Author's Note:
Here it is, the intro of Ash's best crab and the continuation of the exploration of the Dewford island. This is pretty similar to the anime episode, but I hope you like what I've done with Corphish's personality. I tried to make him true to the anime counterpart, but I had a few ideas of my own that I wanted to play with. Disclaimer here, I am imagining Corphish with a Jamaican accent after a certain other crab from a movie in the past, but language is complicated and actually writing it would probably offend someone with my... less than, fluentness in said accent, so just imagine it when reading his stuff. Last chapter, I also mentioned the battle between Hitmontop & Serena and while I did write it (two versions actually) I ultimately decided to have it happen off screen because both versions (one from Serena's pov & one from Hitmontop's) just felt too repetitive. We will see the aftermath of it, though. Also, the first scene back at the ranch for Hoenn, hope you like it. Don't forget to vote in the poll and with that, let's begin
Chapter fourteen: Gone Corphishing
Corphish slurped up his seaweed as he looked out at the deep-sea floor ahead. He was sat at a cliff edge with several other water types, the locals he believed. As a traveller, he never stayed in one place long enough to know who was local where. A couple Kingler's appeared to be on a date, sharing their own meal, whilst a swarm of child-Horsea were on the far side in a would be play area.
His attention, much like the more masculine Pokémon sat around the cliff edge. A Golduck, Tentacruel, Gyarados, Feraligatr and Octillery were the one's he recognised. At the creator of the cliff were some performing women. A singing Milotic and two dancing Gorebyss. This is the life.
It didn't take him long to finish the meal and he waited until the current performance finished. While he'd love to hang around, maybe pick up some company to spend the night, he knew this sort of establishment all too well. The regular's would start a brawl when the shows over and even then, the guards for the performers are much tougher. While not one to back down from a fight, he won't partake in one if not needed.
Taking his leave, he walked across the ocean floor. The orange sun above the water surface showed he still had plenty of time to explore before night fell and he needed to find a place to rest. As he wondered, a force hit him from behind and knocked him sideways. Dazed, he shook his head and saw Wailmer
"Hey Corphish! I've been looking for you all day!" the large water type squealed, "where have ya been?"
He met this guy when he first reached the local community. It wasn't intentional, by any means. He might've tried to play a trick on the big guys father and after being blasted away by the large Pokémon's blow hole, which he might've tried to plug up, he was sent flying... it was pretty fun in the moment.
"Here and there, ya know," he shrugged, "so what's new?"
"Nothing much," he rolled his eyes, "the local Sharpedo gang are back so we're back on a curfew as well. Why can't they just leave and never return."
"The life of a traveller isn't for everyone," he concealed, giving a comforting pat on the big guys side, "hey bud, how about you help me with my next step of the adventure."
"Huh?" Wailmer asked, "what do you mean?"
"I normally just go where the current takes me," he explained, "but like your father did yesterday, I could get some real distance with help from your water spout. It would guide me to where I should go next on this wild adventure, we call life."
"Alright," he shrugged.
With a bright smile on his face, he swam-walked up onto the pure water types top. Standing straight over the blowhole, he began trembling in excitement as he felt the pressure build up underneath. Without much warning, he was shot high into the air, easily breaking the water surface, and gaining more air.
He even saw a Pelipper flying by... he seemed surprised to see him up there.
As he soared over the ocean, he looked ahead towards his next destination. It appeared to be a large island. Not that he really minded, after month's in the ocean, it'll be nice to be back on land for a bit. He never ventured to far from the ocean, but islands made for some great sights and adventures.
Realising he was going to land no in the safety of water but the hard ground, his eyes widened. Quickly aiming his claws down at the angel, he was falling, he launched out a double spew of bubble beams. It seemed to slight relieve his speed, but he still face planted in the dirt. Pushing himself up and spitting out a flower that stuck in his mouth, he shakily regained his footing. Turning around, he saw the skid mark in the floor.
"That's got to be ten meters," he thought to himself.
His attention, however, was forced towards a brush which his bubble beams would've shot through. A large, light purple Pokémon with two massive ears popped out. As it turned around, he confirmed it was a Loudred... he never liked them. It also appeared to be very angry. With his eyes bursting out of his head, he leaped to the side as the loud Pokémon stormed towards him.
He didn't appear to be smart, however, as he just trampled forward and didn't try to attack him. Sighing in relief, he set off across the island. As he travelled across the land, nothing really stood out. Maybe that Loudred's noise scared off the locals. Soon the sun set, and the bright moon covered the night sky. Trying to find a place to rest, something caught his attention.
A campfire.
Moving closer to investigate, he found a series of three tents set up next to a small pond. A human girl with medium length blonde hair was kneeled next to the water source. Peeking through the bush he was hiding in, he saw her conversing with a Feebas, not that he could make out any actual words. Eventually, she stood up and looked around at all the other Pokémon scattered around. With a smile on her face, she made her way inside one of the tents.
Looking around, he took in the sight of all the Pokémon. High in the trees were a Taillow, Murkrow and Crobat, each roosting on a separate branch. A Treecko was also resting in a tree, leaning against the trunk as he looked up into the sky. Two Pokémon on the floor were still running around, a Poochyena and he thinks it's a Phanpy... there was an island of Donphan he visited but only saw their young ones for a split second. Wait. Some sort of ghost emerged out of thin air, startling the two running Pokémon. The rest seemed to be lying down and while he didn't reconisgn nearly all of them, most he did.
A smirk formed on his face as he sunk back into the bush. What's the best way to make new friends? Play together. And oh boy, does he know how to play.
