DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON. ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED BY THE POKEMON COMPANY
Chapter 8: Through Mt. Moon
"So Brock, have you ever been inside Mt. Moon?" Ash asked Brock who was carefully looking at the map.
"Hmm, Oh yes I have. My Father took me there when I was 10. I met Onix there and when I turned 13 my father gave him to me as my starter." He said looking up from the map and smiling.
"Mt. Moon, doesn't the name sound romantic?" Misty daydreamed.
"I've heard that. People say that a huge meteor crashed into the mountain in prehistoric times. I read it somewhere and they call the meteor moon stone." Brock explained.
"What is that?" Misty questioned.
"It's an evolutionary stone." Ash spoke up.
"You know about it?" Brock questioned.
Ash nodded, "With the help of the stone, Clefairy evolves to Clefable, Jigglypuff into Wigglytuff, Nidorino into Nidoking, Nidorina into Nidoqueen and lastly Skitty into Delcatty." Ash explained.
"You are much more knowledgeable from the other rookie trainers. Most of them are somewhat arrogant who think they can take on everyone." Brock stated.
"Well I learned everything from Professor Oak. He is the best teacher." Ash said speaking fondly of his teacher.
"It's impressive." Brock said. "Anyway, how about we set camp here for the rest of the day? We can set out tomorrow morning and we'll be out of the mountain by evening." He suggested.
"Yeah, alright. I'm not too keen on sleeping in a mountain." Misty said.
"It's settled then. And I definitely want to train. How about we find a clearing and discuss the duties?" Ash asked as they began looking for a good spot.
"Yeah. Good idea." Brock agreed. "So, who wants to do cooking?" he asked. As an afterthought he added, "Hey you guys haven't tasted my food, have you? My Mom taught me and my siblings love it." He suggested.
"Okay. So that leaves setting camp, washing utensils and collecting firewood." Misty summarized. "I can do the utensils and help you set camp." She added.
"Alright. So I collect the wood and set camp." Ash said, "We'll be rotating the duties, won't we? We might get bored doing the same thing." He added. Brock and Misty nodded in agreement. Ash and Misty began setting the tents while Brock took out his guide and started reading.
"Well I'm off. Let's go Riolu, Pikachu." Ash walked away after setting the tents and began searching for some broken braches which would be useful for the fire.
After some time they had collected dead branches. "Let's go and drop off this wood and go training." Ash said as Riolu and Pikachu voiced their approvals.
Ash found a spot for them to train and called out rest of his pokemon. "The next major battle will be for the next badge. And I will be using Pidgeotto and Butterfree for it as I promised them." he said and the mentioned pokemon perked up.
"So why don't you spar with each other. Pikachu will help you out by shooting weak thunder shock at you and you have to dodge it. It will greatly improve your speed. Pidgeotto you can also help Butterfree learn Agility." Ash said.
"Pidgeo geooo(We'll win this badge)" Pidgeotto stated determined.
"Free (Yeah)" Butterfree nodded alongside her.
"Pika pi(Sure Ash!)" Pikachu piped in.
"Good." Ash smiled, "Very well, if you have any difficulty come to me. Riolu and I are practising our Aura."
Ash and Riolu placed the book in front of them as they read about various Aura techniques.
"First of all Riolu, I think we need to enhance our Aura Vision. We know how; but we need to reach the point where we can sense something from far off. We will need to start slow. Perhaps by the end of the next week, we should be able to sense everything in one kilometre radius." Ash suggested closing the book and putting it back. Riolu nodded in agreement.
"Riolu ri rio lu riolu ri lu (Then we better get started)" Riolu said determined.
"Let's." Ash said equally determined.
They both sat cross legged and closed their eyes and concentrated on their Aura. They felt the familiar trickle of energy inside their body and brought it to the surface and started sensing everything their surroundings.
They saw the world lit with a blue colour but quickly got used to it. Slowly but surely they could sense or rather see some things such as the small stones around them, leaves and a good part of their surroundings.
'You are seeing this, right?' Ash asked through their bond.
'Yeah, we could do this but as you said we didn't expand it.' Riolu replied.
'Yup. Let's expand more' Ash said excited.
