Disclaimer: No ownership of Pokémon or Mario
Super Pokémon Odyssey: Rescue Serena
Chapter 1: Air-shipped
One last sight in the early evening, in the woods and involving four kids, a green slug with one eye and a tall blue frog standing like a human with red parts around the eyes and a cream-colored marking on the chest, elbows and knees. There was also a large shuriken made of compressed water. There was a rubbery scarf around its neck. It stood in front of a raven-haired boy wearing a blue short-sleeve jacket with a white collar, a red baseball cap with a white semicircle as the decal and denim pants. On his shoulder was a yellow mouse with a lightning bolt for a tail. The frog and the boy shook webbed hand and finger-less gloved hand. Then, they shared a hug. "Oh, Greninja…" the boy softly cried.
("Sensei…") the frog croaked. The two broke and Greninja headed back to the slug and a green serpent-like creature with a black head. Watching, the boy tilted his cap down.
"That's right…" he muttered as he shed a tear. "This is how it has to be." Reaching the slug, Greninja extended a hand.
("I'm ready,") it accepted. The slug bowed to Greninja's decision.
"Thank you," it spoke with its mind. "Ash, Greninja will be in my care." Ash pumped his fist in appreciation.
"Yeah!" he praised. "I'm counting on you, Squishy!" A little blond girl came forward. She wore a dark brown sleeveless shirt and biker pants with a fluffy white skirt in between. Her hair had a circular clip with a tuff sticking out to the side.
"Hey, Squishy?" she called out. Squishy bowed its head to the girl.
"We probably won't see each other for a while, Bonnie," it apologized. Bonnie teared up, but she then smiled.
"It's okay!" she cheered as she held up a yellow bag with an orange rodent-like creature inside. It had antenna-like whiskers and black circular ears. "I know that you've got a lot of important work to do! I'll always be cheering you on, you know!" Squishy acknowledged Bonnie's prayer.
"I'll always be with you too, Bonnie," it accepted.
"And I'll come and find you when I become a trainer!" she hoped through teary eyes. "We'll be together again! That's a promise!"
("Don't forget us!") the creature in the bag squeaked. Squishy nodded again.
"Yes," it agreed. "That's a promise." On that, Squishy and Greninja left for the forest, a mission together. Everyone waived, including a red avian creature with a green head. Behind Ash, Bonnie and the creatures was a blond boy in glasses and a sky-blue jumpsuit and a heavy backpack and a honey blond girl that was a little older than Bonnie wearing a red vest over a pink blouse-skirt, black leggings and a pinkish-red fedora with a black stripe.
"Take care of yourself, Greninja!" wished Ash.
"You too, Squishy!" yelled Bonnie. "Take care!" Greninja and Squishy nodded as they left for the forest. The departure seem hard to watch as the avian by Ash grumbled.
"It's okay, Hawlucha," Ash promised as he petted the avian. The blond young man came forward.
"I guess, it's back to Lumiose City," he suggested.
"Yeah, we're done here," Ash mentioned. Everyone but Bonnie moved on. She stood, watching for any sign of Squishy or Greninja to return. The honey blond girl saw Bonnie stationary.
"Bonnie!" she called out. Hearing the honey blond, Bonnie turned and saw the rest leaving.
"Coming!" she yelled. She dashed back to the rest, but still looked back as the blond teen led. Ash was merely behind the teen.
"So, Greninja's off on a mission," the teen brought up. "And Goodra's back in the wetlands with Florges."
"I know, Clemont," Ash shrugged. "This means, I'm bringing Talonflame, Hawlucha and Noivern back to Professor Oak's lab." Clemont nodded to the lineup.
"Three Flying-Type Pokémon isn't so bad, especially with their other types," he added. Crossing his arms, Ash nodded.
"So, you and Bonnie will be back at Prism Tower?" he asked.
"Yeah, and I believe you're going to a new region on that quest with Pikachu," Clemont guessed.
("We haven't reached our goal,") the mouse squeaked. Ash snickered as he reached to his mouse to pet.
"Pikachu knows what we want as well as I do," he sided. "Though, I will say that even though Greninja's going to help Squishy and Zygarde… I can look at a chance to get myself stronger for when Greninja's back with me and we could do that power boost like before." Clemont knew what Ash referred to.
"I heard that it was called Bond Phenomenon," he named. Ash and Pikachu became interested.
"Bond Phenomenon?" repeated Ash.
