Little Mareep, Ch 4: What a Wonderful World
Chapter 4: What a Wonderful World
If anyone asked what young shepherd-in-training Ashley Robin was up to, she was roaming merrily through the sunny fields of Agora, her crook pointed high like a beacon of hope, her flowing gold hair basking in the radiant sun, and her singing voice reaching higher to the heavens, bringing delight to all of nature's creatures who heard her.
If they asked what young Pokemon trainer Ash Ketchum was up to, he was indoors somewhere quiet, minding his own business, because was certainly not disguised as the girly girl mentioned above, not shivering in dismay when the air passed up his dress and made his hair gently wave, and not reminding himself every five seconds to keep a prim posture and his voice gentle in case he needed to speak to anyone.
If anyone saw him while he was out here, Ash was going to cry again.
The disguised boy sulked as his high heels hiked over high hills, and the grassy meadows of Agora softly shimmered with the sunlight. He wasn't enjoying the sights any more, though. Finding these Mareep would take a long time, and people liked the countryside. What was he supposed to say? Misty liked the countryside: what if Misty was watching him right now?
'If anyone saw you now, the only thing they'd give you is compliments.' Melanie had told him that at the ranch. As he remembered that, he remembered he had a job to do. One that only he could do. For that, he could motivate himself. Ash had to be strong! Keep his posture straight and ladylike with all his masculine willpower! Hold his chin up so any obstacle could see his face and how unafraid he was! Don't stop until the entire flock is made whole again!
Besides, if he just thought rationally about it, all he had to do was impress some Mareep. In a countryside this big, there's no way he'd be seen by a single person. So there was nothing to worry about!
Suddenly he heard the engine of a tour bus pacing along the country road. The microphone of a tourist guide blared in his direction.
"...And to your left, you might see one of Agora's trademark shepherds hard at work in the field. Isn't the sight of her just precious?"
A gang of loud-mouthed teenagers leaned over the bus' railings, all of them looking at the shepherd girl with open mouths.
"Omigosh, she's so pretty! I wish I had hair as good as that!" One girl cried.
"Hey sweetheart, where did all your Pokémon go?" A boy shouted. "Didn't you catch any?"
"I'd totally catch her, if you know what I mean!" Another one shouted, and then the whole group burst into heckling laughter, so loud and taunting that Ash could loudly hear it echoing in his heart even when the bus had passed out of sight.
Shaking on the spot, Ash knew he had to take a detour to wash his face: his mascara was running.
Meanwhile, a far way away across the countryside, Misty stepped out of a carriage and looked at the regal Thornsworth Manor in full.
It was the size of a Pokémon gym - no, ten gyms! They could probably host a Cerulean water show inside. The entire mansion, from each pillar to each window, was so artistically crafted that it could have been part of an art exhibition. To think that people lived in there? It was beyond her imagination.
"Ravishing, isn't it?" A teenage girl, with curly red hair and a purple ball gown fit for a princess, strolled out to Misty's side. Larissa Thornsworth, the young niece of the esteemed Madam Thornsworth, let out a dramatically wistful sigh. "It really grows on you. I've lived here all my life and now I just can't settle for less."
"What do you get up to in there?" Misty asked.
"Short answer: anything I want." Larissa waved a gloved hand royally for Misty to follow. "But let me tease your curiosity - do you like opera?"
Misty nodded. She always wanted her sisters to do a water show with singing, but her sisters never wanted to practice it.
"We have a quartet of singing Blissey."
Misty gasped.
"And a theatre for them to sing in."
She gasped again.
"With water effects from accompanying Azurill."
Her knees were getting weak.
"And that is just the start. Now how about we go get you changed into something more chic? I have a wonderful blue gown that would look beautiful on you."
And she squeed on the spot. "Larissa, you are the best! I've had to be patient for so long, and now we get an entire day to have fun!"
"I'm sorry you had to deal with the likes of that tyke you hang around with, Misty. Hopefully this will be sufficient therapy for you. Now, shall we?"