'Ash, don't-' Riolu was cut off as Ash collapsed on the ground and cursed in pain.
"Ah! What the hell!" Ash moaned painfully.
"Rio riolu ri rio lu riolu (You expanded too soon. You need to get used to seeing with your Aura. Didn't you read the warning?)" Riolu sighed at the impatience of Ash.
"Nope. I was too excited." Ash shook his head sheepishly.
"Rio rio ri lu riolu rio ri riolu(You always are. Anyways, let's do it again and please be careful.)" Riolu said sternly to which Ash nodded.
So they tried again and this time was a bit faster than last time and they could see enough to walk a few steps through their Aura.
It was a tired Ash and Riolu who came back to the camp and perked up as they smelled a delicious aroma and went straight to its source. They found Brock stirring some kind of gravy in a pot as he filled bowls with noodles.
"What are you making Brock? It smells delicious." Ash drooled along with Riolu.
Brock looked up and smiled, "You are just in time Ash! Thanks and I am just finishing the gravy. Why don't you call Misty? She will be by the pond." he suggested as he took the pot and placed it on a stump. Ash nodded and walked off towards the pond.
"Hey Misty! Dinner's ready." Ash called out to Misty who was on the other side.
"Alright. Give me a minute. I am done." Misty replied back.
Ash and Misty walked back and sat down.
"Wow Brock, this looks delicious!" Misty said taking her bowl.
"Thanks but why don't you start eating before it gets cold?" Brock smiled.
"Hmm, it's so good Brock!" Ash exclaimed as he ate at a faster pace.
"Yeah Brock. This is amazing!" Misty agreed.
"I am glad. It's my mother's recipe. She taught me before she fell ill." Brock smiled fondly.
"She sure is an awesome cook. And it seems she passed it on to her son." Ash smiled sadly at Brock. "All the pokemon seem to love your food too Brock." He said.
Indeed all his and Misty's pokemon seemed to be loving Brock's food.
Once dinner was over, Ash and Riolu walked off for another session, Brock was walking around the clearing while Misty washed the utensils.
Early in the morning after they had breakfast the group set out again towards Mt. Moon. Brock was looking again at his map, Misty was looking around in fear just in case a bug pokemon came out while Ash and Riolu were trying to use Aura Vision but were going nowhere because they were not meditating and were moving. Pikachu was curled on top of Ash's bag after having a large amount of ketchup.
"We'll be out of Mt. Moon by Evening and enter Cerulean City by night, right?" Ash asked.
"Yup, that's the plan." Brock answered.
Just then they caught sight of a group of Zubat attacking a man in white coat.
They sprinted to his aid as Ash called out, "Pikachu use ThunderBolt!"
Pikachu was quick to react as he leaped out and knocked out most of the Zubats while others ran away. Ash went to the man's aid and helped him up.
"Are you okay?" Ash asked.
"WOW! YOU GUYS ARE THE GREATEST! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" the man exclaimed as he drew Ash in a bone crushing hug.
"Oh, it was nothing. We would've helped anyone." Ash blushed in embarrassment but the man was oblivious.
"I am talking super fantabulastic! The best rescue I've ever had!" the man babbled as he leaned back and picked up Pikachu and gave him a similar hug.
"THANK YOU! THANK YOUUUUUUUUUU!" he collapsed on ground grunting in pain and electricity flowing through his body.
Ash, Misty, Brock and Riolu turned to see Pikachu standing in front of the downed man looking at him with narrowed eyes and cheeks sparking.
"Pika pikacu pi(Try that again and I'll not stop here!)" Pikachu growled. Ash and Riolu sighed identical sighs.
"I'm sorry about that. Pikachu doesn't like being touched without permission." Ash said as he helped the man up again.
"Oh, that's alright. I completely understand. You and your pokemon have a stong bond, I can see it." The man said.
"Oh, thanks for the compliment." Ash scratched the back of his head.
"Did I mention how grateful I am?" he said making Ash and the others sweat-drop.
"Um, yeah. Anyway why were the Zubat attacking you? And more importantly what were they doing in broad daylight?" Ash asked tilting his head. He took out his pokedex and scanned one of the knocked out Zubat.
