Chapter 8

Had his shirt not been tucked into his pants, the grass would have been high enough to tickle his belly button. He couldn't even see the ground as he waded through the tall grass as though it were a small lake, and it pretty much was. Other than the trees that surrounded them, there was nothing that stretched out before them other than green. It also didn't help that they were surrounded by trees that all looked the same.

"Don't worry; I'm positive this way will take us back to the path," Ash said, and although he looked back at Brock trailing behind him, he was really mostly saying it to reassure himself.

"Positive, huh?" Brock retorted, knowing full well that's what the younger boy had said to him about an hour ago. They had strayed off the main path from a suggestion of Ash that there was a 'shortcut', but the shortcut was now about three hours in through the woods. They both stopped to give their tired legs a break, but the grass was so tall that there wasn't anywhere to sit, so they just simply stood in place, looking around to see if they recognized any of the landmarks. Quietly, Ash wondered if they were ever going to make it to Vermilion City.

Trekking on, the two boys noticed that the path in front of them started to clear up, and the grass became less unruly until finally, they found a clearing with actual boulders that they could sit on. "Time for a break," Ash suggested, and the two couldn't wait to sit down on the cold stone. It was a nice little clearing that they had miraculously stumbled into, and gave way to short, tame grass. Hearing the sound of water, Ash followed the noise of the bubbling brook, and saw a small pool in the little stream, but his eyes mostly focused on a blue, armless Pokémon with leaves sticking out of the top of its body. Its back was to the pair of traveling Trainers, and it was drinking from the spring in front of it. "Oh, wow! A Pokémon!" Ash exclaimed, standing up and taking out his Pokédex.

"Oddish. This Pokémon is typically found roaming the forest, scattering pollen as it walks around."

Professor Oak's words from Cerulean City echoed in his head, and he saw this as an opportunity to add it to his party. "I'll catch it!" Ash decided, replacing the Pokédex in his jacket with a Poké Ball from his belt. Expanding it in his hand, Ash threw the Poké Ball forward with a swing of his arm. "Pidgey, I choose you!" A burst of light followed a pop, and with a coo, Pidgey came flying out of the Poké Ball. Oddish, who had been startled by the new appearance of the human, went running away from them and towards the other side of the clearing where the brush thickened intensely like a wall. But before Oddish could disappear, Pidgey appeared, flying and landing on the ground in front of it with its wings spread to stop its escape. Oddish froze with its foot in the air, intimidated by the bird that was the same size as it, and quickly changed direction to try and go around it. "Gust attack, now!" A single wave of its wings sent Oddish flying off its feet and spiraling through the air.

"Oddish oddish oddish oddish oddish!"

"Great job, Pidgey! Now use Quick Attack!" Tucking in its wings, Pidgey shot like a missile at Oddish now that it was helpless in the air, and it instantly made direct contact with the Grass Pokémon, sending it straight down onto the ground. Oddish let out a cry of pain before bouncing onto the ground with spirals in its eyes. "Time to catch it!" Ash said with excitement building in his chest. He pulled out an empty Poké Ball from its belt and pressed the center button to make it bigger. "Poké Ball, go!" The red and white sphere soared through the air, but just before it was about to hit Oddish, a light blue and green blur came dashing out and knocked the Poké Ball away. Ash's eyes stared in disbelief as the metal sphere soared in the air before clattering on the ground in the grass. "Woah, what's that?!"

Before him, standing between Pidgey and Oddish, a familiar-looking light blue Pokémon spotted with darker blue patches on its scaly body with a large round bulb on its back was glaring menacingly past Pidgey and at Ash, crouched down slightly as if a cat ready to pounce while it growled in a low octave. Ash ignored this, and his eyes brightened dreamily at the sight of the Pokémon once it all settled in his brain what it was. "Wow! I can't believe it! A Bulbasaur!"

"Bulbasaur," Dexter started once it had scanned the new Pokémon. "It bears the seed of a plant on its back from birth. The seed slowly develops. Researchers are unsure whether to classify Bulbasaur as a plant or animal. Bulbasaur are extremely tough and difficult to capture in the wild."

As if Bulbasaur had been waiting for the Pokédex to finish reciting its entry, the Pokémon gave a cry and leapt forward. "Bulbasaur!" it grunted loudly, and slammed headfirst into Pidgey. The Normal and Flying Pokémon flew backward and rolled on the ground where it lay limply and unable to go on.