As the two of them paced giddily to the doors, Brock was about to give chase, having written out his entire confession for Larissa, but while they were eyeing the wondrous mansion, he looked at the fields to the left and right, and saw the giant refineries and factories - the 'ranch' part of 'Thornsworth Ranch'.
"Big place."
Unlike the plains around them, of which they took much space, they were rough and industrial. They were large like the mansion, but so uninviting it was polarising. And yet Brock found himself looking at them more than the manor.
"What happens there, Madam Thornsworth?" He asked the woman behind her.
"Oh, nothing special." The woman chuffed, squeezing Pikachu between her arms and scratching his head painfully. "Just business stuff, to make things for girls like your friend and my daughter."
"But I thought we were going to see them."
"Those places?" She scoffed. "Heavens no! I wouldn't want to bore my guests!"
Actually, seeing how great Pokémon care was created would have been more interesting to Brock than watching opera and acting rich.
As they entered the manor, Brock couldn't help but watch poor Pikachu squirm.
"Pikachu doesn't really like being held that way, miss. He'd-"
"Madam, dear boy. Madam Dahlia Elizabeth Thornsworth, and no need to lecture me." She released one arm to wag a finger at Brock. Her firm tone reminded him of an amateur. "I have spent many years learning how to treat Pokémon, and I believe I have accumulated far more knowledge than a young man such as yourself. Perhaps you would be better off watching and learning-"
Pikachu seized the moment to leap free of Thornsworth's grip and bolt away.
"Wait, Pikachu!" Brock called out.
"My precious mouse!" Thornsworth gasped ruefully. "Come back here!"
But Ash had trained Pikachu well; the yellow wonder had bolted around a corner and out of sight before they even took a step.
"How ungrateful! Security!" The elderly woman rang her phone and held it wrathfully. "There is a wild Pikachu running around the manor. Whoever brings it to me gets a pay raise: the sooner the bigger. Now go!"
The first Mareep which Noctowl led Ash to was just cuddled into a ball in an open field. If she was worried, the happy little sheep seemed to have forgotten why.
"Hey, little buddy!" Ash cried out like Melanie taught him to, and the sheep raised her ears with a joyous twitch. She ran over to the shepherd who called her - was that Melanie?
Ash bent down (or tried to: heels were tough) and patted her on the head. Something Brock had taught him once about small Pokémon was to make your pats a soothing rub: since the mareep made a soothing growl, he seemed to be doing it right. He also found a little tag on her neck, saying "Sweet Maria": her nickname, presumably.
"I'm going to get you and all your friends back home to Melanie. Would you please help me find them?"
The sheep nodded her head and pointed it at the bottom of a nearby hill.
"You think you saw another one over there?" Ash asked, and the Mareep nodded.
Noctowl hadn't spotted this one, but they found Coddled Sophie running around, as if the mareep had no idea how to get to where she wanted to go. A kind call and a beaming smile later and she joined Ash's flock. Shortly after, they found Simple Simon and Sour Daria huddled together (Melanie would have given out an aww had she seen them like that) under a tree. Further away they followed a riverbank, and found Gentle Gina, then Giant George and then Giddy Gant.
The eighth mareep, Noctowl claimed, was actually in a small house nearby. A little boy no older than eight had spotted it running with the fear of death near his back garden, and taken it in. Seeing as he didn't seem interested in catching it and training it to win a Pokémon league, like Ash would have at his age, just asking him politely would likely do the trick.
Stay calm, Ash. The boy who was normally a trainer reminded himself. It's just a child. His parents aren't home. But he kept humming the tune to 'Baa Baa Black Mareep' as he rang the doorbell, and as he waited for a small child with a head full of brown hair to open the door.
"Hello, miss. Are you alright?" The boy asked curiously.
"Yeah." Ash answered normally...but then remembered what Melanie told him. "Oh wait, I mean no!" Ashley said as effeminately as she could manage. "I'm just a sweet, delicate, Pokémon-loving little girl who has lost sight of her sheep! It has left me ever so sad. Would you happen to have seen any of them, dear boy?"
