A/N: Hm?  Oh, you're right.  I forgot to change the Spearow part.  Thanks for noticing – I meant to change it but I must have skipped over it.  Oh, thanks for the reviews so far!  For your dedication, this chapter is much longer than the others.  On with the story.  By the way, if I happen to offend anybody with the way I have certain people act, I apologize in advance.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or Slayers or anything else that isn't mine to own.

Ch. 10 Explosive Encounter

Meeting Bad or Meeting Good?

            As Lina strolled down the boulevard, it was hard to miss the intoxicating scent of perfume coming from a nearby shop.  Lina struggled with a small inner demon.  Growing up with a "perfect" older sister like Luna, she had always been accustomed to perfume and such things.  Reminiscing, Lina found that the smell of roses and violet reminded her most of her sister.  On instinct, she followed the scent into the shop.  Zel and Gourry skidded to a stop upon noticing Lina's change in direction.  Glancing at each other, they shrugged and followed her somewhat reluctantly.

            A bell chimed as Lina opened the door.  A friendly teenage girl with purple hair greeted them at the door.  Bowing low enough to be almost eye level with Lina, she said, "Why, hello there.  Welcome to our perfume shop.  How can we help you?"

            Lina blinked.  She almost fell over at the overwhelming sense of déjà vu that hit her just then.  Shaking it off, Lina asked in her sweetest voice possible, "Um…well, do you happen to have a fusion blend of roses and violet?"

            Standing straight, the girl looked up with a finger on her lower lip in thought.  "That's a peculiar blend.  I think we might have a few bottles of it though.  Come on in and let's see.  I don't suppose you gentlemen would also like a little of something?  We sell cologne as well."

            Zel and Gourry instantly put their hands up in front of them in defense.  Zel answered quickly, "No, no thank you.  We're just waiting for her."

            The girl nodded as if expecting this, but smiled at his politeness in saying so.  Without another word, she led them to the counter where two other girls were chatting.  The first teenager interrupted them and asked if they had any rose-violet fusion blends left.  The blue-haired girl looked at the other and said, "I'm pretty sure I saw a few bottles of it in the back.  Most people don't ask for that one.  Are you sure you want it?"

            Lina nodded.  "I'm sure.  I grew up with it – I can handle it."

            The third girl nodded and went into the backroom.  A few minutes later, she returned with a blended violet and rose colored bottle.  The smell was stronger than ever.  Lina nodded and almost greedily took it as she handed it to her.  Holding the bottle close to her, she took a deep intake of breath through her nose. Before anyone realized it, she had fallen backwards onto the floor.  Letting out a soft laugh, Lina nodded as if to herself.  "This is definitely it.  Nothing comes close to this smell.  How much would it be for two?"

            The green-haired girl helped Lina up again.  Gourry scratched his head and commented somewhat dumbly, "Oi…Lina.  You sure you want two?  I mean…you don't exactly seem like the kind of person who would use or even buy perfume."

            Lina smiled wanly.  She stuck the bottle under Gourry's nose and told him to first take a whiff of it.  His eyes shot wide open, and he backed up a little.  Lina pulled back her hand with the bottle and smirked.  Gourry stumbled as he remarked, "That's the strangest thing I've ever smelled, and I know the Cerulean sisters – they have almost every type of cosmetics that'll make them look and or smell better.  What's that blend though?  I feel like I want to leave and come closer at the same time."

            Lina snickered slightly.  She looked towards the girls who were also smiling.  Taking a deep breath, Lina recited, "That's no surprise.  This is a perfect mixture of the sweetest flowers and essence of Gloom.  There is also alcohol, water, and a few other smaller ingredients, but those are the ones that you notice the most.  'Gloomy Violet' is its name; distributed from a factory right here in Celadon City."

            Zel raised an eyebrow.  "You realize you avoided the actual question, right Lina?  How do you know so much about this perfume and /why/ do you want to buy it?"