"Pidgey!" the Pallet Town Trainer exclaimed, his mouth opening at the strength of Bulbasaur's Tackle attack. Recalling it into its Poké Ball, Ash flipped his hat backwards and drew another Poké Ball. "Now it's your turn to try! Bulbasaur is mine!" he cried, throwing the Poké Ball into the air. "Wartortle, I choose you!" The Poké Ball popped open, and Wartortle appeared in front of Bulbasaur.

"War!"

"Wartortle, Water Gun!" Ash ordered, and Wartortle drew in a deep breath before releasing it as a blast of water. Bulbasaur rushed towards Wartortle, and suddenly vines sprouted from underneath its bulb and shot out at Wartortle. The vine stretched forward like a snake and struck like a fist with an uppercut, striking Wartortle in the chin and shooting its Water Gun upward instead of at Bulbasaur. Stumbling back from the powerful strike, Wartortle stopped its attack and shook its head while rubbing its chin where it was struck. "Ah! Come on, hang in there, Wartortle!"

"War..." Wartortle murmured, shaking away the pain. But as it looked up, Bulbasaur was right in front of the Water-type after charging while distracted, and it knocked its body into Wartortle. The Turtle Pokémon cried out as it fell onto its back and skidded on the grass, where it rocked back and forth trying to get up.

"Oh... no..." Ash said with exasperation as the Oddish behind Bulbasaur stood up with a little help from the other Grass-type, and both of them disappeared into the brush. "Oh, the Bulbasaur..." he whined, and then clenched his fists together with his elbows close like a child preparing to throw a tantrum as Brock looked on with an uncomfortable look on his face, knowing what was to come. "It's not fair! I want it!"

o 0 o

While the two never found their way onto the main path still, they decided to follow the stream that Oddish had been drinking out of. Vermilion City was right on the ocean, and all rivers lead to oceans, didn't they? So it was only logical to follow it!

They walked, both in their own little worlds. While Ash was disappointed about losing track of the Bulbasaur, that quickly faded and he marched down as the river dipped down into a canyon, and they walked along the cliff-side. The smile on his face almost gave him the feeling he could fly. Somewhere in this forest was a Bulbasaur, or maybe even more than one. And if he had a Bulbasaur of his own, Gary wouldn't be able to beat him. In his head, he could see a match of Ash's Bulbasaur versus Gary's, the battle ending in Ash's huge Bulbasaur triumphing over Gary's puny one.

Behind him, Brock focused on both the river singing to them below, and the map in his hand. But as the pair approached a bridge, Brock paused and frowned as his eyebrows drew together in questioning. "That's weird..." he murmured, but Ash paid no attention to it and stepped out onto the first wooden plank without a second thought and let out a laugh with his arms reaching for the sky.

"I bet there are Bulbasaur all over this place!"

"I can't find this bridge on my map," Brock stated, just as a strong wind made the bridge supporting them rock back and forth.

They stopped in place, their hearts jumping in their throats as they waited for the wind to stop, but before they could, Ash suddenly felt the tight support below him collapse under his feet, and he heard a snap from the rope before the bridge suddenly tipped. With lightning fast reflexes, Ash reached out as his feet came out from under him, and snatched up the side of the bridge that hadn't snapped. Heart threatening to break his rib cage from how hard it was beating, he heard the map that Brock was holding flutter down, but because Brock was holding onto the map as the bridge collapsed, he didn't have anything to hold on to. Ash turned and saw Brock struggling to hold onto anything, but the Pallet boy was too far away from Brock to reach him with his free hand, and the former Gym Leader disappeared past Ash's line of vision, his cry of horror slowly growing fainter as he fell to the river many feet below.

"Brock!" Ash exclaimed before the older boy was swallowed by the rushing rapids. He closed his eyes, but the image played over and over in his head. But he couldn't lose hope now. Summoning all of his strength, he felt adrenaline rushing through his veins along with his blood, and he drew himself along the rope, trying not to make this one snap either.

It took a lot longer than he hoped, but he was finally able to hoist himself back onto solid ground on the other side of the broken bridge. Collapsing onto his hands and knees, he let air and relief fill his lungs over and over again. "Phew, I'm totally wiped out..." he muttered. But he barely gave himself any time to rest, and his eyebrows drew together in determination as he looked down at the river. He needed to find Brock.

Following the rushing river, he found a path that led downward so he could run alongside the torrential waters. He ran for a little bit longer, following a solid path with his eyes to the river, but suddenly, the ground underneath him collapsed as it did with the bridge, but this time it was the gravel that crumbled under his feet. He let out a cry of surprise before falling onto his backside. Realizing the fall wasn't too long, he looked up to see he had fallen into a hole that was roughly the size of his body if he stood up. "This is strange... What's a trap hole doing here?" he murmured, and tried to get his foothold in the side of the dirt to hoist himself up. "This is just not our day..."

o 0 o

He walked a lot longer than he would have hoped to walk down, but there was still no sign of Brock at all. He hadn't encountered any more pitfall traps as the forest to his right started to grow more dense and the river on his left started to flow less harshly. "Brock! Hey Brock!" Ash called, hoping to get a response from his friend. Would he have washed this far downstream?

