucario commanded, and the child protested for a moment.
"Husband, take him. I will hold them off for now," the Lucario mother said to her husband, who nodded solemnly. The two kissed each other good bye, and the Blaziken knocked out the little Riolu, tossing him over his back, beginning to run towards their back entrance. The Lucario sighed as she watched her husband and son leave, before turning her attention to the boulder, which was slowly cracking apart. If she was going out, she was going her way, not sold to some human.
"Aura sphere," she said calmly, as she gathered her aura into her palms. Outside, a hunter with his Salamance was irritably waiting for his Pokémon to charge up a hyper beam again, when the boulder suddenly burst into a million pieces, instantly crushing him. The loud noise alerted the others as the Lucario fled, not even bothering to check if her fellow Pokémon, Salamance, was okay. The Salamance, crushed under a ton of rock and having a natural weakness towards the element, died instantly as well.
Meanwhile, the Blaziken had just gotten out the back entrance when he heard the loud explosion. With a heavy heart, he fled as quickly as he could, noticing that the meadows and sky were completely clear of their neighbors, from the Swellow's to the occasional Ralts family to even their own neighbors, Medicham and Hariyama.
As his attention was divided, he didn't notice a Pokémon sneaking up on him 'til he was on the ground, nearly crushed by a Mighteyena. It barred it's fangs at him, intimidating him, before his foot caught flame, and he kicked the Pokémon solidly in the stomach, making it whine in pain from the Blaze Kick, and run off, yelping. The Blaziken breathed heavily as he picked his son up again and began to run. Ahead was a river, and after that, a canyon. While he would like to avoid water at all costs, it would probably eliminate his scent.
He was almost to the river when a line of highly pressurized water cut him off, making him skid in his tracks. He turned and winced as he realized who he would be facing. In front of him stood a large Pokémon that stood on two legs and had a large circle on the majority of its body, swirls decorating its main part. Its eyes peered from top, and it was in a fighting stance. Just his luck, a Poliwhirl, from the Kanto region. A man stood next to the Poliwhirl, and he looked largely amused at the Blaziken's attempt at running away. The Blaziken knew he couldn't possibly stand up to the Poliwhirl, especially next to the river. He wouldn't stand a chance against a water type, especially since he was still a bit tired from training.
"Poliwhirl. Water gun," the man said calmly, and the Poliwhirl shouted, "Take this, flame-boy!"
The Blaziken didn't stand a chance, and he was blasted full in the face, falling to his knees. He was about to give up when he realized he was still holding his child in his hands. He couldn't allow the child to die with him, or worse, get captured. He prodded him with his claw slowly. The Riolu woke up slowly, yawning and rubbing his temple.
"What hit me…" he asked slowly.
"Son. I need you to go and run," the Blaziken told his son, who was still half-asleep.
"Are we playing a game again, dad? You know, that game of what happens if the hunters come?" he asked slowly. The Blaziken chuckled at the irony.
"Yes, yes we are. And do you want to know where to meet us? There is a boy in the Kanto region, do you remember Kanto?"
"Oh yeah, Kanto. That boy that can understand us perfectly, what about it?" the Riolu asked.
"That is where we'll be meeting up, okay? Now go, you don't want your mother to beat us there, do you?"
"No! Memma won't win this time!" the Riolu shouted, before running off shakily. He was still half-awake, after all, and he ran right over the bridge of the river. The Blaziken sighed, a lone tear coming out of his eye, trailing down his beak. He looked at his child one last time before facing the Poliwhirl in anger.
"Move aside, Fire-type. You stand no chance," the Poliwhirl said confidentially. The Blaziken growled, his feet catching fire as he shifted into a fighting stance. The Poliwhirl shifted as well, and the trainer watched the Riolu run off.
"Hurry Poliwhirl, take him out! That Riolu will fetch me hundreds in the market!" the hunter cried out, and the Poliwhirl snorted at the Blaziken.
"You heard him. Get out of our way, or you go down, right here, right now," he said confidentially. The Blaziken growled, glowing red as his ability, Blaze, activated.
"You shall not pass," he said, getting ready to fight. The Poliwhirl sighed.
"Very well."
Ep. 1: In the town of Pallet
Near the coast, a single city stands. This city has no gym leader, and is directly next to route 1. One could even call it a starting town, had the ocean not led to the location of the seventh gym.
To others, however, it was better known as the town in which Oak's lab. Oak, and old professor, researched Pokémon and was willing to give out rare starters every year to the inhabitants of the small town, or more specifically, those that reached ten years old. Many young boys in the city dream about becoming old enough, and choosing a starter Pokémon from Oak.
