What's this? A new chapter you haven't had to wait months for?! Unimaginable XD
Hey readers - I know, it's somewhat unusual for me to post another chapter so soon after the last one, but I've been super motivated lately, mostly due to the fact that I'm SO excited about the release of Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet later this week. I can't wait to start playing them, and to finally get my Sprigatito! I don't know about you guys, but I think that design is AMAZING : D
Anyway - in other exciting news - I'm pleased to say that at long last, the tie between which Pokemon gets to evolve for defeating Misty has finally been broken! I wanna say a HUGE thank you to Flame Wolfe for being the reader that left the review that broke the tie - and I can confirm that the winner was... Abra! Honestly I would have been happy with either, but I do think this was probably the best outcome : ) Hopefully I can keep her alive to get an Alakazam : )
Finally, I just want to say thank you to those of you that have supported the story by reviewing, favouriting and following the story. I really appreciate it so thank you.
Please remember that Pokemon is not mine, just my OCs, and I hope you enjoy this chapter : )
Pokemon Emergency - Part 5
Nolan watched with mounting nerves as more and more thick plumes of jet black smoke continued seeping into the room. There was a continuous banging sound, and he could only imagine it was being caused by Ekans and Koffing repeatedly ramming themselves against the door, desperately trying to break in. The racket only served to make the blonde boy even more nervous than he already was, and the worst part was, he knew that the door wouldn't hold for much longer. It wouldn't be long until they got in. Already the door was bending and buckling under the force of the attack. Any second now...
BOOM!
With one final tremendous crash, the door and makeshift barricade finally gave way. Nolan and Meadow both yelped and staggered backwards, trying to avoid being caught in the resulting shower of glass and metal and splinters of wood. Around them, Ash and Misty did much the same. They didn't have much time to gather their bearings though, for almost immediately after the doorway was blown apart, Koffing came flying at them like a jovial cannonball.
"Koffing!" the violet coloured Pokemon laughed, whilst behind him, Jessie, James, Meowth and Ekans all entered the room in his wake. They each had a dangerous smirk on their face as they watched Koffing soar through the air towards their enemies.
"Waaah!" Nolan yelped in surprise, hastily ducking his head to avoid being hit in the face by the cackling purple projectile. Ash and Misty did same the same, lunging to the side to avoid being hit too.
Thankfully, Koffing missed striking any of them directly, but that was where their good luck ended. Because unfortunately, the round floating Pokemon's momentum was enough to keep him going. With another loud boom, Koffing ended up crashing into one of the many sets of shelves that lined the room.
Almost immediately the piece of furniture was reduced to rubble, but that was the least of their troubles. For the attack hadn't just destroyed the shelves, it had also sent dozens of the pokeballs that lined them flying. Like a bizarre scarlet rain, the capsules all tumbled to the ground, scattering and rolling off in every direction like a bag of dropped marbles. Nolan looked on in horror as some of the precious objects rolled dangerously close to the gang of thieves that were attacking them.
"Get those pokeballs!" Nurse Joy screamed urgently. The woman looked positively sickened by the idea of Team Rocket getting their hands on even one of them, and of having to explain to some poor young trainer that their precious Pokemon had been stolen. She prayed things wouldn't come to that.
Hearing the nurse's words, Nolan and Meadow both lunged forwards desperately, willing to risk it all if it meant saving those poor innocent Pokemon from harm. They frantically began scooping up the fallen pokeballs as quickly as they could, but unfortunately, they just weren't quite quick enough. For across from the two of them, Meowth grinned gleefully as he did much the same, pouncing forwards to meet the duo head on. To the blonde haired boy's horror, the Scratch Cat Pokemon managed to snatch up two of the fallen pokeballs with his furry little paws before Nolan could stop him.
"Hehe! Meowth got dem!" Meowth purred happily, his tail twitching in excitement.
"No!" Nolan exclaimed, utterly aghast.
"Bulba!" Meadow looked just as horrified as her human by this latest turn of events.
Jessie and James on the other hand both looked positively elevated, and began cheering their teammate on. Ekans and Koffing both looked pretty happy about their fellow Pokemon's actions as well.