"Oh, so that's why that Mareep was out here." The boy said. "His tag said he was Trepid Tom; is that yours?"
"Uh..yes!" Ash scratched his face: maybe that time Melanie spent on a makeover would have been better used telling him the names he needed to know. No, not maybe, definitely. "May I see him?"
Trepid Tom came out from right behind the little boy as he was asked. The stray sheep had been happy with his new company, but he knew that stylised crook from anywhere, and strolled cheerily to Ash's side.
"I wish Tom could stay." The young child sighed sadly. "I always wanted a pokemon to battle with like a big Ampharos. They're so cool."
"I know, right?!" Ash passionately cried. "Have you heard of Jasmine's Ampharos in Olivine City? I've seen it, and it's awesome! Its lightning is so strong I can't believe it doesn't beat rock types! And their punches are excellent: they're like fighting types, but have none of the weaknesses! Oh, you should teach yours Ice Punch. That move takes out so many of their type disadvantages. Thunder Wave works great, too, if you use it quickly enough, but that's a great move for any situation. Just like how my Pikachu uses it, actually: one great example I remember was-"
"Excuse me miss?" The child asked. "Why do you sound so much like a boy all of a sudden?"
And Ash froze perfectly still. In that entire tangent, Ash had forgotten to stay in character. He just heard the topic of Pokémon and lost his senses.
He'd forgotten he wasn't his usual self. But a girl. In a dress.
Ash straightened his back. His heart racing, he fidgeted with his wide hat for one moment, then wrapped his hair around a finger the next.
"Well, you see..."
And he turned straight around, held the brim of his dress in one hand, and ran away as fast as he could.
When the strange person and their Mareep were but dots in the distance, the young boy simply blinked.
"Girls are so weird."
Back at Robin Ranch, Melanie was having a much simpler time. With Ash's Pokémon helping out with the chores, she, for the first time in a long time, didn't have to do anything. She could just lie on her bed and rest, and she did just that.
She wondered when she should expect her sis for a day to return with the flock. Late afternoon? Just by the sunset in time for dinner? The girl supposed she should plan a dinner...but that'd take work, and she just lay down. Ash could cook it himself. Ashley can cook my dinner too, like a good little girl, she thought, with a massive snicker on her face.
But then she remembered, with a frown, that she was the only one having fun out of this. Melanie raised her head up to look at her closet; her main dress was in the wash, and Ash was busy with her spare. Perhaps she could take the time to start work on a fashionable third? No, she should do something Ash would appreciate. That's what friends do, right?
At least Ash's regular outfit would be ready for him when he got back. The pile of clothes was neatly folded up on her vanity table. What was it about boys and their plain sense of clothing, anyway? It was always just a shirt and pants, with maybe a jacket, and in Ash's case a hat thrown in. In Agora city where she spent the first few years of her life, fashion was everything wherever she went - if she wore something as simple as what Ash did, she'd have been ostracised from all her friends.
Did he wear it because he was running around a lot, catching Pokémon and carrying fair girls like herself? Were they...comfy, somehow? Like, wouldn't it get stuffy in those pants all the time? Or was it like something else entirely?
The thought seemed foreign to Melanie. And yet the more she looked at it...
Thirty minutes later, and not one person on Thornsworth Ranch had seen Pikachu. The foul, angered mood Thornsworth would carry her anger with her into the meeting she had scheduled with her committee.
The men and women in suits had fair warning that this would be one of those days.
When the richest woman in the region walked in, no one made a sound. They sat nervously in their expensive chairs, sweating in their expensive suits, and winced with each loud clamp from her stomping heels.
After all, a missing pet wasn't the only thing Thornsworth was fuming over.
"I've seen the financial reports." She glared at her head of finance, who was squeezing his expensive hat.
"Madam, understand that given the season, such a turnout is considerably positive-"
"Profits in Agora fell by 0.05 percent!" She howled. "Do you know what that means? There are people out there, in the world, who have stopped buying my things! That simply won't do!"