As the sandy path faded into a grassy one, Ash wasn't paying attention to his footing, and his sneaker caught on a tree root. But the Pokémon Trainer didn't have time to fall, as suddenly a net hidden underneath the leaves and dead grass swallowed him up, and a pulley system activated, hoisting him up into a tree. "H-hey! How'd I get up into a tree?!" he exclaimed, struggling against the netting to try and get him out. But it was sturdy unlike the rope holding together the bridge much further back, and the holes was just small enough that he couldn't fit his hand through, only his fingers. Unsure of what to do, he wiggled back and forth, but even the rope holding him in the tree branch was sturdy, and it didn't do anything.

"Bulbasaur!" The voice caught Ash by surprise, and he craned his neck to look down, and saw the same Bulbasaur from earlier looking up at him. He could tell because of the same, angry look it had on its face from when he tried to capture Oddish.

"Bulbasaur?" Ash said. Seeing that Ash was caught in a net, the Grass and Poison Pokémon grumbled to itself and slowly backed away with its legs crouched, not letting down its guard even with Ash in a tree. Once it get far enough away, it turned its bulb towards Ash and began to trot away. "Hold it there, Bulbasaur! I want a match!" Bulbasaur ignored him, however, and disappeared into the bushes as calm as if Ash weren't there. "Oh, Bulbasaur!"

o 0 o

He wasn't sure how long he was in the net for. The sun hadn't gone down and still hung in the sky without turning the blue sky a different color, but it still seemed like hours. Every once in a while, a brisk wind would rock the net back and forth, and for a quick second, Ash thought the wind would be strong enough to knock him out of the tree, but this hope was quickly diminished. Not even Bulbasaur appeared again to taunt him, apparently satisfied with the way the Pallet Town native had been strung up like a meal.

Eventually, Ash began to talk to himself – whether it was an attempt to soothe himself or to pass the time, he wasn't sure, but either way, he sat with his fingers threaded through the net and sat with his eyes closed. "Gee, I wonder what happened to Brock," Ash murmured, his mind wandering to his friend. He was still beside the river, and hadn't seen any glance of life at all. "Maybe the river carried him far away; all the way to the ocean. Then some pirates spotted him and brought him aboard their ship, and one of the pirates has a wooden leg." He paused as he imagined this in his head, a lone pirate with a giant coat just barely covering the peg-leg that replaced his foot, and peered down at Brock with a Pidgeotto on his shoulder. "Then came the storm." Before he could go any further, he was interrupted.

"Ahoy!" The new voice was welcomed, but especially so when he looked down and saw Brock smiling up at him, dry as a bone and not wearing a pirate hat.

"Huh?! Hey, Brock!" He had never been more glad to see the Pokémon Breeder in his life.

"Why are you hanging around up in that tree?" Brock asked with his arms open in question.

"I don't know why, just get me down!" Ash replied. Retrieving a small hunting knife from his backpack, he walked up to the tree trunk which the rope holding Ash up was wrapped around and slowly began to slice it. After a bit, the rope cut, and Ash fell once again, this time landing with a thump on his backside painfully as the net fell harmlessly around him. Holding his head which was still spinning from the sudden fall and crash landing, the black-haired boy groaned. "Hey Brock, next time, wanna let me down a little more gently?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure, sorry," the older boy bashfully answered.

Having recovered from the fall and reality setting in now that he was saved, Ash turned, still sitting on the ground, and looked up at Brock. "I saw you fall into the river! Then what happened?"

"Well, I was being washed away in the rapids," Brock explained, lowering his arm that was running through his spiky brown hair. "And suddenly, a hand grabbed hold of mine from the shore. Before I knew it, a calm voice was speaking to me and pulling me out of the water, and there was a girl standing there. The girl who saved my life was incredibly beautiful."

"Hm, a beautiful girl huh?" Ash said, crossing his arms and legs. "That's even better than pirates. Unless, of course, she was really a pirate in disguise."

"I don't think she's a pirate," Brock answered him with a slight chuckle. "Why don't you see for yourself? She brought me to her home, and after making sure I was okay, told me to go find you and bring you there, too." Brock seemed eager to go, and walked past Ash and ushering him with a wave of his hand. "C'mon, it's this way." Wiping the dirt off the seat of his pants, Ash stood up and followed after his friend.