"Ooh! Slick work Meowth!" James complimented gleefully.
"Nice job" Jessie nodded in agreement.
Nolan and Meadow, although horrified by what was happening before them, didn't allow themselves to be distracted for more than a couple of moments. They continued scrabbling about on the floor, and thankfully managed to gather up the rest of the fallen pokeballs. They quickly passed them off Ash and Misty, who both numbly accepted them. Pulling their wits together, the two of them quickly hurried over to the transporter unit which was still running, and dumped all of the pokeballs on to the conveyer belt. One by one they began disappearing in a bright light as they were teleported away to safety. Meanwhile Nolan and Meadow had both turned back to face Team Rocket, whilst Nurse Joy stepped up to his side to do much the same.
"Put down those pokeballs this instant!" she barked in a tone that would be much more at place on an Officer Jenny than a Nurse Joy, "They both contain Pokemon that are being treated for injuries! They're not going anywhere with the likes of you!"
Team Rocket finally stopped their celebrations and turned their attention back to the situation at hand. Their firm sneering smirks were immediately back in place. Nolan's stomach coiled in disgust just looking at them. They really just didn't care at all about the horrible atrocities they were committing. It was nothing short of sickening.
"Dats where ya wrong lady!" Meowth purred up at her nastily, his grasp on the two pokeballs tightening significantly, "Meowth snatched dem fair an' square so Meowth's keepin' dem! Meowth!"
"Right!" Jessie and James both nodded in agreement with Meowth's assessment.
They didn't care.
Nolan just couldn't get past the fact that they really could not care any less about what they were doing. Never mind that both of the Pokemon inside those pokeballs had been injured and needed proper treatment, they both had trainers who loved them, for they wouldn't have taken them to the centre in the first place if they didn't. They didn't deserve to be so violently ripped apart from each other. Not by the like of these pieces of scum. The scum that was laughing about it all right now.
And that's when something in him snapped.
"You're not leaving here with those Pokemon" the golden haired trainer declared in a low threatening tone, a tone that even made Team Rocket pause in their laughter, "Not without a fight".
Jessie and James both looked at him incredulously, both surprised that this boy before them, this little twerp, actually thought he and his weakling of a Bulbasaur could possibly pose a threat to them, them, Team Rocket.
"He has got to be kidding!" Jessie suddenly began cackling with snide, arrogant laughter.
"Oh no Jessie, I think the little boy actually means it" James smirked, amused as well.
"Goldilocks got guts, I'll give him dat" Meowth smiled darkly up at the golden haired human, "Too bad Meowth's gonna knock dem all outta him!"
Behind the boy in question, Ash and Misty were both gaping at Nolan in concern and fear as well.
"Nolan... you can't be serious" Ash hissed at his best friend, his tone more than a little worried.
"You can't possibly win against all three of their Pokemon!" Misty fretted hopelessly.
"What other choice is there?" Nolan shot back in response to the other two trainers, who both gawked at him in disbelief, "If we don't fight then they're gonna steal those Pokemon and all the other ones here at the centre as well! I can't stand by and just let that happen! Now let's go Meadow!"
"SAUR!" Meadow couldn't help but grin in agreement at her brave, brave trainer.
After all of their insults towards her and her human that they had made before, Meadow had been hoping for the chance to get a little payback. Now they had stepped it up a level, snatching those poor defenceless creatures in those pokeballs, so Nolan's words were the exact ones that Meadow had been hoping to hear. She stepped in front of her human partner protectively, glaring across the room at other three Pokemon, all of whom stared at her in incredulous disbelief. Surely she didn't think that she could take on all three of them and win?!
There was only one way to find out.
Realising that they were serious, Team Rocket started laughing again, but accepted the challenge. Forming a line opposite Meadow, Ekans coiled himself up on the left, whilst Koffing drifted down on the right, leaving Meowth in the centre. All three of them smirked nastily at Meadow, who stood her ground, glaring back at all three of them. She just hoped that her trainer had some kind of strategy in mind, otherwise she may just have bitten off more than she could chew.