No matter how often anyone would try to talk to her about basic economics, she often wouldn't listen: her version was clearly superior in Thornsworth's mind, where the principle was 'always get more, now', and nothing would change that. Never mind that the real reason she got to her status wasn't because of wise management, it was-
"Have you found out yet what our competitors are up to?" She glared at another suited man, her Head of PR, who began searching his stack of papers.
"Financially, none of them have seen a worrisome increase in profits. Thornsworth Ranch is still number one-"
"Their ideas, you simpleton! Do we have anything to steal!" She slammed a fist onto the table; the eccentric wig upon her head shook with the impact. "What are their ideas!?"
"Yes, Madam, you're always right, Madam." He whimpered, hurriedly searching for a new sheet. "Well, long story short, nothing at all. We've already discovered, replicated and sold the ideas our top ten competitors have planned for the next six months."
"Well someone is trying to take an uneven slice from my cake!" Thornsworth straightened her wig back on. "Tell me who or you're fired."
"W-we have noticed a slight increase from some of the smaller, independent farms out there. The margins are still tiny, barely worth caring for, but the most noteworthy I have listed is Robin Ranch-"
"Of course." Thornsworth finally sat down and brooded. "That Robin girl, whatever her name was. She was one of the five entrepeneurs we were eyeing last week." Thornsworth hadn't just been eyeing them; she had bribed the driver to relieve them of the goods which would otherwise have made it to the city. On occasion they found an idea worth taking, but the only one in recent time had been Robin Ranch's goods.
A suited woman, Thornsworth's Head of Security, raised her hand to speak. "Your assumptions are absolutely correct as always, Madam. Some of the smaller ranchers have tried looking for markets we have not yet covered. Robin Ranch has many unique care products which we could...adopt as our own."
"I have tested her hair growth shampoo as you requested, Madam Thornsworth. I can confirm that it is a complete success." Said a man with a giant afro.
That got the most powerful woman in the country to smile, a hideous smile that brought out what crooked features were beneath her plastered face. "So we have a noose to tighten. Have you figured out how this girl does it?"
"We've tried replicating her ingredients in our factories, but our results have not matched our aims." The Head of Research pointed to a man on the committee who had tried their imitation of Robin's skin-care cream; his face was now literally as brittle as cracked paint. When everyone looked at him again for the first time in the five minutes since Thornsworth walked in, he broke down into tears and ran away.
"Don't look at me!" they heard his cry, echoing throughout the mansion. After a moment, the Head of Security cleared her throat.
"We have been watching the ranch owner working with her Pokémon out in the field, most notably when she tends to her flock of Mareep. She doesn't sell their wool, so there must be another reason for her taking care of them. Perhaps the reason behind our results stems from them?"
"Of course..." That was a brilliant observation Thornsworth had just made. "So this 'Robin' girl has been using her Pokémon to make her little wonders? I would like to see these little pets. I'd like to make them work."
They all knew what she had in mind next. That would be yet another crime to Thornsworth Ranch's name. Of course, no one on the committee liked what Thornsworth suggested at all, but no one thought it was a good idea to question it.
Except one little man.
"But Miss Thornsworth, stealing someone else's Pokémon would be unethical and-"
The committee members fought to be the first through the door, scampering away from their madam's anger. The man with the giant afro was among the first, and he was rewarded with the sight of seeing the man who lit Thornsworth's fuse thrown through the window and landing, star-struck, at his feet.
"Oh, don't act so innocent!" Their boss yelled venomously. "We all know how deep this empire's pillars are planted! I own these fields! I decide what women care about! And if my ship goes down, then all of you sink with it! Now get back here, you cowards!"
None of them did willingly. The afro-haired assistant ran straight for a place where he hoped no one would look for him - the factory.
Having made it out of the mansion, across the field and inside the factory, he reasoned he would only have to hide there for a day before he could show his face again. He ran upstairs, past the cold and lonely conditions Thornsworth kept her Pokémon stock in, and shut the door.
But before he shut the door to a closet behind him, a little electric mouse jumped out of his afro, and escaped quietly to the factory floor.