Following Brock through the woods and trying to avoid getting whacked by swinging branches, they only journeyed for fifteen minutes before arriving at a large clearing that made Ash's jaw drop. There was a small pool where the river collected into before going further down into the forest, and on the shore of the lake was a wood cabin. A path in front of it leading to the lake where the grass was worn down hinted the walkway was used quite a bit. Next to the lakeside, there was a small gathering of Pokémon of many different species, and tending to another Pokémon was a girl whose back was towards them. Her blue hair – tied into a loose braid at the back of her neck – hung down and grabbed Ash's attention immediately. Hearing the newcomers, she stood up, and when she recognized Brock, she smiled. "Oh!"

"Melanie, this is Ash," Brock introduced.

"Hello," Ash greeted with a nod of his head, and the girl smiled at him and spoke with a sweet, alluring voice.

"So you're Brock's friend. He told me all about you." Ash smiled, and his eyes trailed behind her to look at the Pokémon there. They were all eating from bowls, some of them sharing a bowl despite coming from different species. There was a pair of Rattata and a Paras, a Caterpie and Weepinbell, and there were even some Water Pokémon in the lake.

"Wow, are all these Pokémon yours?" he asked, as he studied some Pokémon which he did recognize and some that he didn't.

"Oh, no," Melanie answered. Brock walked up to a Paras munching happily on some Pokémon kibble and knelt down to pet its head, running his hand along its exoskeleton.

"This is a place where Pokémon are able to rest and relax," he elaborated.

"Like summer camp?"

"Well, sort of, but all year long," Brock answered. "You see, when Pokémon get abandoned or injured, they can come here. Melanie takes care of 'em until they feel better. Then they leave."

"So it's like a Pokémon Center in the woods!" Ash deduced, but Melanie shook her head, her braid waving as she did.

"Oh, no. I'm not qualified to be a Pokémon doctor."

"This is more like... a Pokémon health spa," Brock continued, standing up beside the blue-haired girl. Ash's eyes were glittered with confusion as he looked at the Weepinbell, Caterpie, and Oddish all playing together after their meal.

"Here, the Pokémon don't battle with one another," she said as she watched Ash watch the scene, and then gestured to the pair of Rattata playing with a Water Pokémon in the lake, a starfish Pokémon without any facial features but a red gem in the center of its stomach, Staryu, and they were approached by a fish Pokémon with scarlet scales and long whiskers, a Magikarp. "They relax and try to enjoy themselves until they've recovered."

"Melanie collects plants to use for medicine," Brock went on, his hands finding his hips as he also watched the Pokémon all interact. "She knows all about which plants can help a Pokémon feel better, or grow stronger when it's too weak."

Hearing Brock talk about her, a smile spread on Ash's face. It sounded like Brock was learning a lot as a Pokémon Breeder from her. "So you and Melanie both love to take care of Pokémon!" he said.

"We do," Brock answered, a dreamy smile growing on his face as he watched her crouch down onto her knees, not caring at all if the red overalls she was wearing got dirty as she picked up a Paras and held it high in the air while the other wild Pokémon all gathered around her with shimmering eyes.

The whole area looked peaceful, which was quite a contrast to the trip they had before they had arrived there, and it didn't sit right with Ash. His eyebrows furrowed together and he looked down at the ground as he voiced his thoughts. "I wonder who put that net up in the tree," he said. "And who dug that hole I fell into."

"I'm sorry, I was the one who set those traps," Melanie spoke up, standing up from playing with the Pokémon and approaching Ash. "I wanted to catch Pokémon Trainers before they reached the village. Since you got caught, I guess they really worked." She laughed and continued to explain herself. "There are so many injured Pokémon here. I have to protect them."

"So the bridge was a trap, too!" Ash realized as Magikarp leapt out of the water and jumped back in with a splash.

"Yes."

As she went to clear out the empty bowls when the Pokémon scattered away, Brock led Ash away from the Hidden Village and said to him in a hushed tone, "I promised Melanie we wouldn't capture any Pokémon here." Initially, Ash frowned, but he understood, and crossed his arms and nodded.

"Well, I guess I'll have to keep your promise," he agreed reluctantly. "But are those traps enough to keep robbers away? You'd have to be pretty stupid to fall into one of those holes."

"Ash, didn't you fall into one of those holes?" The Pallet Town native went quiet and red in the face. With the conversation over hinted at the clearing of Ash's throat, the pair walked back out where the lively Pokémon were all playing with each other, all full of energy now that they had been fed.