Among the Pokémon available are Charmander, the fire lizard Pokémon, Squirtle, the tiny turtle Pokémon, and Bulbasaur, the seed Pokémon. The three Pokémon are fire, water and grass types respectfully, and Oak got his shipped from a distant reserve, as the starter Pokémon were easier to train and worth more. Each region had a professor, and each region practiced this.
Thus, the little town of Pallet was well-known, despite its lack of a gym.
What was interesting about the town, however, was not the location or the professor. No, the real interest was a closely guarded secret by Oak and members of the Elite Four themselves. A boy that could speak to Pokémon.
The ability to speak to Pokémon was rare in the world. In the Kanto region, where Pallet resides, there was only one other person that could do so, Lance the dragon master. He was renowned for this ability and all dragons seemed to revere him. The ability of speech with Pokemon could of course be duplicated, but nothing was as good as real speech.
The name of the boy that could speak to Pokémon was none other than a young orphan, Ash Ketchum. He was five, and had just ran away from home.
A young Ash Ketchum was sobbing as he walked out of his house, out of life. His young, child's mind could barely understand what had just transpired; a man had been angry at his mother, and so he had struck her. He could do nothing but watch, and to his own horror, run away in fright.
He didn't stop his running for quite a long while. Only when it began to get dark did Ash realize how far he had gone.
"W-waah!" he cried aloud, realizing he had no idea where to go to get back home. He tried to take a decision, but was scared that he would just get lost further, and so sat up against a tree, hugging his knees.
"Hello there?" a small, feminine voice said. Ash turned his head left to right, looking for his savior, but didn't see anything but a small cream-colored bird. He ignored it, looking around more.
"Hey, can't you see me?" the little voice said again, and Ash gulped.
"N-no…" he said, still looking.
"Well then look down, human," the voice said, and Ash did so, looking down right at the bird that was still staring intently. It's beak opened.
"Finally. Are you okay, hatchling?" the bird asked.
"A…A… AHHH!" Ash screamed, surprised the little bird was talking. With a rather comical gesture, he tried to run by turning around but ran into the tree instead, landing hard on his back.
"O-ow…" he said, flinching at the scar on his leg from a spare branch. He turns back around towards the small bird, and gulps in fear.
"D-don't hurt me!" he says, pleadingly, throwing his hands up in defense. The bird chuckles.
It is a brown color, with a lighter colored throat and belly. The tips of its wings share this cream color. Both its feet and beak are a pinkish-gray color. Its plumage is nondescript. It had black markings around its eyes and a small crest of brown and cream feathers above its eyes. A Pidgey.
"I'm not going to hurt you. Although I must ask, what are you doing alone in route 1? I see you have no Pokémon with you," the Pidgey said, cocking its head sideways.
"A-actually, I got lost…" Ash replied, a bit ashamed.
"Ah, that would explain it. Perhaps I can lead you home? Where is your home?" the Pidgey asked, and Ash thought for a moment.
"Pallet town," he said, and Pidgey gasped.
"That's quite a distance away…" she began, but, seeing the look on his face, thought of something else to do. "Perhaps my Memma and Papa could give us a ride over?"
"Memma? Papa?" Ash asked, confused.
"My Memma is a Pidgeot. My Papa, a Golbat. That's a type of Pokémon," the Pidgey added as an after-thought.
"O-okay…" Ash said hesitantly. He was about to get up when the Pidgey stopped him.
"Hold on a second. It's dark out, unless you want little Zubat's attacking us as we go, I suggest we stop here until light," she said to him, and he flushed, nodding.
"What's your name?" Ash asked, and the Pidgey blinked, before smiling a bit.
"My name is Tadewi. At your service," Tadewi said, giving a little salute and bow with her wings.
"A-ah, my name's Ash Ketchum…" he said, and Tadewi raised an eyebrow in thought, before his name came to her mind again.
"W-wait, you're that boy that can speak with Pokémon, right!?" she exclaimed, and Ash sweat-dropped.
"Um, that's how I can talk to you, yes…"
"But why didn't you know I was a Pidgey? Or that you're in Route 1? Or that the way to Pallet is over there?" Tadewi said, raising a wing at the opposite direction from where Ash was going.
"I didn't see anybody while I was running," Ash said, and Tadewi narrowed her eyes.
"That's impossible. The way over here should be full of Rattata and other Pidgey like myself. We're almost to that annoying other gym city, also, so there should be other trainers. The fact that you haven't seen anyone at all…" Tadewi trailed on. She made a strange gesture similar to shaking one's head. "It doesn't matter. Well, I guess you'll be sleeping here tonight then."
"Ah…" Ash said, hesitant as he looked around.