This would have been a good time for Pikachu to find Ash, or warn this 'Robin' girl he had heard so much about. But while he looked around for an exit, someone caught sight of the mouse.
"You there, little mouse!"
Who was in much more need of help than he was.
"You don't look like you've been hooked up to any machinery. Are you free?"
Pikachu's ears picked up and the mouse turned around. Through chunky bars, he saw the eyes of a Miltank, trapped in an unlit corner of metal too small for him to even sit within.
"For now, yeah." Pikachu answered, and walked over to the cell. "But what are you doing there?"
"Standing here, all day and all night, like I'm some stuffed doll." The cow sighed. "Until they need my milk; then they hook me up to a machine until I'm dry and put me back in here."
The thunder mouse widened his eyes in shock. "That's not how they're meant to do it! You're on a ranch, you should be out there eating grass and stuff!"
"We'd all like to." Bemoaned another Miltank just a thin gap away, but whose home was so dark that Pikachu hadn't even noticed it. "But Thornsworth doesn't let us. I don't even know what Pokémon like us normally do."
Pikachu tried leaping inside the bars, but the gaps were too small for even him. "You should be outside! In the sun! Smelling flowers! Rolling into annoying bug-types! Laughing and waving at passing travellers! Something besides...besides..."
He looked up at the ceiling, suddenly aware that there wasn't even a window in the entire factory.
"...This."
Pikachu had all the proof he needed right within these walls: Thornsworth was not a nice person.
"If they catch you," the Miltank murmured, "they'll probably put you to work here too. I like your company, little mouse, but I wouldn't like it if you were caged."
"I have friends who can help." But could he go to Misty or Brock? Even if he could explain it to them, he'd have to find them without getting caught. He got lucky already stowing away in that man's gigantic hairdo; he didn't fancy his chances inside the manor again.
But Ash would be easy to talk to. All he had to do was find him, and since when was that ever a problem?
"With him here, we can free the rest of you. But I can get you out of here right now." Pikachu said. "Just give me a few minutes to find the controls."
Before any Miltank could tell him of the risks, the factory was suddenly flooded with sunlight as its wide doors opened. Pikachu scampered safely behind a corner, and watched as Thornsworth walked close by. She faced the silhouettes of three hooligans who the mouse couldn't see.
"Thank goodness you three are timely." The woman said. "This place is quiet enough to discuss details. I have a job for you that my committee is too spineless to act out. Am I right in believing you will deliver?"
"That's right!"
Seventeen fluffy, wide-eyed Mareep had been found. Ash could count the heads from one, two, three, four, all the way to seventeen. From Sweet Maria to Trepid Tom to Jolly Jennifer to Posh Percina. Their eyes would wander glancingly at the countryside, frequently to each other, but always returned to stare at him. They eyed him with awe. They looked to him for guidance.
Ash didn't feel like this was how they looked at shepherds. More like how they looked at something they liked. Such as, what came to mind? Trainers? No, not quite. Parents? He could relate to looking at Mom like that whenever she did something awesome for him, but if he followed that analogy of a parent through, then that would make Ash-
"-Only three Mareep away from a full flock!" He snapped.
That many Mareep found in two hours? Thank goodness; he might make it back and get changed in time for dinner. Some had been tricky to find, but he hadn't lost any time trying to get any Mareep to follow him, thank goodness, since they all seemed happy to see him - and he could see the grin on Melanie's face if he told her that.
Noctowl returned from a scouting trip and swept down from high above, perching his claws on the stone wall along the road. Ash leaned in and whispered in his normal tone. "Any luck, buddy?"
The bird nodded, and pointed the boy in the white dress towards a forest. When they reached its outskirts, the little blonde shepherd got a chilling realisation.
This forest he was about to step into. There were going to be wild Pokémon living in it. Like those dangerous Ursaring.
"Well it's a good thing you're here, Noctowl!" Ash looked back at his feathered friend, but as he did so he also remembered the flock.
"Wait. If we both go in, then the Mareep will be on their own."