Zubat, blind pokemon with supersonic powers. Zubat live in caves and hate to fly outside in daylight.
"Yeah, if they hate daylight why are they outside?"Misty asked.
"Yeah it's unusual." Brock commented.
"Aha! You are privileged to learn it from the great Seymour!" He introduced dramatically striking a pose.
The other just looked at him incredulously. "He sure is full of himself." Misty stated dryly.
"What you said." Brock said matching his tone.
'What an idiot' Ash thought to himself. He felt his pokemon agreeing with him through their bond.
"See! The cave is all lit up inside. Somebody has strung these lights through the whole cave. Due to this they have disturbed the pokemon's natural habitat." Seymour explained as he led them through the cave.
Everyone looked around and saw the lights illuminating the cave and various pokemon getting confused and they were acting aggressive towards each other.
"Which is probably why the Zubats left the cave and attacked you." Brock said.
"And look here" he pointed, "The Paras are planting their mushrooms everywhere, and the hot lights are making the Sandshrews thirsty and weak." He said sadly.
"That's why I'm here. On patrol to protect the mountain from these troublemakers." Seymour added.
Ash looked at the poor Sandshrew and walked over to it. He took out a bowl and filled it with water while Riolu and Pikachu helped the poor pokemon get up. "Here you go, drink up."
Sandshrew got up and saw water and began gulping it down quickly. Seymour looked at Ash observing him.
"I've never met a trainer like him. He genuinely cares for pokemon not like those who see them as just tools for battles." Seymour commented.
"Yeah. Ash is like that." Misty said smiling at the scene.
"Well it's my du-" Ash stopped as he realized he had spoken out loud and added hurriedly, "Well I have taken care of pokemon for a long time, so I guess it's a habit." Ash sighed with relief.
'I really need to watch my mouth before I talk.' Ash thought to himself.
'Yes you do.' Riolu said teasingly.
'Shut up.' Ash huffed ignoring the mental snickers of his pokemon. He turned back to Sandshrew and offered it an oran berry, "Here, it will make you feel better."
Sandshrew snatched it and devoured the berry. "Sandshrew (Thank you!)" it exclaimed.
Ash extended his Aura and formed and spoke to Sandshrew, 'You are welcome. Now why don't you tell us who has installed the lights in here?'
Sandshrew's eyes widened and he quickly replied, 'You are an Aura User. Of course you can help us free our home.' Sandshrew nodded. 'Some humans came here and they placed these lighty things you mentioned. They came for Clefairy's stone. They have captured all of the Clefairy and Clefable. But they don't know that I helped my friend Clefairy to hide here. She is scared. She has not even told me anything.'
'Can you bring her here? If we can find out where they are, we can defeat them.' Ash said determinedly.
'I can try. But I don't know whether she will tell us anything.' Sandshrew warned and went his way to call his friend.
Meanwhile Brock, Misty and Seymour were giving food and water to other pokemon.
"If I got my hands n the people who did this, I will beat them into bloody pulp." Misty growled.
Brock and Seymour nodded but couldn't help but take one step back hearing the anger in her voice.
"Hello Clefairy, my name is Ash Ketchum. These are my friends Riolu and Pikachu." Ash introduced himself and his pokemon. He had decided against using Aura to not further frighten the poor pokemon.
"Fairy clefairy fairy clef (Sandshrew told me you want to help us. Why would you do that?)" Clefairy asked warily eying the human for any threat.
"I am an Aura User. It's my duty to protect humans and pokemon alike." Ash said as he demonstrated his Aura.
"Fairy clefairy fairy clefairy clefairy (Very well. But I don't trust you. If you try to harm me or Sandshrew.)" Clefairy warned.
"Of course. Lead the way to the troublemakers. We'll deal with them." Ash promised. "But first, we need to collect my friends." He added as he led them to the others.
"Hey guys." Ash called out and the rest of the group turned to Ash and spotted the Sandshrew from earlier and a scared Clefairy standing beside him. "I think Clefairy knows who installed the lights here and I think whoever it is, have capture all the Clefairy and Clefables. They want the moon stone as far as I can understand." He added.
"How did you come to that conclusion?" Seymour frowned.