            Lina grinned like the little kid that she was.  "My sister always wore this perfume.  Every time she walked into a room, most of the people would act like Gourry did.  Those with stronger senses got knocked down like I did; those with an even stronger sense of smell would sometimes faint.  Basically, this perfume reminds me of her, and well, I feel kind of homesick."

            There was a brief, sentimental pause.  Lina continued, "That, and Luna's birthday is coming up and I'd know she'd kill me if I was out traveling and I didn't send something back to her.  So, I'd like one bottle to carry with me, and one to send home.  How much did you say it was?"

            The third girl, behind the counter, informed her that it was usually 45 PD (Poke Dollars ^_^), but for her, she'd offer a two for one deal.  Eyes lit up with happiness from the great deal, Lina accepted instantly.  She paid her 45 PD, and added 5 PD extra for, according to her, even having it in stock.  Gourry, and Zel soon left with a very happy Lina.  The two guys refrained from staying too close to Lina.

            Their next stop was the Pokecenter.  Lina first mailed her bottle of perfume as well as a pokeball, of which Lina did not reveal the content.  Next, Lina, Zel, and Gourry dropped their pokemon off with Nurse Joy.  From there they separated, but promised to meet up again in the lobby when they were finished.  Zel headed straight to a corner of the lobby, next to a shady plant, and waited in a sulky fashion.  Gourry went out back to watch some trainers who were battling for practice.  Lina went to the video phone and called Prof. Oak.  She grinned when he told her of his surprise when he woke up to a room full of recently transferred pokemon.  Lina asked if they were all being taken care of, and Prof. Oak nodded in an 'of course' manner.  It didn't take long before they had all met up again.

            By this time however, Nurse Joy had healed all of their pokemons' fatigue, and they took back their pokemon.  The trio continued on to stroll towards the Celadon City Gym.  Upon reaching it, the first people she noticed were the people from the perfume shop.  Lina waved to the ones at the counter as the one at the door welcomed her and asked what she needed.  Lina nodded as she answered that she was here for a gym battle with Erika, the Celadon City Gym Leader.  The girl led Lina to where Erika was "educating" a small group of kids about Gloom.  When the girl introduced Lina, Erika stood up and welcomed Lina.  The battle was soon underway with many a spectator.

            Erika chose first; her first pokemon was Tangela.  Lina, in turn, selected her newly "caught" Magmar.  Magmar's first attack was Flamethrower.  Tangela somehow dodged it and sent back a Vine Whip.  Magmar caught the "vines" in his fists, and sent a stream of fire through them to the main source.  Upon releasing the charred vines, Magmar made a rushing tackle that turned into a Fire Punch at nearly the last moment.  Tangela was defeated.  Magmar was the winner!

            Next, Erika returned Tangela and released a Weepingbell.  Lina decided to stay with Magmar.  Erika attacked first with Razor Leaf.  As if it were speed target practice, Magmar charred them all at once with a Flamethrower.  Weepingbell then used Sweet Scent in an attempt to draw Magmar closer.  It worked…at least, until Lina made Magmar snap out of it.  Unfortunately, Magmar was already close enough by that time for Weepingbell to use Wrap and then Sleep Powder.  Magmar was out like a light.  Weepingbell had won the second round.

            Lina returned Magmar, and released her Pyro, her Charmeleon.  Deciding to go for a major sneak attack, Lina told Pyro to use Dig, and dig he did.  He disappeared into a hole, and was not seen for a few moments.  Weepingbell and Erika looked around with worry.  Suddenly, Lina called out to use "Mega Brando 2.0".  Immediately, a large pillar of fire erupted all around Weepingbell.  When it cleared, Weepingbell was toast.  Pyro had won.