"It's so strange to think that all of these Pokémon are sick and abandoned," Ash commented aloud as Melanie came out of her cabin. His eyes lingered on the Oddish running with the Rattata pair, and his eyes widened when he realized that it was the same Oddish from earlier that he tried to capture. "Hey, it's that Oddish!"

"Oh, yes. Oddish was a very sad case," she told him, a frown curving her lips down. "It came to us and it had been abandoned by its Trainer. From what I understand, I think it was told it was weak and left in the forest. It took quite a long time for Oddish to open up to even the other Pokémon. Depression in Pokémon is also a form of sickness, but I think Oddish is very close to making a full recovery."

"Wow..." Ash muttered, a pang of guilt hitting his stomach but trying not to let the discomfort show on his face. At the pond's edge, Brock had a pan and was filling it with water. As Ash approached, the Pokémon Breeder dumped the water onto the Staryu standing before him, and Ash laughed as the Star Shape Pokémon shook its body.

"Hiya!"

"Do you feel any better yet, Staryu?" the black-haired boy asked it.

Brock continued this a couple times, soaking the other Pokémon that also wanted to get wet like it was a game, and Ash looked up to see Oddish standing off to the side by its lonesome. The heavy feeling in his gut returned, and he slowly made his way over to the small blue Pokémon. The Weed Pokémon saw him approaching, and initially went to run away after recognizing him, but Ash's words made it stop. "W-wait, Oddish!" The Pokémon stopped, and stared up at him with its beady red eyes, this time curiosity glittering in them instead of fear. It saw him with his hands in the air, showing that he was unarmed and not going to set any Pokémon on it. Kneeling down on one knee to get on a lower level, his eyebrows fell but he tried to keep smiling. "I'm sorry for what happened at the stream."

"Od-dish..."

"You must have been scared." Oddish nodded in agreement. "Melanie told me your old Trainer got rid of you. Was it really because he thought you were too weak?" Once again, Oddish nodded. "Well, he was a jerk for letting you go. Some Trainers can be really mean, and I'm sure I wasn't the greatest example, but I promise, not all of us are like that." Slowly, Ash reached out and stroked the top of Oddish's head. The Grass Pokémon didn't flinch to his touch at all, and he gently pat it where its body sprouted the leaves. "Anyway, I'm sorry for what I did, and I hope we can become friends."

But before Ash could pull his hand away, a loud cry sounded from behind him. "Bulbasaur!" Before he knew it, Oddish quickly jumped out of the way, and as Ash turned his head to look behind him, he was hit hard from behind and knocked onto his stomach. Eyebrows coming together, Ash pulled his head off the ground with dirt marking his cheek and glared at whatever had tackled him.

"Hey! It's rude to Tackle people!" Ash yelled, and looked up to see the Bulbasaur from earlier glaring daggers right back at him. It was growling, and it had its head down and pawing at the ground, as if begging Ash to make a move so it could attack him again. Standing back up, Ash's lips peeled back from his teeth. "I know, you're just mad because I was going to beat you, but you chickened out and ran off!" Oddish huddled behind Bulbasaur upon a nod of its head, and Ash reached to his belt. "Then let's see how tough you really are!"

"Please wait, please!" Melanie exclaimed, her hands waving wildly as she stood between Bulbasaur and Ash protectively, and Ash slowly lowered his hand. "Bulbasaur is only trying to protect Oddish." Now that she had said that, Ash's brown eyes looked down and saw that Bulbasaur was standing protectively in front of Oddish, much like it had back in the smaller clearing in the forest. "Bulbasaur volunteered to guard our whole village."

Ash gasped, and Melanie continued. "It protects all the injured Pokémon whenever enemies try to attack them."

"Oh..." Her words caused Ash to lower his guard, and let his anger slowly simmer away.

"Bulbasaur is the bravest and most loyal Pokémon I know," she stated.

"Bulbasaur recognized me from earlier and thought that I was trying to capture Oddish again," Ash deduced. Feeling a pressure against his leg, he looked down to see Bulbasaur with its face pressed against it, as if trying to push him away. "Now what?"

"Bulbasaur doesn't like Pokémon Trainers," Melanie explained. "It wants you to leave the village now."

"I promised I wasn't going to catch any Pokémon while I was here, Bulbasaur," Ash tried to explain to the grunting Pokémon continually pushing at his grounded foot.

"It's true, Bulbasaur! These are our friends," Melanie added.

"Bulbasaur was worried about the other Pokémon so it decided to be the village bodyguard." The realization brought a smile to Ash's face, and he saw the Grass Pokémon in a new light. "Now that's what I call bravery. It would be great to have a Pokémon like that."