"Ha! Looks like the twerp is serious" Jessie sniggered darkly, "Well then I guess we'll just have to show him exactly what happens when a little wannabe hero decides to get in our way. Ekans, go!"
"Wipe the floor with these little pipsqueaks Koffing!" James added, and their two purple Pokemon immediately surged forwards to attack.
Meadow braced herself, but held her nerve. Those injured Pokemon were counting on her. She wasn't about to let them down.
"Ekans, use Poison Sting to bring them down a peg or two!" Jessie commanded.
"Koffing, show them just how painful being poisoned by your Poison Gas attack is!" James echoed with.
Ekans got to Meadow first. Opening his large jaw wide, the serpentine Pokemon began spitting out dozens of long sleek needles. They each glowed with an eerie violet coloured light. Yelping in pain, Meadow staggered backwards a few steps as several of the needles hit her head on. She didn't have much time to focus on that though, since as soon as Ekans' attack was over, Koffing began his own assault. Floating down so he was right in Meadow's face, Koffing began pumping out a smelly green gas from all of the holes littering his body. Meadow sagged and coughed as she inhaled some of the fumes, but otherwise was unharmed, and had not been poisoned by the attack. Across from the scene, James's face contorted with surprise.
"What?!" the cyan haired man gasped, losing his cool for a split-second, "Why didn't Koffing's attack work?!"
Now it was Nolan's turn to smirk.
"Because Meadow isn't just a Grass type Pokemon, but also part Poison type, which makes her immune to attacks like your Koffing's Poison Gas attack" he explained cockily as James's eyes widened in disbelief.
Behind Nolan, Ash and Misty both looked surprised as well. Nurse Joy on the other hand wasn't paying much attention to the battle going on. Instead she was using the distraction it provided to continue transporting as many of the pokeballs in storage away as fast as she could.
"I didn't know that" Ash marvelled at the information that Nolan had just revealed.
"I guess he really does know what he's doing" Misty replied, sounding impressed.
Across from where the Pokemon were still fighting each other, Jessie and James were not quite so impressed by how knowledgeable Nolan was proving to be.
"Grrr... if there's one thing I hate it's an insufferable little know-it-all!" James snarled in frustration.
"Then let's squash this little bookworm" Jessie said, a suggestion that James found most agreeable.
The two criminals were about to issue their Pokemon partners with new commands, but unfortunately for them this time Nolan beat them two it. The blonde boy had an idea in mind, he just hoped it worked, because there was no Plan B, and no going back for those two confined Pokemon if they messed this up.
"Meadow quick!" the golden haired boy exclaimed urgently, "Use your Vine Whip and grab hold of both Ekans and Koffing!"
Meadow quickly did as her partner instructed, extending her vines from beneath her bulb. With great speed and even greater precision, she managed to loop one of her vines around Koffing's body like a lasso, whilst using the other to encircle Ekans' neck before tightening it like a collar. The two Pokemon furiously began wriggling and squirming, trying to break free of her grip, but Meadow wasn't having that. With a smug smirk of her own, the little green Pokemon merely tightened her grip on them both, squeezing them until their airways were restricted, causing their struggles to slowly weaken. Naturally, Jessie and James were both appalled by this latest turn of events.
"Oh no!" James gasped, horrified.
"Impossible!" Jessie snarled in furious disbelief.
"Now slam them together!" Nolan cheered his partner on, pleased that she was holding her own against the two of them, "Make them dizzy Meadow!"
Quite enjoying herself by this point, Meadow grinned widely and nodded, and immediately began slamming Koffing against Ekans' head. The two purple Pokemon immediately began yelping and flailing about in pain. They began trying to break free of the vines that had ensnared them, but it was just no use. After one particular solid smack, Ekans groaned, feeling the sharp sting of a headache coming on. Koffing merely let out a low moan, feeling sick.
"Don't be such weaklings!" Meowth hissed at his fellow Rocket Pokemon, embarrassed that they were losing when it was two against one, "Fight back!"