"Don't worry, just lean against the tree and sleep. I'll keep watch," Tadewi offered, and Ash smiled.
"Thanks, Tadewi…" he closed his eyes and nearly fell asleep right away, being so tired from running. Meanwhile, the nearby Pidgey was keeping watch from next to Ash, using her keen eyesight and hearing to make sure nothing snuck up on the two.
Ash slept until daylight, and when he couldn't wake up, Tadewi used her beak to Peck him in the arm, nearly drawing blood. He yelped as he woke up, his arm stinging. Tadewi sent him a sheepish smile.
"You wouldn't wake up…" she said, and he shook his head.
"It's fine. Thanks for watching out for me, Tadewi…" he said, and Tadewi felt a strong heat in her little chest at the boy thanking her, a mere Pidgey.
"No problem. We should probably go and see my parents now, they're both really strong," Tadewi said, and Ash nodded. He rose to his feet unsteadily, and Tadewi began to walk unsteadily on her own two talons, feeling awkward at not being able walk normally. Ash noticed this, and kneeled.
"Hey, if you want to, you can ride my shoulder…" he said slowly and hesitantly. Tadewi instantly flushed, ducking her head.
"I-I would be honored. In our society as bird types, it's seen as an honor to perch on a humans shoulder, but my talons would rip through your skin too quickly," Tadewi shook her head. Ash nodded solemnly.
"Is… is it okay if I just pick you up then? I don't want to waste too much time," he asked. Tadewi nodded.
"Watch the feathers, please," she requested, as Ash delicately held her in his hands. "Let's go, that way!"
The two traveled for a while, before Tadewi pointed out a cave, near the end of a forest area. "In there," she stated, and Ash slowly went in, as he let go of Tadewi, who quickly called her parents.
"Memma! Papa! I'm back!" she called. Soon, two flying beings appeared. The first looked strikingly similar to Tadewi, but much larger, with glossier plumage, the red and yellow feathers on its crest as long as its body. Its fan-like tail feathers are red. Like Tadewi, most of its body was brown, its underside was cream-colored, its beak and legs were pink, and it had black markings around its eyes.
The second was a blue bat-like Pokémon. It's wing membranes and ear insides were purple. It had a large mouth with four fangs, and a large red tongue. It had small eyes, and short legs with a toe on each. Large wings opened to the sides.
"Tadewi, where have you been?" the bird asked, smothering the Pidgey with her right wing. Ash stood nervously, the bat-like creature creeping him out.
"Yes, who is this human you've brought?" the bat's eyes narrowed, "Don't tell me you've been caught?" Tadewi quickly shook her head.
"No, Memma, Papa, this is Ash! He is the human that can speak our tongue, and he got lost yesterday on Route 1!" Tadewi said cheerfully. The Golbat and Pidgeot exchanged a look.
"Are you quite certain it's really him this time, honey?" the Pidgeot asked gently.
"If that were the case, couldn't he understand all that we've been saying?" the Golbat asked with narrowed eyes at Ash. Ash gulped.
"I-I'm sorry sir, I… I just…" he said, knees trembling. The Golbat took pity on the boy.
"Come on now, I'm not that scary, am I? How many moons have you seen, boy?" the Golbat asked. Ash tilted his head.
"Moons? I… I see one every day, what do you mean?" he asked. The Golbat sighed, it seemed that his hatchling really had found the speaker.
"In every Human Year, there are around 12 moons. How many years have you been alive, child?" the Golbat asked. Ash thought for a moment, counting on his fingers. He held up a full hand of fingers.
"This many," he said. The Pidgeot cooed.
"Aw, he's so young! Honey, I think I should speak with him: if he's this young, I guarantee you you'll only frighten him more," the Pidgeot said to her mate. The Golbat nodded, and the Pidgeot moved forward. "Hi there, young one. My name is Ariel, mother of Tadewi. This is Venom, her father. What's your name?" she asked. Ash gulped.
"M-my name is Ash… I'm from Pallet town," he added helpfully.
"Well then Ash, do you need help going back? I could give you a lift, if you want," Ariel said. Ash shook his head.
"I… I don't want to be any trouble for you," he said. Venom grunted, but Ariel smacked him with a wing, and he stopped.
"In which case, how did you get lost? Was someone chasing you?" Ariel asked, wanting to make sure the boy was protected. Ash shuddered.
"I… I saw Mommy get hit by a bad man, and I ran away… wait, Mommy! I, I need to go back! Mommy is hurt!" Ash panicked, remembering the man. Ariel and Venom exchanged a glance, and Tadewi looked at the two.