The golden bird eyed the ground, tutted, and shook his head. He had the foresight to know from the start what his made-up master was still realising.
"Then one of us will have to stay behind. How about you go and I stay here? That'd be easiest, since I can't really help out like I usually do, and you can get through very quickly to the Mareep-"
The sheer force of his naivete made him weak at the knees. With embarrassment, he squirmed his elbows under his breasts and blushed like a tomato. "Oh, right. They still won't listen to anyone but Melanie, right?"
Noctowl chirped a little smugly - Ash was a great trainer, but if he had half the foresight that his Pokémon did, he would have avoided a lot of embarrassing situations, such as the entirety of today.
The boy nervously curled his hair with his finger. "I guess I'll just, eheh, go in and find them myself. Which way should I go from here?"
Noctowl pointed a wing straight into the center - at least the path was simple enough. He should find a clearing which the two Mareep were comfortably huddled in.
"Well," The girly looking boy called out, in his fired, pumped up tone, "if any of them want to pick a fight, just bring it on! I'm ready for them!"
There was enough sweat on his brow that Ash could smudge his eyeshadow if he wiped at it. But he had to be brave. The boy tilted his hat like it were a soldier's helmet, squeezed so firmly on his crook that the paint could run, and took one tentative step after another into the woods.
Just like that, Melanie was jogging. Jogging around the entire ranch. Jogging to say hello to Cyndaquil, to Phanpy, to Totodile, to Heracross, to everyone on the ranch. Wearing a boy's shoes, pants, shirt and jacket. With not a care in the world.
It felt great! It was heavier and less airy than she was used to, but she felt so confident in it. Like she was the strongest girl in the world! Why'd she stick to dresses and skirts and heels for so long anyway? This was just perfect.
The rancher eventually calmed down and sat down by Bayleef at the pond, who was about to bring back a pale of water. But the sight of the girl in Ash's jacket made her chuckle, and she dropped the bucket, which began rolling all the way into the pond.
"Don't worry, I got it!" She said, and lunged after the bucket, getting her shirt and shorts muddy. She could have just walked over and picked it up before it went far, but this way felt more right.
Instead Melanie sat on her backside and looked at her trousers. "Good thing I wasn't wearing anything valuable, huh?" This time they both laughed.
Though she might have actually had something valuable - in Ash's pocket she found a red...computer thingy she'd never seen before. Curious, she flipped open the cover, and her head jolted back when it began to talk.
"Bayleef: the Leaf Pokémon. The scent of spices comes from around its neck. Somehow, sniffing it makes people want to fight."
"So that must make this a pokédex. Wait...Really?" She asked credulously, holding it like a caveman. " This lil' thing? This is really how Ash does it everyday? Finds a Pokémon and flips out some machine at it? I could do that easily!"
She tried another one in the database, though it took forever to deal with the interface. "Ursaring: the Hibernator Pokémon. Although it is a good climber, it prefers to snap trees with its forelegs and eat fallen berries. While territorial and incredibly strong, it mostly acts on pleasant instincts, and is fond of food and pleasant songs."
She lay her head down on the ground, hair spread out. "Dude! With the way everyone spoke about it I thought only super-athletic boys were allowed do it!"
Bayleef shook her head - she was fond of Ash, but she knew Ash was mostly headstrong, and that's what got him this far. Yet so long as they set their mind to it, anyone could be a great trainer. Heck, anyone could be great at anything.
"It doesn't really matter what you're born with, does it?"
Here she had thought being fashionable was everything if you wanted people to like you. Yet Ash had his Pokémon, and all the friends he'd made on his journey, without caring about any of that. All without looking beautiful. That was food for thought for a girl who'd been raised in a city where beauty was everything, before coming to a ranch to spread the idea.
That said, she still liked it. It just meant she could go every day without dressing like a princess, or wearing heels where it would just cause you injury.
...Or at least, almost cause you injury. With all her newfound confidence, Melanie could now admit to herself that she wasn't that badly put off as she had acted. She knew she'd be fine in a half hour after twisting her ankle.