"They can't! Not whilst that little Bulbasaur has them all tied up!" Jessie growled in frustration. This wasn't how their plan was supposed to go at all. This little twerp was ruining everything!
Feeling that the two enemy Pokemon were sufficiently dazed enough by this point, Nolan knew that it was time for the next stage of his battle plan. He just hoped that it would work, because if it did, then it would take down both Ekans and Koffing at the same time, leaving just Meowth to deal with. The Scratch Cat Pokemon had still yet to engage in the fight, but who knew how long that would hold. Nolan and Meadow had to be ready for anything.
"Now let them go Meadow!" Nolan commanded, and Meadow released the two groaning Pokemon from her vines, "Use Leech Seed!"
Just like it had in the battle against Welkin, Meadow's bulb immediately began to glow with an ominous green glow. From the opening at the top of her bulb, Meadow quickly fired out two seeds that were also glowing. Ekans and Koffing, both still too dazed and confused from her earlier assault, didn't stand a chance of dodging the projectile seeds in time. Ekans immediately felt one of the Leech Seeds lodge itself in the side of his neck, whilst Koffing was struck directly between the eyes. Within seconds, thin leafy vines burst out of the seeds, and almost immediately ensnared the two purple Pokemon.
Meadow grinned as she felt their energy being siphoned away, and used it to repair the damage she had taken earlier from the Poison Sting attack. She immediately felt much better, whilst her enemies were getting weaker with each passing second. It wouldn't be long now until they were out of this fight once and for all. Looking down at their struggling partners, Jessie and James were both aghast.
"It's draining all of their energy away!" James exclaimed in horror.
"Quick Meowth!" Jessie urged, a frantic edge in her voice, "Get in there and help them!"
Meowth smirked and nodded. It seemed that he had to do everything himself around here. Setting down the two pokeballs that he had swiped earlier, the cute little Normal type Pokemon lunged into the fray, his sharp claws extended threateningly.
"Meowth'll set you guys free!" Meowth reassured Ekans and Koffing, who were both still struggling as more of their energy was drained away, "Fury Swipes! Meowth!"
In a flurry of blurred motion, Meowth began scratching with his claws at Ekans and Koffing. Or should that be, the Leech Seeds that had latched on to them both. The Scratch Cat Pokemon made short work of shredding the vines to pieces, before he carefully removed the two seeds from Ekans and Koffing respectively. They were clearly weakened, but still had enough energy to fight. Meowth had done it.
Nolan, although disappointed that they hadn't managed to knock Ekans and Koffing out like he'd been hoping for, wasn't about to waste the opportunity that had just presented itself to him. Meowth, before rushing to aid his fellow Rocket Pokemon, had set the two stolen pokeballs down on the ground... and Jessie and James had not picked them up. They were completely unattended, which meant that this was their chance. Reacting quickly to the latest turn of events, Nolan hastily turned to catch his partner's eye. She nodded, signalling that she understood what he was silently trying to convey.
"Quick Meadow, use Vine Whip!" he urged her on.
Meadow responded by immediately extending her vines again. Meowth, believing that they were hoping to pull the same trick twice, snarled at them.
"Meowth! Dat ain't gonna work twice! Meowth!" the Normal type Pokemon declared as he lunged to the side, pushing Ekans and Koffing out of the way of the vines as well. None of them seemed to realise that Meadow's vines were too far out for any of them to have been her targets.
Moments later... the penny dropped.
"Saur!" Meadow couldn't help but cheer loudly as she managed to lay her vines upon the smooth surfaces of the pokeballs unhindered. Wrapping them up quickly, she then retracted her vines, bringing the pokeballs back to relative safety.
"Nice work Meadow!" Nolan whooped gleefully, whilst behind him, Ash, Misty and Nurse Joy all cheered as well, "I'm so proud of you!"
"Bulba!" Meadow couldn't help but preen under her human's praise, glad that she had been able to help.
Unsurprisingly, Team Rocket were less thrilled about their success than Nolan and Meadow were.
"Hey, no fair!" Jessie whined in annoyance.
"We already stole those pokeballs!" James exclaimed angrily, "You can't steal them back!"