"What… what does he mean? "She asked. She was still a hatchling, and didn't really understand the concept. Ariel began to tremble in anger. She had a rather strong case of the 'motherly instinct' to all young she met, and the human boy was no exception. Venom gently prodded her with a worried expression, but Ariel shrugged him off.
"Honey, get on my back please. I'm going to carry you back, and Tadewi and Venom are coming too."
A while later, Ash and the three flying Pokémon were flying above Pallet town, Ash having pointed out his own home. Pidgeot, with her enhanced vision, saw through the windows of the Ketchum household blood, and saw the corpse of a dead woman on the ground. Knowing not to scar poor Ash for life, she flew away aimlessly, not knowing what to do.
"A-Ariel? Why aren't we landing?" Ash asked. Tadewi and Venom remained silent, as Ariel seethed, trying to calm herself down for the boys sake.
"Honey, what do you think about living with us for a while?" Ariel asked gently. Ash tilted his head again. The four were now flying over Route 1, and were nearing Viridian city. Ariel angled her wing away from it, however, and soon the two were flying back towards the spot their cave was located at in Route 1.
"I… are you sure? I want to go see Mommy…" Ash said. Ariel sighed, an internal debate raging within her.
"Honey, your Mommy is… on vacation," she said slowly. Ash tilted his head.
"What's a 'vacation'?" he asked. Ariel grimaced, tears threatening to drop from her face.
"A… a vacation is when a person or Pokémon… goes away, for a while," she said.
"So Mommy will come back one day?" he asked.
"Yes, yes she will. Do you want to live with us in the mean time?" Ariel lied through her beak.
"Okay! You guys are really nice," Ariel sighed in relief as the four flew into the cave.
Far, far away, in Vermillion City, a single ship, fresh from the Sinnoh region pulled into the harbor, a single, blue and black Pokémon stowaway.
Ep. 2 An Unexpected Visit
Ash and Tadewi looked around as the two older Pokémon hunted for food. Though it was night, Ariel enjoyed going on the hunts with her mate, despite not being as good a hunter because of it. She also secretly hoped that Ash and Tadewi would become good friends, though it didn't require them being alone.
"So, Tadewi, what do Pokémon do?" Ash asked. Tadewi studied at him for a moment.
"Well we just live our lives and enjoy them, really," Tadewi began, before continuing with an afterthought. "However, to humans, we battle. They capture us in these little Red Balls known as Pokeballs and we battle each other with skills that humans have named."
"Why would you guys fight each other though? That sounds like a bad life," Ash said glumly. Tadewi laughed.
"Well some Pokémon do it to get stronger. You're right though, it isn't that good of a life. It's funny: humans have categorized us so much that they even categorized our power by what 'level' we are, and gave us stats. It's really funny, actually."
"What are stats?" Ash asked curiously. Tadewi stopped, trying to think of a way to explain it.
"Well stats are just numbers, really. They gave us six stats; Health, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed."
"What… what are those?" Ash asked, his face scrunched as he tried to think. Tadewi thought again.
"Well Health is how close to losing we are, attack is how strong we are, defense is how strong we are to take other Pokémon's attacks, and special attack and special defense are just another form," Tadewi explained. Ash nodded. "Speed is just how fast we are. It's all pretty simply, actually."
"Okay… what's a level?" Ash asked. Tadewi groaned, smacking her face with her wing.
A while later, the two heard a swoop as a Pokémon landed outside the cave.
"That must be Memma and Papa!" Tadewi said, flying out with Ash in quick pursuit. Once they arrived outside, however, they instead saw a dragon at least three times taller than Ash. It had an orange body, with arm and legs that possessed three claws on each one. It had a large horn on its forehead, also colored orange. It stood on its two feet, and had a shrinking pair of green wings. It had S-shaped yellow antennae and a cream-colored, striated underbelly. A friendly expression was on its face, and a man on its back.
"Hi there!" Ash said cheerfully to the large Pokémon. The Pokémon smiled, before nodding.
"Hello there, young one. What are you doing all the way out here?" it asked in an amused voice.
"Ash Ketchum, do you remember me?" the man behind the dragon asked. He had spiky red hair and wore a cape.
"Aren't you Lance?" Ash asked. Lance grinned.
"Yup that's me! Why aren't you home right now, Ash?" he asked. Ash tilted his head.
"My Mommy is on vacation, so I'm here instead! Tell him, Tadewi!" he said, beckoning to the Pidgey, who was terrified. "Tadewi? Are you okay?"
"That… that Dragonite! He is ridiculously powerful! Why is he here!?" Tadewi asked, scared out of her mind.
"Calm, young Pidgey. I mean no harm. We are of the Elite Four, and tasked to protect young Ash from possible threats. There are plenty of criminal organizations that want him for them, experimentation and the sort. That is why there have been no wild Pokémon close to Pallet town in recent years," the Dragonite explained.