            The final pokemon for Erika was Gloom.  Again, Lina stuck with her pokemon until the end.  Pyro started for Gloom for a cool Flame Wheel attack.  However, Gloom sensed the approaching danger and released its foul smell.  That stopped Pyro dead in his tracks.  Lina goaded her Pyro on to get past the smell.  In seeking to please his mistress, Pyro persevered and began walking slowly towards Gloom again.  Gloom was really scared now, especially when Pyro made a Scary Face.  In close proximity, Pyro raised a claw to make the finishing blow, when Gloom suddenly used Stun Spore.  More out of habit then actually dodging it, Pyro flew back, narrowly missing the powder.  Taking a deep breath, Pyro walked a little closer and blew the stun spore back at Gloom.  Although the stun spore itself didn't affect Gloom, it got in its eyes and blinded it momentarily.  Pyro used this chance to finish it with a classic Flamethrower.  Gloom was down and out.  Lina had won the gym match.

            As Lina cheered, Pyro began to glow.  Everyone stood shell-shocked as Charmeleon evolved into Charizard.  At this, Lina cheered even more and hugged her new pokemon.  Being as obedient as a puppy, almost, Pyro hugged back.  As if remembering something, Lina turned and ran towards Erika, who was tending to Gloom.  Erika stood to congratulate Lina and give her the Rainbow Badge.  Lina thanked Erika, and requested that she call out the pokemon that were injured in today's battle.  A bit surprised, Erika hesitated, but did just that.  Lina also called forth her Magmar.  Lina took out a reasonable sized bottle with purple liquid.  She then proceeded to bend down and request that all the pokemon drink a little of it.  Instantly, all four pokemon were up and in prime condition.  Erika was both amazed and impressed by Lina's abilities both during and after the battle.  Erika thanked Lina for her help, and Lina in return thanked Erika for allowing them to battle, as well as for receiving the badge.  She returned her pokemon as did Erika.  Waving goodbye, Lina, Gourry, and Zel left.

            Wondering what to do next, they wandered through the streets of Celadon City.  Half-jokingly, Zel asked Lina if she wanted to try her luck at the casino.  Lina turned her head to look, but immediately declined.  She said that her sister would never forgive her if she spent /any/ of her hard earned money on gambling.  "A disgrace among the Inverse name" she would say, according to Lina.

            Gourry suddenly pointed to the sky, and said, "Look!"  Instinctively, Zel and Lina looked up with him.  A large flock of Spearow and Fearow crossed the sky overhead in a triangle formation.  With their sudden stop, a group of people ran into them.  Zel was the only one who didn't fall over among the collision.

            Again acting upon instinct, Lina groaned slightly from the pain, but quickly recovered enough to yell, "HEY!! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!"

            To which a short-haired redhead yelled back, "WELL WE WOULDN'T HAVE RUN INTO YOU IF YOU HADN'T STOPPED SUDDENLY!"

            Gourry interrupted as he was the first to get a good look at who they had run into.  Slowly, he verified, "…Misty?  Is that you?"

            With a start, Misty and Lina both stopped yelling.  The small group of onlookers that had stopped to see what was happening, moved along.

            Misty squinted and said, "Gourry?  Ha.. it /is/ you.  I can't mistake that long blonde hair of yours.  You /still/ haven't cut it?"

            Slightly puzzled, Lina checked Misty with her statidex.  When she learned that Misty was also a Sensational Sister, she understood how they knew each other.  As she stood up, Lina surveyed Misty's other two companions.  One had squinty eyes and a rather dark tan.  According to her statidex, he was called Brock and he was the former Gym Leader of the Pewter City Gym.  She smirked and told this to Zel, who raised an eyebrow as he looked at Brock.  She then looked toward the middle person.  Anger immediately rose towards the surface.  Checking her statidex to see if anything had changed, she was surprised to see that he now had five badges and eight pokemon.  But still, that wouldn't change what she remembered about Ash Ketchum.  Looking at the yellow pokemon nearby, she smiled warmly at the remembrance of the now lean Pikachu.

            Lina stretched her hand towards Pikachu but immediately retracted it upon remembering manners before pleasure.  Lina apologized gracefully to Misty, and helped her up.  By this time, Ash and Brock had already gotten up as well.  Gourry had stood up shortly after Lina.  Biting her lip, she mumbled, "I'm not great at this but…" Lina took a deep breath and started to speak slowly in Pikachu language.  What she said translated to, "Hey there, Kairo.  How are you doing these days?  I'm sure you're wondering how your family is doing without their big brother to protect them right?  Don't worry, they're safe and sound, with me.  Would you like to see them again?"