Nolan scoffed and shook his head. He couldn't believe that he had allowed himself to be intimidated by these... these idiots before. He realised now that these jokers weren't like the hardened Rockets he'd heard about on the news. They were nothing more than amateur bullies at best.
"Meowth'll get dem back!" Meowth declared, lunging towards Meadow with his claws outstretched in a threatening manner.
Not intimidated in the slightest, Meadow quickly passed the two pokeballs that she had retrieved to Nolan, before using a well placed Vine Whip attack to stop Meowth in his tracks. Taking advantage of the situation, Nolan whirled on the spot, and handed the pokeballs off to Ash and Misty. They both nodded at him, understanding his request without him having to voice it. Ash and Misty both hurried over and dropped the pokeballs into the transporter unit, and the two recovered pokeballs vanished like the others, safe and sound at last.
Jessie's face was turning a deep shade of scarlet, she was so enraged at their interference.
"You little twerps are gonna pay for this!" she ground out through clenched teeth, "Meowth, Ekans, Koffing! Attack that Bulbasaur all at once!"
Meadow gasped as she immediately found herself surrounded. All three of the enemy Pokemon smirked viciously at her, before the assault start. Not even using any standard attacks on her, the three Rocket Pokemon just rammed themselves against her. Slashing at her, biting her, pounding down on her... it was brutal.
"MEADOW!" Nolan screamed in terrified horror.
"SAUR! BULBASAUR!" Meadow wailed in agonising pain. Even as she tried to fight back, she was just too overwhelmed by all three of them at this point. Things really weren't looking so good for her now. At least she had managed to save the other Pokemon. Meadow could take solace in knowing that.
Nolan could do nothing but look on in panic, out of ideas of how he could possibly try to help his precious partner, too horrified to even think about maybe releasing Welkin from his pokeball to try and come to her aid. Thankfully, Ash and Misty were less stunned by this latest turn of events, and quickly put aside their horror at Meadow's current situation and pulled their wits together.
"We can't just stand here watching anymore!" Misty cried out, urgency oozing from her tone, "We have to help Nolan and Meadow out!"
"But what can we do?!" Ash fretted hopelessly, "Pikachu is still too weak to fight!"
It was true. Even with all the commotion, the small yellow Pokemon had yet to regain consciousness. Even if he did wake up it probably wouldn't be of much use. There was no way that Pikachu would be able to fend off three Pokemon at once in his condition.
"This is war!" Misty reminded him bluntly, "There are still some pokeballs left on the shelves! Go grab some of them, and start throwing them!"
Ash nodded his understanding, and hurried over to where the mechanical claws were still busy plucking the dozens of pokeballs off the shelves to send them through the transporter. Snatching up some of the pokeballs before the claws could remove them, Ash then rushed back of to join Misty.
"Alright" he took a deep breath to calm himself, before he tossed one of the pokeballs that he had collected, "Pokeball, here we go!"
The pokeball sailed through the air before snapping open. In a beam of bright red light, a Pokemon materialised into the recognisable form of a Pidgey. It was a little smaller than Welkin, but appeared to be in good health. Good enough to help fight at least.
"Pidgey" the small flying type cooed.
Almost immediately Ekans noticed the newcomer, and turned away from repeated slamming his body against Meadow in favour of going after Pidgey. Rearing up to his full height, Ekans bared his fangs at the terrified creature.
"EKANS!" he hissed fiercely.
"PIDGEY!" Pidgey cawed in fright, before taking off into the air to escape.
Ekans smirked in self-satisfaction, still thankfully not returning his attention to where Meadow was still being tag-teamed by Koffing and Meowth, whilst behind them, Jessie let out a short laugh of unpleasant dark humour.
"That thing can't beat us!" she boasted arrogantly.
Ash glared, before mutely returning Pidgey to its pokeball and handing it off to Misty, who dropped it onto the conveyer belt to be teleported with all the rest. Ash selected another pokeball from the selection in his arms.
"No?" he shot back in response to Jessie's taunt, "Well, try this one! Pokeball, here we go!"