"Why didn't my parents tell me then?" Tadewi asked.
"My guess is that you are too young. That may be why you found Ash when no one else was there. However, you not knowing the rule may have saved his life, and for that, we thank you," the Dragonite bowed. Tadewi flushed, before bowing back.
"Now then, Ash, let's go back, okay?" Lance asked. Ash shook his head.
"Nuh uh! I like it here! The Pokémon are really nice to me!" he smiled. Lance sighed, rubbing his temples. He and Ash were, in essence, one of a kind. While Ash was much better at it, Lance could also understand most Dragon type Pokémon, and so he knew that most Pokémon naturally liked those that knew their tongue. They even called them 'the Speakers', with a capitol 's'.
"Can we talk with your parents, Tadewi?" Lance asked the Pidgey. She nodded, and turned her head to the two half-flying types that were coming, landing quickly.
"Dragonite of Lance. To what do we owe this honor?" Venom asked coolly. The Dragonite bowed.
"Please, call me AuraKnight. It is my given name. We are here to bring young Ash back to his home, where it is easier to protect him from Team Rocket," AuraKnight explained, after he, Lance and Ariel excused themselves from the two young ones.
"Team Rocket? Aren't they that criminal organization that runs most of the crimes in Kanto? What do they want with Ash?" Ariel asked. AuraKnight sighed.
"You must be new around here. Team Rocket and their leader have already shown plenty of interest in young Ash for his ability to speak the tongue. We have been protecting his household for years now, since the first sign of the Team Rockets interest."
"Tauros-shit! We stopped by Ash's house today, to bring him back after he ran away: Ash's Memma is dead!" Ariel retorted. AuraKnight seemed lost for words for a moment.
"I… apologize then. I didn't know, our patrol must've been… occupied."
"Occupied? That's all you can say? If Ash had stayed there, he would be dead, or worse! He is staying with us from now on; practically nobody realizes there's a cave on route 1 housing us!" Ariel continued.
"Now look here for just one moment-" AuraKnight began, after relaying to conversation to his trainer.
"No you look HERE! Ash is staying with us, and while I would like support from you of the Elite Four- maybe an occasional Dragonair or Dragonite patrol, or a Jynx dropping in, or a Gengar popping up, or even a damn Hitmonchan or Hitmonlee swinging by, we can take care of him ourselves as well! So what's it going to be, huh?" Ariel snapped. Lance evidentially took this as a hostile action, and took out his scanner, pointing it at the two Pokémon to know what his level 62 Dragonite could do against the two. To his surprise, the meter on the machine didn't stop at level 22 for the Golbat, or level 36 for the Pidgeot. Rather, they continued traveling and traveling, before hitting a peak at a much higher level then what he suspected. Dropping the scanner in alarm, Venom turned to AuraKnight.
"What, did your silly human think us to be mid to high level 30's?" he sneered, "Let me get this very, very clear to you, AuraKnight. We were former members of the only Pokémon-known Aerial flyers group, the ones that only answered to the legendary fliers. We left the group only because we wanted to retire, but let me make this as clear as possible, Elite: If you dare mess with my family, I will Brave Bird you so bad, you will never be able to use Draco Meteor again. Got that?" Venom threatened. AuraKnight looked down at Lance, before nodding for the two of them. "Good. Now send the first patrol on the morrow, now that we know that despicable Team Rocket is after our newest young one, we have no time to lose."
"What do you think they're talking about?" Ash asked Tadewi. Tadewi shook her head.
"I haven't the slightest clue. Anyways, do you want to know what moves I know, and all the stats that I have according to human judging?" Tadewi asked. Ash shrugged. "Since I told you about all that, I figured I might as well. I have an Adamant nature, apparently, and I'm level 10. My stats are as follows: 37 Health, 25 Attack, 22 Defense, 19 Special Attack, 21 Special Defense, and 25 Speed. Cool, right? I have the ability Keen Eye, which means I can't be blinded, and I know the moves Tackle, Sand Attack, Gust, and some other stuff."
"Cool! What other stuff do you mean?" Ash asked, not really understanding all the numbers.
"Well apparently a Pokémon gets all the moves their parents knew, but Memma and Papa don't really let me use those that I know… Plus, it's Memma and Papa! They don't fight," Tadewi laughed.
"Cool… So you know how to Tackle, use Sand, and… what are those anyways?" Ash asked. Tadewi grinned.
"Why don't I use one on you and we find out? I doubt I can cause much harm to you, only a bit of pain at best," Tadewi said. Ash shrugged. "Okay!"