            Pikachu's ear shot straight up at this.  Eyes glittering with happiness, he jumped from Ash's shoulder to Lina's arms.  Lina laughed merrily as Pikachu snuggled against her.  Telling Pikachu to wait just a minute, Lina looked back at Ash with an almost evil smirk.  This scared and surprised him more than Pikachu jumping into a stranger's arms after they said a few syllables in Pika-language.  Clearing her throat, Lina spoke to Ash.  She asked where they were staying, and was told that they were staying at the Pokecenter.  Lina smirked as she replied, "What a coincidence, us too.  Shall we walk over there?"
            Brock said that they were headed in that direction anyway, so they might as well.  Through the duration of the walk across Celadon City, Brock talked with Zel about how the gym was doing, as Misty did the same with Gourry.  Neither knew much what to say, but tried to give the best answer possible.  Meanwhile, Ash grudgingly walked behind Lina as she had Pikachu on one shoulder as she balanced the Statidex between her ear and other shoulder, while feeding Pikachu some of her special poke-blend food that she had received at home.

            She was calling Prof. Oak to transfer all of her Pikachus to her, as she had met Ash in Celadon City, and wished to arrange a quick family reunion.  Lina stopped feeding Pikachu so that she could hold the Statidex in front of her and prepare for transferal.  Soon, all six of her pokemon were traded with Prof. Oak for six Pikachus.  By that time, they had reached the Pokecenter.  Lina told them to follow her out back, which they had nothing better to do than to obey.

            Once outside again as they cut through the Pokecenter, Lina released all of her Pikachus.  At first, they weren't sure what to do.  Then, Ash's Pikachu called out to them, and they slowly approached him.  The second biggest one sniffed him, and then embraced him in a Pika-hug.  With that, the rest of the Pikachus surrounded Ash's.  Sitting down on a nearby bench, Lina gestured for the others to do the same.  As Pikachu played and hugged and was tackled and played with back, Lina started to explain.

            First of all, this was Pikachu's family.  The one who had hugged him first was his mother.  The biggest one is his father.  The leanest one is his older sister, and the two small, pudgy ones are his little brothers.  The baby one on the father's back was recently born, and is Pikachu's newest little sister.  Lina asked Ash if he knew where Pikachu came from, or more likely, where all pokemon and humans started.  When Ash couldn't answer fast enough for Lina, she continued to say that everyone started their lives with their families.  Pikachus are the type of pokemon who, in the wild, stay together and protect one another until death or trainers force them to part.  Ash would be one of those trainers.  He broke up Pikachus family just by taking away that one Pikachu.  This instantly made Ash feel guilty.

            Lina smiled as she turned to Brock.  Knowing that he was aspiring to be a pokemon breeder, Lina asked if he thought what she just said was correct.  Pondering it momentarily, Brock admitted that there was probably a lot of truth in that evaluation.  Lina smirked and took out some pokefood for the large family.  While the Pikachus surrounded Lina and the food, Ash stood looking down at his shaking hands.  The thought that entered his mind as he looked up at the pokemon was sudden: Pikachu would be happier with his family; they would be happier together.

            Before Ash could turn this thought into words, Lina called his attention.  She asked, or rather firmly demanded, that they battle.  She had no doubt that she would win, but she wanted to see if he was worthy enough to have Kairo stay by his side.  At first, Ash was puzzled about who Kairo was, before he realized that it was his Pikachu.  Getting angry that Lina thought so little of him, he accepted the challenge.  Lina's smirk widened all the more at this.  Getting into position, the 3-on-3 battle began.