The pokeball clattered uselessly to the floor, snapping open to reveal that there wasn't a Pokemon inside. Ash's face fell, as did Misty's, Nolan's and Nurse Joy's.
"It's empty?!" Ash gasped in horror.
"We're never gonna beat them that way!" Misty exclaimed anxiously.
"Some of the Pokeballs are empty" Nurse Joy regretfully informed them. A look of frustration briefly flashed across Ash's face.
"Now she tells me" Ash groaned.
"We can't give up now, we have to help Meadow!" Nolan urged his best friend desperately, hating to see that his partner was still struggling on, despite being way past the point of exhaustion, "Quick Ash! Try another one!"
"Right" Ash nodded at the blonde boy's worried tone, selecting another pokeball, "This one feels like a real winner! Pokeball, go!"
The raven haired boy tossed a pokeball for a third time, and thankfully this one was occupied. Once again a familiar form appeared in the room, this time being a Rattata. The small purple rodent sniffed the air curiously upon being released.
"Rattata!" it chattered loudly. Team Rocket were not intimidated by it in the slightest.
"Pipsqueak" James remarked with a light scoff.
It was upon hearing his partner's voice did Koffing allow his attention to be drawn away from attacking Meadow. He took notice of the Rattata, and like Ekans had before him, Koffing decided to have a little fun. He soared up over the small rodent threateningly.
"KOFFING!" he laughed menacingly.
"RATTATA!" Rattata shrieked in panic, before making a retreat. Sighing, Ash returned the Rattata and chucked the pokeball into the transporter, where it immediately vanished in a flash of bright light. Almost all of the pokeballs had been safely transported away from the conflict now. There were only a few left to go, including the batch still in Ash's arms. The dark haired boy was about to select another one to try, but before he had the chance to, Misty stepped up holding a pokeball of her own. And it was actually one of her own, not one being cared for at the Pokemon Centre.
"This isn't working Ash" she told him bluntly, and Ash couldn't help but nod in agreement with her assessment of the situation, "I guess I'm gonna have to take this into my own hands".
Whilst all this had been going on, Meadow, despite being about ready to collapse where she stood, had managed to keep Meowth's claws at bay now that it was just one-on-one, after Ekans and Koffing had both been successfully distracted by the others. Knocking Meowth back with a well-placed Vine Whip, Meadow took her chance to retreat. She staggered back over to Nolan and collapsed at his feet, beyond exhausted. The blonde boy immediately scooped her up into his arms, hugging her tightly.
"Oh Meadow! I'm sorry you got so beat up! Are you okay?" Nolan's voice was heavy with concern.
"Saur" Meadow groaned softly, which Nolan took to mean, 'I'll live'.
"Thank you for fighting for us" Nolan whispered as he hugged her tighter to show his appreciation, "Those Pokemon are safe now because of you, and we managed to get all the others away as well. I couldn't be more proud of you. You're the best partner I ever could have asked for".
Meadow nuzzled his face affectionately, feeling the same.
"Just rest now, okay" Nolan told her gently, "You've more than earned it".
Meadow nodded, and settled down in his arms, happy to let someone else take over for the moment. And thankfully, there was someone more than ready to take her place.
"Guys, you've done enough! Get the rest of the pokeballs into the transporter, then get Meadow and Pikachu outta here" Misty instructed the boys as she took charge of the matter at hand, turning to smirk at Team Rocket, "I'll take care of these clowns".
Across from them, Jessie, James and Meowth all smirked, more amused by her taunt than insulted. They sneered down their noses at Misty condescendingly.
"In case you're too dumb to notice twerpette, your friend just tried to take us on single-handedly and now his Pokemon is all tuckered out" James pointed out, his tone suggesting that he was talking to a half-wit, "I can't see you doing much better".
"Exactly right" Jessie nodded in agreement, "That is pretty big talk coming from such a little lady".
The last two words couldn't have been more condescending if Jessie had tried, but Misty was quick to brush it off. She had three older sisters after all. She knew how to deal with self-absorbed women.