"Get ready… I'm coming…!" Tadewi began, clawing at the cavern ground like a Tauros about to charge. Ash stood across from her, arms spread. Soon, Tadewi ran at him in a series of rapid hops, before leaping up and smashing into him, making him tumble to the ground in a yelp.
"Tadewi!" the two heard, freezing from their laughter.
"Come outside! The Dragonite is about to leave~!" the two quickly got up and ran out the cavern, to see Dragonite and Lance walking away.
"Bye bye Lance!" Ash called out. Lance turned around, shock on his face, before smiling, waving back as he and AuraKnight left.
"So what did they want?" Tadewi asked her parents.
"Oh nothing, just checking in with Ash," Ariel smiled. Venom grunted next to her, and the two young ones laughed as Venom found a wing in his face again, courtesy of his loving mate.
"Anyways, you must be hungry, Ash! What do you think of some berries? They're really good for you!" Ariel said.
"Th-thank you, if I could have some food… that'd be great," Ash said shyly, before his stomach growled loudly, making the three Pokémon laugh.
"We're going to have Chesto berries today, and I'll go catch us a Magikarp. Venom, honey? Make sure Tadewi only eats the Chesto please; the Cheri berries in the area are dying out," Ariel said, giving a pointed look at Tadewi before flapping off. Tadewi groaned.
"But I like Cheri berries! And I hate Chesto's! They taste so… so… bland and dry!" she complained. Venom sighed.
"But they make you prettier, isn't that what all hatchlings your age want?" Venom asked sarcastically. The two sighed together at Venom's quote of Ariel, before they began hopping further into the cave. Well, Venom glided, but Tadewi hopped with Ash.
"Thank you again for letting me stay here…" he said. Venom shook his head.
"It's fine. I think you aren't bad, and considering Ariel already practically sees you as her child, there's no arguing against it. Come. It must've been at least a day since you've last ate, yes?" as if on cue, Ash's stomach growled yet again, making Venom chuckle.
"Oh, and don't mind Zack and his brothers and sisters. My sister is making me watch them for a while," Venom called as Ash and Tadewi began to fall behind, since Venom was flying. The two exchanged a look.
"Who's Zack?" Ash asked.
"Zack is a Zubat. He's my cousin, and his parents had a LOT of eggs," Tadewi explained. Ash nodded, and soon, a small, blue and purple bat flew up to him, landing gently on his shoulder.
"Hi there stranger! Can I suck your blood?" Zack asked, laughing to himself afterwards. "Who's the random human, Tadewi?"
"You're an idiot. That's Ash, the young Speaker that lived in Pallet town. He'll be staying with us for a while and no you can't drink his blood," Tadewi scolded. Zack simply flew around the two, giggling and laughing.
"You're funny, stop being so serious. Why are you always pretending humans can talk to us anyways? It's weird."
"I can… I can hear you, you know, Zack," Ash said, turning pointedly to the Zubat, making him nearly fall out of the air.
"Great Arceus, really!? Yay! Now I finally have someone that can listen to me and all my funny jokes about Tadewi! Hey guys! This guy is a Speaker!" Zack called, and five smaller Zubats suddenly appeared, peeping behind Zack.
"Can you really?" one of them asked. Ash nodded on cue, and they all squealed and began to fly around him, head-butting him gently at times.
"Do you think we're creepy, Mr. Speaker?" Another one asked worriedly. Ash shook his head and smiled.
"You guys are actually really soft and nice. I was only scared of Venom at first because he had a really big mouth and fangs. And I'm young to, you guys! You don't have to call me mister!" he said.
"Awww! I like him! Hey Ash, if you ever drop by our home, I promise none of us will annoy you, and we'll get the other Zubats to do the same, deal?" Zack spoke for the group.
"Deal! I don't know where you guys live though, but sure!"
"Oh, we live on Mt. Moon! Annoying the young trainers is soooo fun…!"
"Mt. Moon? Trainer?" Ash asked. Tadewi sighed.
"Mt. Moon is a place near Cerulean city, it's pretty far from here. A Trainer is someone, always human, who catches Pokémon in those little Pokeballs of theirs, and trains us and makes us battle," Tadewi informed him.
"Oh. I like you guys though! I never wanna make you all fight!" he said in shock. Tadewi shook her head as Zack sat on his shoulder again, a little angry.
"Hey! I want to fight though! I want to get strong and one day become a big, bad Crobat! Oh yeah, Tadewi, why hasn't uncle Venom become a Crobat yet? They're soooo cool-looking!" Zack asked. Tadewi shook her head.