"Yeah, Professor Sycamore coined the name like how Bonnie coined Greninja's form of Ash-Greninja," Clemont clarified. "You shared a bond with Greninja that you felt the damage Greninja suffered in those battles. It's also why you passed out early after some battles."
("That's a scary thought!") gawked Pikachu. Not far behind, Bonnie noticed the honey blond girl looking concerned. There was something disturbing the honey blond and Bonnie got worried.
"Serena?" she called up. The honey blond didn't react, staying a couple of steps behind Bonnie. "Serena!" The second call had the honey blond finally snap to reality and to Bonnie. "You're scaring me spacing out like that!" Serena blinked to the notice.
"Oh, sorry!" she apologized. "I just… we went through so much together and-" Looking ahead, Serena saw Pikachu's ears twitch. This made Serena stop. Pikachu turned his head to find the sudden sound. Everyone stopped to see Pikachu's head twisting around.
"Pikachu?" wondered Ash. Then, sounds of propellers whirling. Everyone looked to the sky to see a flying ship made of wood. There was a stone figure of a horned dragon-like head with a spiked collar. Two curved horns were over where the ears would be and there was hair on the back. Three masts spun propellers on the top. The kids gasped to the sight of the flying ship.
"What's that!?" gasped Clemont. The ship hovered over the kids.
"I doubt Team Rocket would have something like this!" gawked Bonnie. "Maybe it's pirates!" Without warning, a claw in the shape of a dragon claw emerged.
"What's that!?" gasped Serena. Before they could realize the issue, the claw raced at the kids.
"Look out!" shouted Ash. Everyone made their dive as the claw slammed the ground. Many birds flew from the impact as the kids were trying to get their bearings but looked unharmed. Ash and Pikachu were several feet from the others while Clemont and Bonnie remained within an arm's reach. The claw rose and turned to Serena, the furthest away from anyone else. When Serena got to a knee, the claw flung and snagged her. She released a scream, terrified to what the claw wanted from her. Ash saw the capture and sprung to his feet. "SERENA!" With Pikachu on his shoulder, Ash reached and jumped onto the claw before it rose back up, holding Serena tightly. "Hang on! I'm getting you out!" Ash planted his feet on a finger of the claw before pulling the top finger. There wasn't enough time as the claw retracted to the deck of the flying vessel. A twist of the claw shook Ash from his reach for Serena. He hit the deck on his buttocks. He winced as he reached for the pain he suffered. "Ow!" The claw carried Serena to a higher platform of the deck, dropping her onto the wood. She was sitting up when a steel cage sprung from beneath her and locked her in, nowhere to leave through.
"Ash!" she cried. Ash stood to Serena's call but shakes beneath his and Pikachu's feet was a warning. Appearing was a giant yellow horned turtle with a green spiked shell. The head was like the figure on the front of the flying ship with its hair and eyebrows fiery orange. There were also spikes on its tail. Its arms had spiked bracelets on its arms.
("Oh boy…") gulped Pikachu.
"Well, it seems I have a bonus," the turtle growled. "All for this girl…" Ash and Pikachu wanted answers.
"What do you want with Serena!?" shouted Ash. The turtle chortled to the serious nature Ash had.
"I'm taking her for a special occasion," he scoffed. The answer did not sit well for Ash.
"Special… occasion?" he repeated.
"What do you mean!?" snapped Serena. The turtle turned to the honey blond girl.
"You're about to find out," he grunted. Ash and Pikachu weren't about to let this monster take Serena away.
"You're about to find out how we stop you from taking her away!" growled Ash. He and Pikachu charged at the turtle who breathed a stream of fire. Ash and Pikachu split from each other to avoid the stream and the embers that flicked from the flame. Ash and Pikachu looked stunned at what came out of the turtle's snout.
("He knows Flamethrower!?") gawked Pikachu. Ash realized rescuing Serena was difficult.
"We're saving Serena!" proclaimed Ash as he charged at the turtle who copied. Ash stopped as Pikachu jumped from the deck, then Ash's shoulder. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
("Roger!") agreed Pikachu before unleashing a blast of electricity. The turtle withdrew his arms, legs and head into the spiked shell. He spun the shell so fast, the electric attack was deflected. Shocked, Ash couldn't believe the turtle's defense.
"You have got to be kidding!" he gasped. The turtle came back out near Ash before grabbing him, the claw as big as Ash's torso. Serena's fears grew at Ash's struggle.
"Ash!" she cried. Ash tried to move his arms to break from the turtle's grasp, pushing them out.