"At least you're right about the pretty part" the orange haired girl smiled widely, trying to get under Jessie's skin, "Thanks for the compliment".
Jessie and James both scoffed at her words.
"The girl thinks she's pretty" James drawled in a sarcastic tone.
"I agree with her" Jessie nodded her head, faux-serious, "I think she's pretty too... pretty pathetic!"
That comment was harder for Misty to brush off. The young girl flushed with rage, but was saved from having to come up with some kind of retort. Having finished sending the last of the pokeballs through the transporter unit, Ash and Nolan came back other to their new friend's side. And Nolan was more than happy to tell them what he thought of them.
"That's a bit rich coming from a coward like you!" the blonde boy snapped, his tone pure venom, "You come here trying to steal weak and injured Pokemon, because you don't have the spine to go out and catch your own. You have to resort to attacking three against one in order to win! And you dare call someone else pathetic?! Take a look in the mirror, that is if you can without breaking it you ugly old hag!"
Everyone's jaws dropped at the golden haired boy's sudden outburst. Everyone but Jessie that was. Her face immediately turned an unpleasant shade of scarlet as her incredulous outrage skyrocketed.
"W...What did you just call me?!" the female criminal gaped at him. Nolan just smiled, darkly pleased to have gotten under her skin.
"I called you an ugly... old... hag" he taunted nastily, sounding more like Gary Oak than his usual pleasant self, "Did I say it slowly enough for you, or should I write it down?"
James and Meowth both looked positively terrified as Jessie began trembling with a boiling hot anger.
"Oh... you've done it now, you little brat" the woman sounded ready to snap his neck with her bare hands after such an insult, "Rocket Pokemon, attack!"
Ekans, Koffing and Meowth all charged forwards, ready to resume the battle. Before Nolan had the chance to worry that maybe he shouldn't have gone so far however, Misty stepped in front of him, her pokeball still in hand.
"You're not going to hurt my new friends!" she screamed in angry protest, "I'll show you! Pokeball... go!"
Hurling the pokeball, everyone watched in anticipation for the identity of Misty's Pokemon to be revealed. Whatever it was that they had been expecting... it wasn't what materialised a few seconds later.
A pearly white fish-shaped creature with scarlet patterning appeared on the floor, flailing about since there was no water for it to swim in. A small horn adorned the Pokemon's head, but that was its only even mildly threatening feature. Nolan recognised the Pokemon at once as a Goldeen.
"Goldeen, deen, deen" the aquatic Pokemon said in a strange watery voice that sounded female.
Jessie and James both face-faulted, and Nolan honestly couldn't blame them. What in the world was Misty thinking of?! A Goldeen was at much too great a disadvantage to fight effectively on land. Team Rocket would make sushi out of her!
Thankfully, things wouldn't come to that.
Realising her error in judgement, Misty held up her pokeball once again, directing it towards her flailing Goldeen.
"Goldeen, return!" she commanded, and Goldeen vanished back into the device's confines in a haze of bright light.
"That's her best shot?" Jessie's face actually seemed to have a hint of pity in it, albeit a cruel one as well.
"She's all washed-up" James chuckled, shaking his head at the display.
Misty wasn't embarrassed in the slightest but what had just happened though, and instead fixed Team Rocket with a smirk of her own. Her confidence was reassuring, at least to Nolan, Ash and Nurse Joy.
"You know as well as I do that there are plenty of Water Pokemon that can't battle on land" Misty reminded them all, clearly in her element, "Goldeen just so happens to be one of them. I was just warming up!"
Nolan, immediately sensing the lie and the show of bravado for what it was, leaned in closer to her.
"Misty, what are you doing?!" he hissed in her ear so no one could hear him.
Misty turned to face him, a less than impressed expression on her face.
"Trying to distract them to buy you enough time to get Meadow and Pikachu out of here" she snapped back, keeping her voice low too, "So for heaven's sake, get moving!"
She gave him a little nudge, and Nolan staggered back a few steps to where Ash and Nurse Joy were both standing, close to the stretcher still holding Pikachu's unconscious figure on it. They both quickly leaned in to speak with him, having seen the exchange he'd had with Misty, who had since gone back to verbally sparring with Team Rocket, in order to keep them suitable distracted.