            Ash's first pokemon was Pikachu, who was slightly reluctant, but ready to defend his master.  Smiling, Lina chose Pikachu's mother.  Pikachu definitely had no intention of fighting his mother, so he ran back and surrendered.  Lina laughed lightly and patted Pikachu's mother on the head.  Lina told her to return to the bench with her family.  Next, Ash chose Bulbasaur.  Deciding to prove that she could win no matter what, she released one of her extra pokemon that she hadn't sent to Prof. Oak.  It was a Diglett.  Ash, the amateur that he is, told Bulbasaur to use Vine Whip.  Digett easily dodged it by using Dig.  Bulbasaur looked around, seemingly prepared for Diglett's resurface.  That was when Lina told it to use a combination of Sand Attack and Dig.  Bulbasaur was suddenly veiled by a spinning tornado of dust, dirt, and wind.  When the dust cleared, Bulbasaur was coughing out dirt, but was still on his feet.  Bulbasaur tried to attack again with leech seed, but of course, Diglett dodged it with ease.  Diglett was then commanded to use Swift.  Eyes not yet cleared of dirt; Bulbasaur wasn't able to dodge it.  He fell, but he slowly got back on his feet, breathing harder than ever.  Lina said that a good Magnitude should do the trick, and that it did.  Bulbasaur was down for the count.

            Ash grimaced as he returned Bulbasaur, saying that he tried his best.  Ash chose his final pokemon – Squirtle.

            Lina raised an eyebrow.  Smiling once more, she returned Diglett and did something very surprising; she released her new Charizard.  Traditionally, water was strong against fire, especially the Char-chain of evolution.  Ash took this as a good sign and started to get a bit overconfident.  He had Squirtle make a head on Water Gun attack.  At Lina's command, Pyro positioned himself easily so that the stream of water went into his mouth, like a refreshing drink of water.  When the stream ended, Pyro wiped his mouth with his clawed "hand" and grinned.  Ash sweated a little.  Lina dared Ash to try again.  She and Pyro were closer than a glove on a hand; nothing could defeat them.

            Ash growled and called out for Squirtle to try Skull Bash attack.  Pyro stood his ground and caught Squirtle between his claws when he was a few inches away.  Lina told him to use a direct Flamethrower.  After charring the shell, as Squirtle had withdrawn, Pyro dropped Squirtle and stepped back.  Squirtle came out, knocked out.  Ash hung his head as he returned Squirtle.  Looking to defeat at least one of Lina's pokemon, he sent out Pikachu again.

            Lina stayed with Pyro.  Deciding to bait Ash a bit more, Lina had Pyro take to the skies, and slowly circle around about fifteen feet above the ground.  With every turn, Pyro mocked Pikachu's ability to actually hit him.  Ash told Pikachu to aim carefully and use Thunderbolt.  When Pikachu sent the electric attack, Pyro sent back a Flamethrower.  As Pikachu could not move and attack at the same time, both attacks hit dead on.  Returning to the ground, Pyro looked as if he hadn't felt a thing; Pikachu was breathing hard and sweating.  Though nobody noticed, Lina was sweating a little.  She called for Pyro to finish it with a Soul-searching Fireball.  A large ball of fire was released from Charizard's mouth.  Ash told Pikachu to use Agility.  However, after the ball of fire went past where Pikachu was only seconds before, it turned back and made a beeline for Pikachu.  Though Pikachu tried to outrun it, the fireball was gaining on him.  In the few seconds that Pikachu looked behind him to see the fireball, Pyro came in front of him and stopped his running with his foot; both foot and Pikachu were charred.  The match was over.  Lina had won easily 3-0.

            Lina smiled and petted Charizards nose for a job well done.  Carefully removing Pikachu from under its foot, Lina took out the same potion that she used on Erika's pokemon.  Speaking kindly in Pika-language, Lina had Pikachu take some of the medicine.  Immediately, Kairo sat up, perky as ever.  Lina pet Pikachu's head and looked towards Ash.  She told him to call forth the pokemon that had been injured in the battle.  Seeing what she did to Pikachu, Ash did as he was told.  Lina healed them as well.