"To evolve into a Crobat, you need to be trained by someone, there's no way to become one without a trainer. And before you ask, Evolution is when a Pokémon turns into something else, usually at a certain level. Memma is a Pidgeot. That's the last Evolution of my line. I'm first, a Pidgey. At level 18, if I choose to, I'll become a Pidgeotto. Then, when I get to level 36, I can become a Pidgeot. Zack here is of the Zubat line, where he's first. Then at level 22, he can turn into a Golbat, like Papa. After that, if he gets happy enough with a trainer, he can turn into a Crobat, which is really, really strong." Tadewi explained.
"Oh, that… that's actually really cool! Only 8 levels to go then, right?" Ash asked. Tadewi puffed out her little chest a bit.
"Yup! Then I'll become an elegant Pidgeotto, and after, an amazing Pidgeot, just like Memma!"
"What does a Pidgeotto look like?" Ash asked, curious.
"Well like me, just bigger. My line doesn't really change that much, we just get bigger and stronger."
"Oh cool. What does a Crobat look like?"
"They're completely purple, have weird feet things, a smaller head than Golbat, and red eyes," Zack explained. Ash shuddered.
"That… looks a little creepy," he admitted. Zack rolled his nonexistent eyes.
"They're really strong though. Watch out any fighting, grass or bug types! Hey, let's go eat now! I'm getting a bit hungry…" he explained. Ash nodded, and together, the human plus many finally reached the main part of the cavern, where Venom calmly napped on the ceiling. There were multiple shelves dug out in the stone, and in one of them, hard blue and brown berries lay. Ash began to reach for one of them, but Tadewi flew a bit higher to where the Cheri berries were, a sort of small red berry still attached to multiple bits of vine. She began to bite one, but a sudden voice stopped her.
"Tadewi. Eat the Chesto berries," Venom called out, making her grumble before grabbing a Chesto berry in her talon, flying down to start to pick at it. Ash grabbed only one as well, after seeing Tadewi and the others do so. While the other flyers all struggled to finish the large berry, Ash simply took two bites and found him finished.
"That was… good," Ash commented. The others all turned to look at him seemingly just realizing that he had eaten the entire berry already.
"This… might be a problem," Venom commented from above.
Ep. 3 Touring Route 1
Ash smacked his lips as he stared at the Magikarp slowly being turned on the fire. With some help from Venom, he had managed to begin cooking the Magikarp, since his body wasn't used to eating raw meat. He licked his lips again as he took the stick above the spit off, holding the Magikarp on the stick. He slowly peeled off the hard scales of the Magikarp, exposing the meat underneath. While there wasn't much, it was plenty for a young boy.
He then grabbed the water bottle Ariel had gotten as provisions from Lance and Dragonite.
"This is really good!" he proclaimed after a few bites.
"Thank you! It wasn't too hard to find it, the dumb Magikarp are always just floundering around near where the Tangela live near Pallet Town. The intelligent one's stay in rivers, so you don't have to feel bad about eating it," Ariel said, already guessing what Ash might be thinking. Ash nodded happily, and noticed Tadewi, Zack, and all of his little siblings staring.
"What?" he asked, confused. "Do I have something on my face?"
"So… good-smelling…" Zack drooled.
"Smells so yummy…" Tadewi echoed, drool hanging down out of her beak.
"H-hey if you guys want some, feel free!" Ash said, moving the stick towards them. In a matter of seconds, the Magikarp was completely stripped, and all he was left with was a pile of bones and a stick between them. "Uh…"
"Children! You already had your berries! Now poor Ashie here has no meat! He needs to eat more than you all!" Ariel scolded. The children shrunk back and apologized, looking at their feet.
"It's-it's alright, Mrs. Ariel," Ash said. Ariel shook her head.
"Don't call me that, please. Just call me Memma!" she trilled cheerfully. Venom face-winged next to her, though she was too in-the-moment to really notice.
"Th-thank you M-Memma!" Ash said happily, understanding what it meant. Ariel wiped a tear before ushering the small ones towards the exit of the cave.
"Now then, we're going to go out and play! I spoke with Lance and his Dragonite earlier while I was out getting that Magikarp and your human food, he's going to be dropping off little hatchlings from the Elite Four Pokémon here! Now it's really going to be a nice, pleasant day-care…" Ariel said, as if she were day-dreaming.
"Ugh," Venom muttered next to her, smacking his face again.
"Anyways, Lance said that they would be dropping off the little one's soon, so let's go out and explore! Their parents will be here as well, so everyone be nice!" she finished, before the Pokémon (plus Ash) all finally got out of the cave.