"What's gonna on?" Ash immediately wanted to know.
Nolan signalled for him to keep his voice down before he replied to his question.
"She's trying to keep them all distracted for as long as possible" Nolan explained, and Ash and Nurse Joy both looked at him in surprise, "She's trying to give us a chance to get Meadow and Pikachu away since they can't fight anymore".
Ash nodded his head, feeling a great swell of gratitude towards Misty in that moment. Even after all the trouble he had caused her, she was still trying to help him, his best friend and their partners. They might only just have become friends, but she was definitely a real and loyal one.
"Then we need to do as she wants" Ash declared, moving over to the stretcher holding Pikachu and grasping its handle tightly.
"But we can't just leave her all on her own with them!" Nurse Joy protested, concern colouring her tone, "They're dangerous! Who knows what they might do to her!"
Nolan bit his lip, torn. He had to admit that he was having the same reservations. He didn't like the idea of leaving Misty alone to fend off Team Rocket, but he also knew that he had to get Meadow and the others to safety. He really was stuck between a rock and a hard place right now.
"Well what else can we do?!" he asked Nurse Joy frantically.
The pink haired woman rubbed her chin as she thought about it for a moment. After a few seconds, she replied, her tone incredibly serious.
"I'll stay here with Misty" she eventually declared, holding up a hand for silence when both the boys immediately began to protest, "No, listen to me! We don't have time to argue!"
The two boys didn't look happy about it, but honoured her request.
"We can't leave her alone, but you guys need to get your own Pokemon out of here" Nurse Joy continued, "Try to get out of the centre if you can. Then make contact with Officer Jenny, let her know what's going on. She'll be able to help us".
"But what about you Nurse Joy?" Ash asked in concern, "Who's gonna look out for you?"
Nurse Joy merely shrugged off his concerns, much to the raven haired boy's chargin.
"Do you have any Pokemon to battle with?" Nolan was nervous about leaving her unprotected as well. At his words however, Nurse Joy suddenly slapped a hand to her forehead, cursing herself for not thinking of it sooner.
"Of course!" she cried as if remembering something important, "My Chansey! See if you can find them on your way out. If you can, send them here to help! They know a few moves that should be able to slow Team Rocket down!"
Both of the boys still looked a little unsure about leaving them behind, but both knew better than to argue with an adult at a time like this. Moving quickly, Nolan gently placed the exhausted Meadow down on the stretcher next to the prone form of Pikachu, before he joined Ash at the handle. Unable to help but feel like total cowards for fleeing, even if there really wasn't much other choice, Nolan and Ash did exactly that. Their legs burning with the effort they were putting into them, the two boys ran out of the room as fast as they could.
Nolan just prayed that they weren't making a terrible mistake in doing so...
And that's another chapter down : )
I'm glad to be finally moving the story along a bit now, and to almost be done with another episode. Another chapter or two should do it, and than we'll finally be at one of the most iconic Pokemon episodes I can think of : )
Anyway - now that we've finally resolved the last topic I posted for you guys to vote upon - we can move on to one that I'm personally very excited about. A new Pokemon to be added to my Nuzlocke Arsenal : D I always like these ones because it means I get to create a new character/personality to add to Nolan's team. Here are the options : )
Pokemon Options -
Route 11: - Drowzee - Female - Rash Nature - Insomnia Ability
Rock Tunnel: - Mankey - Female - Naughty Nature - Vital Spirit Ability
Route 8: - Growlithe - Male - Relaxed Nature - Flash Fire Ability
Truthfully, I think that there's only one Pokemon to pick here, especially considering that I'll be facing a Grass Type Gym soon, but the decision isn't up to me ; ) Please leave a review to vote for which Pokemon you want to see Nolan catch in this story : )
Finally, thank you for reading this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it. Hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter up soon, if I'm not too distracted playing the new games. Like I said before, I can't wait to finally get my Sprigatito : D
Until the next time, keep on reading : )