'Now, I wish Greninja's still with me,' he thought. The turtle slammed Ash to the deck. The thunderous thud made Serena's and Pikachu's heads turn in pain. Ash gasped, pain coursing through his back. The turtle bent his body down before leaping to the sky. Despite the pain, Ash saw the turtle's jump. "Pikachu, Electro Ball!" Pikachu gathered electricity onto his tail as the turtle began descending fast, tail first. Pikachu flung the ball of electricity with a flip. The ball arrived and struck the turtle, blasting him clear of Ash as he sat up. The turtle crashed onto the deck and flipped onto his back, the spikes holding him in place.
"Nice shot, Pikachu!" cheered Serena. Pikachu seemed proud of the effort. The turtle withdrew again before spinning like a top. He raced after Ash who picked Pikachu up. He jumped as the shell began to zoom pass. Cleared of the shell, Ash landed safely, seemingly free of the pain from the slam. The turtle came back around, spinning even faster than before.
"Iron Tail!" shouted Ash before throwing Pikachu with a sidearm motion, spinning the mouse like a baseball with a light circling around and around. The two collided, but the turtle was sprung into the air, flipping over to Ash as the turtle's body reemerged. Pikachu landed on his paws with his lightning bolt tail aglow. The turtle came at Ash, clenching his hands to make fists. He fired a left jab, catching the turtle in the abdomen. Then, he threw a right uppercut to the turtle's large muzzle. The turtle flew for a second as Pikachu raced underneath, reaching Ash as the turtle landed on his chest. The slamming of body to ship shook the vessel. Serena couldn't stay standing from the quake. The turtle looked perplexed for a second. "Normally, I wouldn't wail on anyone due to the laws of this world… but for kidnapping one of my friends, I won't hold back." The turtle scoffed, humored to Ash's confession.
"As King of the Koopas, I'm actually impressed with your power," he named. Ash and Pikachu looked perplexed to what the turtle, a "king" by his words, called himself.
"That brings up another thing: I should have knelt to you before we fought," Ash admitted. "That is, if you didn't take Serena in the first place." The king shook his head with a grin.
"Yeah, maybe I should have announced myself before we fought," he agreed. That's when another yellow turtle emerged riding a bamboo broom and wearing a blue cloak and wizard's cap.
"Your lizardness!" he squeaked. "I'll help you!" Bringing out a gold scepter, the new turtle aimed at Ash and Pikachu who sensed a presence behind them "Ala… Peanut Butter Sandwiches!" A beam shot out. Ash tried to move out of the way, but he couldn't move fast enough. The beam nailed Ash and knocked him down before it created a chain link, connecting Ash and Pikachu in a binding spell. "Lord Bowser, are you okay?" The giant turtle soon stood, still a little unsteady from the fight. Ash tried to wriggle himself free from the spell.
"A few blows won't keep me down, Kamek," he grunted. "Now for you two…" He pulled out a remote that had one button and pressed it. Part of the deck slid open and a cannon rose from beneath. Seeing the cannon, Serena's fears grew once more.
"What are you doing!?" she yelled.
"Taking care of the stowaways," Bowser sneered. He lifted and placed Ash and Pikachu into the cannon. Ash turned to Serena, his need to rescuing her being his new priority.
"Serena, I won't give up!" he proclaimed. "I never give up! I'll get you out of this!" Final words said, Bowser angled the cannon before pulling the string. The cannon fired and Ash and Pikachu flew at high speed through the air.
"ASH!" she bellowed with tears streaking. Clemont and Bonnie saw the flying shot, knowing something had gone wrong.
"What was that!?" wondered Bonnie. Clemont couldn't tell.
"I-I don't know!" he stuttered. When they saw the ship fly off, Ash, Serena and Pikachu hadn't returned, which got Bonnie's Pokémon worried.
"Dedenne?" she called. Hearing the little critter and it squeaking rampantly, Bonnie sensed a problem. "Dedenne doesn't like the feeling."
"I know," Clemont realized. "That flying ship's leaving and Ash and Serena aren't back!" That's when he had to make a choice. "We need to head back to Lumiose City! I might have something that can help track them down!"
"Oh, I hope so, Clemont!" wished Bonnie. They dashed off, knowing time was of the essence. Ash and Pikachu were blasted off and Bowser and Kamek have Serena. What will Ash do to get back to Serena?
TO BE CONTINUED…
(For those who were expecting what you voted for, please hold. That will come at the end of the other story that I'll continue on, but that's nearing the end itself. Stay tuned, you'll be involved soon enough.)