"Well, it's logical assumption. There might be rare pokemon in Mt. Moon but finding them must be difficult. So, they are after the moon stone." Ash explained.
"You are right. I came to the same conclusion. This is worrying." Seymour said lot in thought. "It is my belief that the moon stone came from the space and the Clefairy came with it too. They are the guardians of the stone."
"But Clefairy knows where they are and she will lead us to them." Ash stated.
"Then what are waiting for!" Misty declared and followed the already walking Sandshrew and Clefairy. The group nodded and followed them.
Soon enough Clefairy had led them to an isolated part of the cave and indicated them to move forward. However they saw two men dressed in black clothes with big red 'R' on them. Their outfits consisted of long black sleeved shirts, long pants with a white belt around the waist with matching boots and gloves.
"It's Team Rocket!" Ash whisper shouted.
"Yeah, but their costume is different than those idiots we met." Misty said.
"You've met Team Rocket before! They are dangerous people." Brock frowned worryingly.
"We know." Ash grimaced, "But Misty's right. Those three idiots were as harmful as a worm." Ash said. "Alright if you have cap or hoods, then wear it. We don't want them knowing us." Ash said adjusting his cap to hide his face.
"What do you think you are doing here?" One of them asked.
"Well we are here to drive you away. You are causing the poor pokemon trouble." Ash said nonchalantly.
The two men regarded him and burst out laughing.
"You've got some nerve kid. Next time stay out of our business." The other man said.
"Go Ratata/Koffing" The pokemon materialized.
"Go Riolu and Pikachu!" Ash shouted. "Knock them out with Quick Attack and Thunderbolt!"
Both Ratata and Koffing were knocked out. Their owners looked at them in shock and recalled them to run away. But Ash spotted them trying to get away.
"Not so fast! Pikachu use thundershock!" Both of the men got knocked out.
"Let's go here." Seymour pointed, "There seems to be an entrance here." He added.
"Yes but first, we need to tie them and call for Officer Jenny." Brock said as he fished out a rope out of his backpack.
"Leave that to me. I will call her." Seymour declared.
"Let's go inside and help the pokemon then." Ash stated.
"Yeah." The group entered through the tunnel and stifled a gasp. There were dozen men who were looking at a screen while their backs were to the group.
In the middle of the room was an enormous stone while on the other side all thee Clefairy and Clefable were locked up and also unconscious.
"So this is our plan: Pikachu will break the lock and use a weak Thundershock to wake them up." Ash said to Pikachu who nodded. "When he breaks the lock, they will hear it. So we provoke them into a fight. How much time till Officer Jenny arrives?" he asked Seymour.
"She said it'll take five minutes." Seymour informed them.
"That's enough time to distract them." Brock said taking out his pokeball.
"Right. Let's do it." Misty said equally determined.
"Go Pikachu." Ash whispered and the pokemon sprinted towards the captive pokemon. "Oy losers!" he shouted at the men.
"Hey what are these kids doing here?" one of the men asked, "What are you waiting for? Teach them not to cross us again!" he ordered. All the grunts obeyed and sent out their pokemon.
"Zubat use Supersonic on them!" Brock ordered.
"Butterfree help him with Confusion!" Ash said.
"You too Starmie!" Misty said.
What occurred afterwards was unexpected to say the least.
All the pokemon were confused because of the triple attack by pokemon.
"Riolu use Aura Sphere!/ Geodude use Rock throw!/ Starmie use Swift!" They called out.
"RIOOOOO"
"GEOOO"
"STAAA"
And the attacks clashed down on the pokemon which knocked them out immediately.
"Well done guys!" Ash exclaimed fist pumping.
"Indeed very well done." Seymour said appreciatively.
"Pikachu (I'm done!)" The group turned to see Pikachu sprinting over to them and landed on Ash's shoulder. Also all the Clefairy and Clefable were looking quite enraged.
"They are all yours." Ash said taking in their mood.
"Clefable(Thank you!)" Clefable said as it smile a scary smile that sent down shivers of the shocked rocket grunts.
Clefable murmured something inaudible to its group and they all smiled again and began waving their fingers chanting their name.