A brisk wind slowly developed and blew through the village, much like the one that caused the bridge to collapse. After a few minutes, the wind didn't settle, but seemed to grow stronger with each passing second. So much so that Ash had to suddenly hold onto his hat with a gloved hand to stop it from blowing away. Even Bulbasaur pulled away from Ash's leg, and its red eyes glanced into the air. Ash's brown eyes trailed from Bulbasaur up to Melanie, and her already pale face seemed to be drained of all color.

Turning around to see what her and Bulbasaur were looking at, Ash's mouth opened, but the wind seemed to absorb the sound that came out of his throat. The clouds above had darkened the sky, and the thick clouds were heading downward towards the forest. It was forming into a tornado. There was nothing they could do but stare as the tornado touched down, and they could hear many cracks as it shattered trees as it created its path of destruction. Ash could feel himself lighten, as if gravity itself were being sucked into the twister, and ahead of him, the Staryu that Brock had been watering let out a cry and was slowly being pulled back but trying to resist.

Leaping off his feet, he dived forward and wrapped his arms around Staryu as he gazed up at the tornado coming towards them with fear in his eyes. "What are we gonna do? That thing is coming towards the village!"

"I built a storm cellar under the cabin!" Melanie cried, holding the Weepinbell in her arms protectively.

"Hurry! Everybody into the cabin!" Brock screamed over the wind, already hurrying and opening the front door that led inside. The wild Pokémon all knew the dangers, and when the door opened, they hurried inside with Melanie and the Weepinbell in her arms following suit. But as Oddish ran towards the cabin, it tripped, and let out a cry that was absorbed by the wind before being picked off the ground and sucked towards the tornado helplessly. This time, its scream was heard.

"Ooooodddddd!"

"Oddish!" Ash screamed, his blood running cold. He had Staryu in his hands, so he couldn't dive for Oddish like he did with the Water-type. Suddenly, two vines shot out from behind him, and in a matter of moments, wrapped themselves around Oddish's head and feet. Neck craning to get a better look, he saw the two vines had come from Bulbasaur's bulb, and it quickly retracted the vines and smiled up at Oddish.

"Bulbasaur," it assured the smaller Grass-type. But even with Oddish's extra weight, the Grass Pokémon was still struggling against the wind tunnel that was now closer and more powerful than ever. Running up to Brock, who was still struggling to hold the door open with much as he could against the wind, he shoved Staryu into his arms.

"Take Staryu!" Ash demanded, and spun on his heels and went back to Bulbasaur. Bending down behind it, he placed his hands on its bulb and backside and pushed, helping it walk towards the cabin. "Keep... going... Bulbasaur...!" The Seed Pokémon said nothing, but its red eyes looked back at Ash with contemplation, though the Pokémon Trainer did not notice. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, Ash and Bulbasaur crossed the barrier into Melanie's house, and Brock shut the door behind them.

The darkness swallowed them, but didn't leave them ignorant to the storm outside. The windows rattled, and it sounded as though the cabin was about to lose the roof from the way the wood above them was creaking. "Hurry, everyone! Get into the cellar!" Melanie cried, opening up a hatch on the floor. But as they all went down single-file, Bulbasaur had other ideas, and headed back outside. "Bulbasaur!"

"Does it think it's going to fight a tornado?!" Brock exclaimed.

"Well, we have to try!" Ash agreed with Bulbasaur, and headed out after it. Holding his hat, he looked over at the black twister, and could occasionally see trees poking out that it had sucked up underneath it. It took a moment to find Bulbasaur, but he managed to by looking up and seeing the blue and green Pokémon on the roof with its vines extended, and Ash realized it was trying to hold down the roof until everyone got into the storm cellar.

An idea struck Ash, and it was better than nothing, so he pulled out a Poké Ball from his belt and pressed the button in the middle before tossing it into the air. "Pidgey, I choose you!" The ball burst open, and Pidgey flew straight up into the air, streaking out of the bright light that came from inside the Poké Ball. "Pidgey, Gust attack!"

Facing the tornado, Pidgey began to flap its wings as hard as it could. Soon, a strong wind was soaring towards the tornado, and Pidgey's attack formed into its own tornado, but it was spiraling the opposite way as the nature-made one. The two tornadoes collided just beyond the village's entrance, and struggled for dominance. But because the winds were traveling in different directions, it was like two tops colliding into each other. Much to his surprise, his idea worked, and the two tornadoes soon began to rope out at the end, slowly at first, but then lifted off the ground and dissipated, and as did the wind.