            Upon finishing, she spoke to the other trainers after telling the pokemon that they could play together for the time being.  Lina explained that though she generally wouldn't have done this to an opponent she despised, it was against what she had been taught to do.  When Ash asked where she came from, Lina raised an eyebrow again.  With an exhale of breath, Lina looked up again at Ash.

            "You /really/ don't recognize me, do you?  Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, the only trainer who was late in getting their first pokemon."

            Ash was surprised that she knew this.  Brock and Misty looked at Ash.  At the same time, they asked, "You were late the very first day as a trainer?!"

            Ash got a bit red with embarrassment and excused himself for it.  He said that he was so excited that he overslept.  Shaking his head, Ash asked how Lina even knew so much about him.

            Lina sighed hopelessly.  Smoothing back some stray strands of hair, she introduced herself for the first time.  "I never told you my name, did I?  Well, have you ever heard of the Inverses?  Because my name's Lina.  Lina Inverse."

            Ash's eyes shot wide open.  Getting redder, he suddenly found that he couldn't make eye contact anymore.  Misty said that she had never heard of the Inverses, and asked Ash if he knew her.  Rubbing the back of his head, Ash replied, "You could say that…"

            "Not."  Lina interrupted with an explanation.  "He and his mom and his friends came to my family's restaurant on his birthday.  He had a temper tantrum because his Filet Mignon Steak had been replaced for a flailing Magikarp.  Which, by the way, was not by the fault of our restaurant, but that of his own troublemaking friend.  Anyway, as he had kicked the table over in his mad rush, many things had been broken before Ash here and his group left.  Later on, the cook, my oldest brother, had been laid off and the rest of us had to work overnight to prepare the restaurant for the next day, hoping that we would even have customers after this."

            Lina took a breath.  Misty and Brock looked from Lina to Ash.  Ash took this chance to try to defend himself.  "What do you expect?  I was only four at the time."

            "And yet, you still recognize our family name, and couldn't see me eye to eye when I mentioned it.  Oh, by the way, I was working there that day, so I had to work overnight too.  I was also four at that time, to make matters worse."

            The onlookers sympathized with Lina.  Gourry spoke for them all when he commented, "Four?  That's one tough family you have there, Lina."

            Lina crossed her arms over her chest.  "You better believe it."

            Brock held his hands up in defense.  "Don't worry; we trust your word."

            Zel broke in as he asked, "Though, I can't help but wonder…why are you saying all this now?"

            Lina glanced at Zel from the corner of her eye.  "I want Ash to properly acknowledge all that he's done, and I plan to make him pay for it?"

            Head hung, Ash looked up and asked, "I'm afraid to ask, but how?"

            Lina was about to reply when Charizard suddenly roared loudly.  Both because she was right beside him and that she understood what he was saying, Lina jumped with surprise.  She nodded to Charizard before turning to Pikachu's family and saying that they had to return to Prof. Oak's now, as it was too dangerous to be out anymore.  Not questioning Lina's command, they all waved goodbye to Pikachu as they returned to their pokeballs.  Lina quickly told Ash to return his pokemon and that she had to go.  She wasn't exactly sure when she'd be back, but she'd make sure that Ash never forgot about her.  With that, she slipped onto Pyro's back and took to the skies.  They all watched her as Lina headed east towards Saffron City, somewhat.

            Bent low towards Pyro, she verified, "Now that we're pretty much alone, what do you mean, 'The bad guys are after me'?!"

A/N: My cliffy.  How do you like it?  If you think Lina is saying too much about her past to be like she was in Slayers, just remember that she recently escaped from home, therefore, she is entitled to be a little homesick until she is really ready to travel on her own.  Also, if you think I'm being mean in terms of Ash, I don't really feel this way about him, but I'm trying to get Lina's brash anger self to the surface, so might as well start with Ash and her past.  Let's see… oh and in terms of not having Brock, Misty, Zel, or Gourry talk very much, let's just say, its to put more emphasis on the fact that /Lina/ talks a lot more than anyone else.  Anything left to say or comment on?  Okay, tell me in a review!