"What are they doing?" the rocket grunt asked fearfully.
"It can't be anything good." Another one stuttered out nervously.
"What are they doing really?" Misty asked when she spotted the others staring at the scene with horror.
"They're using Metronome! Any move can come out of it!" Seymour exclaimed worried.
"What's that?" Misty asked.
"It randomly selects a move and uses it at max power." Ash explained.
"FULL POWER? I didn't know that! Get cover quickly!" Brock shouted and they hid behind a pillar like wall.
As their finger tips stopped emanating the white light, it was replace by a yellow with sparks flowing from their tips.
"CLEEEFAIIIRYYYY!"
"CLEEEFABLEEE!"
They released a massive Thunderbolt which burnt the rocket grunts and their pokemon to crisp as they fell down unconscious.
"Huh, that was one hell of a Thunderbolt!" Ash broke the stunned silence. Pikachu nodded in agreement and flashed a thumbs up at them.
"Hey look, the moon stone shattered!" Misty pointed. They looked at the stone and the once beautiful moon stone was broken into many pieces.
"It must have been the Thunderbolt attack." Brock guessed.
The shards of the moon stone had landed on the ground and some of the Clefairy touched it and started glowing. "They are evolving!" Seymour gasped and looked at the pokemon in awe.
As the glowing light died down some of the Clefairy were now Clefable. Ash took out his pokedex and scanned them.
Clefairy, the impish pokemon is friendly and peaceful. It is believed to live inside Mt. Moon, although very few have ever been seen by humans.
Clefable, an advanced form of Clefairy. These unique creatures are among the rarest pokemon in the world.
"They are doing some type of dance or ritual?" Misty asked. All the Clefairy and Clefable were celebrating happily around the moon stone.
"I think they are just enjoying themselves." Brock answered.
"I have decided to live here with the Clefairy." Seymour said determinedly.
"Huh?"
"It's been my life's dream to find the moon stone. Someday I will travel to stars with the Clefairy."
"Wow!" Misty dreamed.
"When you do visit the outer space, I hope you will remember to send us a postcard." Brock joked. Everyone burst out laughing at the thought.
It was now evening and the gang was packed and ready to go they were all outside of the cave giving their goodbyes to Seymour and the Clefable and Clefairy.
"I can't thank you enough for what you've done." Seymour said
"Thanks but half the work was done by them." Ash said pointing to the Clefairy and Clefable.
"Nevertheless, if you hadn't set them free, they wouldn't have been able to beat those Rockets." Seymour said and the pokemon nodded. "Also I wish you luck on each of your endeavours."
"You too Seymour." They answered in.
Just then a Clefable carrying something in its hands walked to the group. The Sandshrew and Clefairy from earlier came behind the Clefable.
"What can we do for you?" Ash asked smiling at them.
Clefable gave two round objects to Ash and Brock and went ahead to give Misty a shiny stone.
They realised they were pokemon eggs and showered many thanks to the pokemon.
"Thank you so much Clefable! Congrats you two!" Misty exclaimed.
"But what do these two want?" Brock asked.
Sandshrew and Clefairy stepped forward and embraced Ash. They had come like the boy and didn't want him to go.
"I know you don't want me to go but I have dreams like you. But I promise I will visit you whenever possible."
"Sandshrew shrew (We understand.)"
"Clefairy fairy clefairy (But please keep your promise.)"
"I promise. Goodbye." Ash waved.
And with that they bid farewell to Seymour and the Clefairy and Clefable continuing their journey to Cerulean City.
END CHAPTER
AN: So, did you like it? This direct assault will create some problems for them. Please keep suggesting me new ideas for the story who are willing.
Also the next chapter will be come out tomorrow because I was on a vacation. I wrote both of them on my mobile, so there might be some mistakes which I will edit shortly.
Reviews-
Reader: Thanks for the review! All are good ideas. But don't you think it will be when Brock decides to become a Pokemon Doctor? Some of the one you mentioned, he will definitely catch them. The rest however, he will catch as he realises his true passion.
Guest: Thanks for the review! Here it is.
Ash's pokemon: Riolu, Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Butterfree.
Brock's pokemon: Geodude, Onix, Zubat.