The silence was deafening now that the wind was gone, but there was still a ringing in his ears as Pidgey fluttered down. "You did great, Pidgey. Thanks!" Ash thanked his Pokémon before recalling it into its Poké Ball. With the threat of the roof being taken off over, Bulbasaur leaped down from the roof, and looked curiously at Ash for a moment before first Brock poked his head out, then Melanie. Once they could see the coast was clear, the Pokémon spilled out as well.

"Is everyone feeling okay?" Melanie asked the Pokémon.

"I just had the wind knocked out of me," Ash joked with a grin. Beside him, Bulbasaur gave a laugh, the complete opposite look it had given Ash when they first came to the village. Crossing his arms, Ash smiled down at the Grass-type. "This village is well-protected with Bulbasaur here." Upon these words, Melanie's blue eyes turned to Ash, and she studied the boy for a moment before speaking.

"Ash, don't you agree that Bulbasaur would be an excellent addition to your team?" she asked, and he grinned at her.

"Oh, yeah! Would he ever!"

"I think Bulbasaur should go with you."

"Huh?!" Her words caused Ash's jaw to drop for the umpteenth time today, and he looked at her with raised eyebrows as she picked up the Seed Pokémon and held it in her arms, looking longingly into its eyes.

"Bulbasaur has stayed here to protect the weaker Pokémon, but this village is too small. The bulb on its back can't grow," she explained. "It needs to go out into the world now, and I know you'll take good care of it. Please do me this favor." She ripped her eyes from Bulbasaur's, and both of them turned to Ash. "Take Bulbasaur with you on your journey. He'll be a good companion."

"But what about the village?" Ash questioned.

"Yeah, who's going to protect you?" Brock added.

"It's true that Bulbasaur has done a great job, maybe too great a job," she answered, and closed her eyes sadly. "You see, these Pokémon shouldn't remain in this village forever and ever. After they recover, the Pokémon are supposed to leave, but it's too safe here, so none of them wants to go away; they don't want to return to the outside world. But I think it's important that all of them return to the wild. That's where Pokémon belong. And hopefully someday, they'll find good Trainers like you." She took a breath, and Ash could tell that even though she had a smile on her face, she was trying hard not to cry. "Of course, taking care of sick Pokémon will always be my mission, but I know my job isn't finished until they return where they came from. So it's the day a Pokémon leaves that is most rewarding to me."

"Melanie... I..." Brock started, but couldn't continue as she shook away the tear that had escaped, and smiled at Ash from beyond Bulbasaur's bulb.

"So you see, it's time for Bulbasaur to leave here. Please take it with you; it won't be a burden, I promise." She shook her head and continued. "Bulbasaur still has a lot of growing to do. I want it to be in a place where I'm sure it can grow strong and happy. I'm sure that place is with you, Ash."

Ash was quiet for a moment, but he looked at Bulbasaur and nodded. "Well, if you really want me to." However, Bulbasaur craned its neck towards the girl holding it and spoke.

"Bulba, saur." Melanie looked down and looked shocked for a moment, but then chuckled.

"What did it say?" Ash questioned.

"Bulbasaur will join you on one condition: it wants to battle you in a Pokémon match," she translated. "Right, Bulbasaur?"

"Bulba. Saur," it agreed.

The prospect of a rematch with Bulbasaur excited Ash, and he raised a determined fist. "If you want a match, you'll get it!" Stepping off to a part of the village with the most grass, everyone made room and watched closely as Ash and Bulbasaur took opposite sides of the grass, facing each other with determined looks. "Wartortle, I choose you!" Throwing his choice of Pokémon forward, the dark blue turtle Pokémon appeared in a flash of light, and recognizing Bulbasaur, it drew its brow together, gaining a look of determination similar to Ash's. Bulbasaur stood with a face set in stone and its legs close together, ready to start.

Finally, Ash began the match. "Wartortle, go!"

"War-tor!" the Water Pokémon cried, dashing forward with its feet pounding against the grass. Bulbasaur immediately reacted, and two vines reached out from under its bulb and struck out at Wartortle. The Water Pokémon jumped back and forth as each vine slapped the ground where it had been moments before, just narrowly escaping each strike. This, however, was just a distraction, as when Wartortle looked forward once again, Bulbasaur was charging at it and slammed its head into Wartortle's stomach, sending it flying backwards through the air with a loud cry. "Waaarrr!"

"Wartortle!" Ash cried as his Pokémon hit the ground and landed on its stomach. As the Pokémon struggled to get back up, its Trainer gasped. "Look out, Wartortle!" Wartortle also gasped, and tried to get onto its feet as Bulbasaur charged at it again, and used another Tackle on it, sending it spiraling through the air. This time, Wartortle had time to snap back, and landed gracefully on the ground before pushing forward and slamming into Bulbasaur with its own Tackle attack. Bulbasaur bounced like a bouncy ball off the ground as Wartortle landed, but it quickly picked itself up.