"Wow, there are so many!" Ash said, looking across the clearing. It was true, whereas before Route 1 had been near deserted of Pokémon, there were now tons roaming, from Pidgey's to Rattata's, a small, purple-backed marsupial with a long tail, red eyes, whiskers, a white underbelly, and ridiculously powerful teeth. Occasionally, in the large trees on the sides, Ash saw little bug Pokémon, though they seemed to be rather docile and shy.
"Hey guys!" Ash saw Tadewi fly over to a group of Pidgey conversing, as they walked around.
"Hi there. Are you new around here, or were you here before the area got shut down?" the Pidgey asked in an adult voice.
"Uh… I haven't gone out that often, so I don't really know. Why'd they shut it down?" Tadewi asked. The Pidgey snorted.
"Some punk kid apparently managed to get the Elite Four to believe he could understand us. Can you imagine? Idiots," the Pidgey continued, spitting. Tadewi had heard about enough.
"H-hi, I can understand you pretty well. I'm sorry you guys were kept in your homes," Ash apologized. Tadewi hadn't noticed him sneak up on them.
"Human! Oh wait, he doesn't have a Pokémon, and he looks pretty young. Clear," the Pidgey said, ruffling his feathers.
"Oh, sorry. I'm not a trainer, I can understand you though," Ash offered. The Pidgey snorted.
"Tauros-shit," he said. Ash tilted his head to Tadewi.
"Tadewi, what does that mean?" he asked innocently. Tadewi, on the other hand, was annoyed.
"Look here, you. This Trainer really is a Speaker! Lance and his Dragonite themselves dropped by not long ago and spoke with my parents!" Tadewi asserted. The Pidgey snorted again.
"My ruffled feathers they did. Do you think you're at home with your nest-mates? This is a real Route, Pidgey. And the name's Falcon, strongest Pidgey around here," Falcon claimed boldly. Tadewi smiled grimly.
"Oh? And what level are you, 2?" she snapped back.
"Tadewi, you don't need to get mad," Ash said nervously. Tadewi snapped at him too.
"If you won't defend yourself, I will! I, Tadewi, challenge you, Falcon, to a flight duel!" she trilled. By this time, Venom and Ariel had come over, confused about all the noise. Zack and his siblings came as well.
"What's all this about?" Venom asked protectively.
"He's making fun of Ash! And he cursed!" Tadewi said. Falcon glared.
"What word?" Ariel asked.
"The TS one! Ash doesn't even know that one yet!" she retorted. Ash scratched his head sheepishly as the Pokémon all argued.
"You little-insignificant… punk!" Ariel came upon Falcon, who was steadily backing up.
"Memma, please, let me take care of this runt! I already challenged him to a flight duel, after all!" Tadewi said proudly.
"Are you crazy? Falcon's the best in the area! He's the top flier!" a female Pidgey spoke up, the other's agreeing with her.
"Not anymore. Greetings everyone, my name is Tadewi, and as of today, I'm your new 'top flier'!" Tadewi said.
"Silly girl… bring it on then! I bet you've never even battled, have you?" Falcon asked. Tadewi growled, and Falcon growled back, the two moving closer and about to butt heads before Venom put his wing down.
"Enough. This'll be a one on one battle. No seconds. First to forfeit loses. Begin!"
"This'll be easy! I bet you have an attack of like, 1!" Falcon began running towards Tadewi, before stopping, sending sand up at her. "Take this! Sand Attack!" Tadewi simply flew up out of the sand's reach however, before countering.
"Tackle!" she trilled, slamming into Falcon, sending him flying back far. He landed on his back, getting up slowly and gently.
"Ow…" he muttered. He barely got up, and was shaky on his claws as was.
"What… what level are you…!?" he said slowly, still a little winded.
"I'm level 10! And my attack stat is 25, by the way!" Tadewi boasted, before finishing the battle.
Not too far away, in Viridian city, a single small, heartbroken Riolu walked out, now entering route 1.
"Not too far now," he muttered to himself, shifting uneasily as he tried to be as unnoticeable as possible.
At the same time, a well-known couple in the Contest circuit were camping with their five year old daughter. They were waking up from their nice rest when the mother let out a shrill shriek.
"My baby! Where'd she go!?"
Alright so what'd you all think? I'm hoping this will be received quite well but hey, it might, it might not. The future chapters may or may not be longer, it depends on how much I can complete. As a note, this story may not be updated for a while, as I'll try and focus on my main story right now, Secluded Dragons.
Shout out to DarkFoxKit in apology of copying her format, slightly, with multiple Episodes, or chapters, per actual chapter, I found it easier to do it like this, but I may or may not change it, depending on reviews. Oh, and shout out to her for the idea of a parent Pokémon being called a 'Memma', though I'm not sure if that's hers originally. Oh, and props to who can guess who the girl is.
MG TLE
DBJ JY