But this way, she could finally catch a break. Because someone else was doing her work for her. But now all she had was a frown to her face.
Ash kept walking straight through the forest, crook tightly gripped, praying he'd see the two Mareep in the very next second. His eyes, though, were fixed on the ground, and not in shame this time - he was scanning for any twigs or folige he might trip over.
He never felt so delicate before, knowing a single trip might break his ankle and leave him helpless in the forest like a damsel. The forest odour was hot and rancid. In all his travels he'd never noticed that forests could smell so repugnant - he could barely smell his rich perfume anymore. He should have brought a vial with him so he could reapply it, otherwise the rich scent just isn't as wonderful. Maybe perfume could keep the flies and insects from buzzing all around his gleaming blonde hair; Ash could feel them gathering about it like it were rich honey. He waved a hand to shoo them away and hoped they wouldn't come back. Melanie spent a lot of time combing his hair like this to give it such a wonderful flow and artistic craft, and he didn't want that to go to waste. Like, gosh, if anything happened he wouldn't look nearly this good at all and-
"What am I doing!?" Ash shouted out in fright.
A flock of Spearow deserted a nearby tree. Amidst their fluttering, Ash could have sworn he heard two Mareep give a yelp.
He had to get to them. He'd scared them off once already by being brash and blunt, and was not going to again. As effeminately as he could manage, he called out to them. "Please, little Mareep! Follow my voice! I'm your friend, I'm here to bring you home to Robin Ranch!"
He started jogging, stomping on the ground and the trees. There, just around the corner of a large chestnut tree, he saw the curled tail of a Mareep. "Hellooooops!"
He gasped as he tripped over a root and began plummeting to the ground. But with what flicker of instinct Ash Ketchum had not beaten out of him in Robin Ranch, he slammed his crook into the ground and steadied himself just mere moments before impact. Now, the stylish shepherd was awkwardly held in mid-air, held up by the crook on one end and a foot still caught by the root on the other. His body was shaking: he was like a creaky, narrow bridge suspended over a canyon gap - and if this bridge collapsed now, Melanie's dress would get smeared with dirt, and that would be the worst thing ever: it'd ruin his soft-as-snow fashion style!
When I get back I am cutting myself bald and throwing everything I've worn into a burner.
Gingerly he wiggled himself up the pole, pulling his legs together and let out a sigh of relief. What was even better, the two Mareep actually came to him. They sang out to him, glad that he was okay.
"Oh, you came. Thank you so much!" He answered sweetly. If someone is patient with you, Ash had learned, you should show thanks. He bent down, dress over heels, to pat their fluffy heads, but they started walking away fearfully.
What was wrong, Ash wondered? He was talking just fine. Wasn't Melanie's disguise working? When he turned his head around, he realised that it indeed was - it's just that there was a giant Ursaring right behind him.
A gargantuan. Rough. Stinky. Growling. Ursaring.
Its full, black eyes gazed into the trainer's soul.
"Eeek!"
Ash stumbled backwards, barely keeping his footing, as the bear slowly stomped towards him. He held out his crook like a spear. If Melanie hadn't spent so much time wrapping ribbons on it then maybe it would have given Ash a reasonable defence, but it looked too innocent to scare off even a fly. All the Ursaring did was laugh and bat it away.
Things looked grim as the Ursaring passed out . Ash was nervous, he was frightened, and he had no idea what to do in a time like this. What was he supposed to do?
"Baa, baa, black Mareep..."
He just whimpered it out, as timidly as with Melanie.
"Have you any wool..."
And the Ursaring tilted its head.
"Yes sir, yes...sir, three, bags, full. One f-for my master...and-and one for his dame..."
The bear put down its paws, and retracted its claws.
"And one, for the little boy, who lives in the lane...Huh?"
Ursaring was sat down on its backside, looking at the pretty girl expectantly. When she opened her eyes, he clapped his paws together.
"You...want more?"
He nodded and clapped again.