"Saur!" it grunted as it got itself back onto its feet and sent out its vines at Wartortle. The vines wrapped itself around Wartortle's midsection tightly before lifting it off the ground and slamming it down. Ash flinched as Wartortle gave a grunt of pain, and Bulbasaur lifted it again and repeated the motion over and over again.

"Vine Whip is Bulbasaur's special attack!" Brock called to Ash beside Melanie. Ash gritted his teeth, and then got an idea.

"Wartortle, Bite those vines!" Grabbing one of the vines in its hand, Wartortle pulled it towards its mouth and chomped down on it. Bulbasaur let out a cry of pain, and its grip on Wartortle loosened, giving Wartortle enough time to reach forward and grab hold of both of Bulbasaur's vines. "Wartortle! Water Gun!" On its feet now, Wartortle gave a great tug of the vines and dragged Bulbasaur towards it before taking in a deep breath. As Bulbasaur's eyes widened, the Water-type attack blasted the Grass-type square in the face for a direct attack. When the attack stopped, Bulbasaur was soaked and slumped down slightly as it attempted to breathe. Taking his opportunity, Ash whipped out an empty Poké Ball and tossed it forward. "All right! Poké Ball, go!" The red and white sphere hit Bulbasaur on the back, and sucked it inside after converting it into red energy, and it landed on the ground. Staring and willing the ball sealed, Ash watched without blinking as the ball rocked back and forth while the Pokémon inside struggled to get out. But it never did, and the button stopped flashing red and locked with a ping.

"We did it! Ash exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement, and held out his arm with two fingers up in a victory sign. "We got Bulbasaur!"

"War Wartortle!" his starter Pokémon stated, copying the pose its Trainer was doing. And as Ash went over to collect the Poké Ball on the ground, Melanie was happy, but couldn't hide the look of sadness behind her mask.

"Bulbasaur, I'll miss you..."

o 0 o

After one last meal courtesy of Brock and Melanie, the pair were facing the blue-haired girl outside her cabin. Standing in front of all her Pokémon, Ash and Brock both donned their backpacks, and were ready to head off. Beside Ash, Bulbasaur stood beside its new Trainer, looking happy and sad at the same time.

"Have a safe trip," Melanie wished them.

"I promise to take good care of Bulbasaur," Ash told her firmly.

Melanie kneeled down, and she petted the top of the Seed Pokémon's head while giving it a warm smile. "Bulbasaur, thank you for watching over us." It was clear she was having a hard time trying to hold back her tears. Bulbasaur sensed this as well, and gave an utter of concern, but she stood up. As she did, Brock approached her with a blush slowly reddening his tan complexion.

"Uh, Melanie, I-I've been thinking.."

"Yes?"

"Since Bulbasaur is leaving, I wouldn't mind staying and helping you out." But Melanie smiled back.

"It's very kind of you, but we'll be okay," she said, giving him a wide grin. "I wouldn't want to keep you from all of your wonderful adventures."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess you're right," Brock replied, and though his tone was happy, the way his head hung showed he was disappointed. And with that, they headed towards the exit of the village from where they had come from.

"Good-bye, Melanie!" Ash called, giving a wave back at the girl.

"Good-bye! Good luck!" she cried back, waving as well. At her feet, the Pokémon were all smiling cheerfully, and Oddish was waving its leaves back and forth in its own way of saying good-bye.

"Bulbasaaaauuuurrr..." Bulbasaur uttered beside Ash, looking back at the Hidden Village residents as they walked away.

"Don't worry, Bulbasaur. You'll see your friends again," Ash assured his new Pokémon. "As soon as the Pokémon feel better, they'll leave this village, too."

Bulbasaur gave a low response of agreement, and gave one last look behind it as Melanie called out:

"Take good care of each other! Buh-bye!"

Ash:

Party:

Wartortle (Poké Ball)

Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Water Gun, Bite

Pidgey (Poké Ball)

Moves: Gust, Sand-Attack, Whirlwind, Quick Attack

Bulbasaur (Poké Ball)

Moves: Tackle, Vine Whip

Badges:

Boulder Badge

Cascade Badge

Brock:

Party:

Onix (Poké Ball)

Moves: Tackle, Bind, Dig

Geodude (Poké Ball)

Moves: Seismic Toss, Tackle

Zubat (Poké Ball)

Moves: Whirlwind, Supersonic