And the girl sang, more smoothly this time. Maybe it was the high-pitched sounds that the bear was but a sucker for, or maybe Ashley actually could give Jigglypuff a run for her money, but either way, she sang one more verse of the nursery rhyme. The Mareep sat by, too, happy to have made two new friends today. Ashley sang happily this time, as relaxed as a summer breeze. She swayed to and fro as she sang, her locks flowing with the tempo - a sight as pleasing to the Pokémon as a bright daisy.
When the shepherd girl stopped singing, she steadied herself and opened her eyes. The Mareep cried jovially, and the Ursaring applauded her. She had no idea how to react or think in this moment, given how embarrassed out of her mind the blonde normally was. So she stood there and beamed.
Until she noticed the group of Scyther hidden around the trees behind them, who heard the singing and sprang out in a group. But they weren't there to listen to singing, as their poised blades implied.
They wasted no time, either: the leader charged at the two Mareep, who quivered with fear. Ash squirmed his delicate arms together in panic. They were just two innocent Mareep, and he was a timid little shepherd girl! What were they supposed to do in a fight like this?
"...Wait, a fight?" Oh, Ash truly was the biggest idiot there ever was.
"Thundershock!" He shouted, and the two Mareep suddenly found their senses. Lighting sparked from their tails and shocked the aggressor.
As that Scyther fell with a thud, the others growled. His trainer's instinct, which he'd been such a fool to forget, told Ash they needed to get out of here, now, before the Mareep tired out.
"Thunder Wave in that direction!" He commanded, and two yellow, paralysing sparks flew over in the direction that Ash had just come from. There were four Scyther there, and now rather than charging with dynamism, they were static and helpless.
"Follow me!" Ash called, and tried moving as quickly as he could. It wasn't very fast, thanks to the stupid disguise, but it should be enough. Yet two Scyther from behind him were catching up, their bladed hands reaching out.
And then swatted away. The Ursaring had chosen sides, and he liked pretty girls who sang him nice songs more than he did rude bugs who bothered people. With his second swipe, the two Scyther were knocked into each other, and then hurled into a tree bark.
Before Ash left, Ursaring handed him Melanie's crook. "Thank you!" If Ash left that behind, Melanie just wouldn't forgive him. But now they could run, and in a few moments they were well out of harm's way.
The flock hadn't quietened down in their shepherd's absence: they fidgeted where they stood, turned their heads in every direction, and called with sweet baas for the nice girl to return. It took all of Noctowl's power to keep them from wandering more than ten feet away.
But when they saw the rims of that little white dress stepping out of the forest shadows, with Punctual Percy and Amicable Amy by its sides, they all rushed out together to greet them.
They asked about what had happened, and Percy and Amy told them about the battle they had been led through. All the Mareep gasped in awe, as in all their years, none of them had actually used their power to defend themselves in a fight. To think that this shepherd girl Ashley, who was friends with Melanie, could teach them such amazing things!
They looked up at their shepherd girl in awe, who seemed to understand. "Oh, you're all so kind." Ashley blushed, but for a happy reason this time. "It was nothing, really."
The flock didn't think so: they came over and huddled around her, each one looking for a soft pat from their beloved shepherd girl. Their cheers were soothing to the ears, and their warm, silky wool brushing against Ashley's stockings made her feel weak at the knees with comfort, so much comfort that she didn't even care she was wearing stockings. With her skin moisterised by Melanie's treatment, the wool felt extra soft, even to the point of ticklishness.
"Settle down, all of you!" The shepherd girl cried through broken giggles. "We still have one more to find!"
But their kindness overwhelmed her, and Ashley found herself down on her knees, patting all nineteen Mareep with love and care, rubbing them behind the ears and letting their big heaps of wool stroke her legs, rub against her arms, and brush into her dress so bashfully that even her chest and back could feel the goodness. The fluffiness of it all was irresistably ticklish, but that wasn't why she was laughing joyously out loud. The flock was elated to have a big motherly figure to take care of them.
Ash Ketchum had a knack for making friends with Pokémon when he set his mind to it. They were some of the most wonderful creatures in the world. And Ashley Robin could be just as gifted.