Ash stretched as he stood up in the tent. The two sleeping backs unzipped and one laid on top of the other. Happy that he was dressed for bed, he walked to the tent's entrance and popped his head out. All their Pokémon were spread out between the tents, sleeping outside on the clear stary night. He turned his attention towards the nearby pond where Serena was sat with her Feebas swimming around. Closing his eyes, he focused his inner monologue.
"You ready?" he asked. Opening his eyes, he saw her turn towards him. A smile on her lips, she stood up and quickly approached the tent. He went to walk out to give her chance to change into her own nightwear, but she raised a hand. Using a little ESP to shove him back inside, as she followed suit.
"And where do you think you're going, mister?" she mentally asked with a flirtatious tone. The corner of her lips flicking up in a smile, and with another shove, he landed on their sleeping bags in a defenceless position. Following through she straddled over him and loosely rested her arms on his shoulders.
"D-don't you need to get ready for bed?" he asked.
"I do," she smirked, "but after the battle with Hitmontop I really need to relax a bit first."
Before he could ask what, she meant, she reached to the bottom of her golden top, pulling it up and over her head. His eyes almost bulged out of his head as tried to focus on her face, although his eyes flicked down towards her bra covered chest. He tried to swallow but his mouth was completely dry. She raised her hand to her mouth and chuckled lightly at his presumably burning cheeks.
"Do you remember that battle we had back in Johto? After the whole thing Raikou thing?" she asked. Occupying his lips with her own.
"Y-yeah," he stuttered.
"And I'm guessing you remember the way you made up for the whole lose control of your aura thing?" she asked, not letting up on her flurry of kisses.
"Uh huh," he replied, absentmindedly. Loosing himself in her show off affection. His hands reached around to her back, pulling her into a hug as they moved around in a random manner. He almost matched her pace as he learnt her rhythm.
He froze, completely stopping in his tracks.
His hands slowly dropped, brushing past the bra strap as his eyes opened. His girlfriend didn't seemed bothered by his sudden halt as her eyes were closed and she continued to press her lips against his, but he stopped for a reason... he could've sworn he heard her purr between kisses. Slowly, she pulled back.
"Well... that was nice whilst it lasted," she whispered, leaning forward to rub her nose against his, "but as I was saying. After the battle with Hitmontop, I would really appreciate another massage."
"I-I-"
"I know you don't have much experience but if you let me, I'll use my ESP to pass on tips on how to do it properly," she explained, her hands subtly making their way onto his shoulders, carefully massaging them, "and then... when you're tired after a hard day training. I'll be more than happy to return the favour."
"A-alright," he sighed.
"Great!" she gave a small cheer, leaning forward to peck his lips once more. Sliding to one side, she laid down on her stomach, resting her head on her crossed arms. He took a deep breath as he looked down. With only her green denim shorts on, he had to try extra hard to focus on anything else. Her soothing voice appeared in his head, "now just straddle me and start on my shoulders like last time."
Tentatively, he kneeled beside her and reached down, placing his hands on her shoulders. Rubbing his thumbs into the back of her shoulders, he just did the same basic movements that he did last time. He wasn't sure if it was right or not, but Serena's moans of relaxation seemed to indicate it was correct.
"Ashy... you still need to straddle me," she groaned.
"W-why do I have to?" he stuttered.
"Because I asked you too, having my big strong boy friend covering me would make me feel safer," she replied, "but if you want a reason for the massage, you won't need to strain to reach over and make it easier."
Sighing in defeat he cautiously moved on leg over, so he ended up straddling her. At least a certain part of her was no-longer in view and drawing his attention.
"So... how did your battle with Hitmontop go?" he asked, trying incredibly hard not to lose his cool with her.
"It was exhausting. I was able to restrict every attack he tried on me, but he just wouldn't give up," she explained, "it was pretty repetitive looking back but really tiring... we also learnt he's pretty powerless against a psychic type that might try that. So, we're gonna look into a dark or bug move to help."
"Well, at least you had fun," he replied, "while I met Brawly, he's the Dewford gym leader. He came over to me and Sakura during trainer."
"Oh, how was he?" she asked, relaxing, "ooh, and you can move onto my lower back please."
He slowly let go of her shoulders and moved his hands down to her lower back. Cautiously grabbing either side and entering a similar pattern of massage as before, he swallowed hard at the sound she made in response, "h-he's some sort of personal trainer. He offered to give me a proper workout routine to do when training with the guys. He said he'll have it ready when I challenge him at the gym."
"Hmm, that's nice," she purred. An image appeared in his mind of himself but with larger muscles on his shoulders and arms, along with a six-pack of abs over his stomach. He looked down at what he knew was the source, Serena's inner mind, "that's a dangerous image to put in my mind, Ashy. Especially when we're in this sort of position."
He tried to reply but couldn't voice any words.
"But you should know, Ashy, I told May about our abilities. She was fine with it and even watched the battle with Hitmontop," she continued, "and she knows about the danger we might encounter. She pointed out that all trainer's face danger, but she said she might not run in with us."
"That's fine with me," he admitted, his voice cracking as he continue to massage her lower back.
A silence fell over the two of them as he kept trying to give her the best massage that he could. Every so often, she would moan or groan, which only made his heart beat harder against his chest and force his muscles to retract.
Loud cries echoed from outside. His hands stopped as Serena pushed herself up and turned her head. They stared at each other for a brief moment before he scrambled to climb off, stumbling over his own feet as he tried to get outside and find out what was going on.
Making his way out, he saw the others following suit. Serena appeared behind him, pulling his shirt black shirt which she's been wearing at night. Mentally sighing in relief, he took in the sight ahead. A lot of the Pokémon were running around in a panic while those that could, were flapping, clearly trying to spot something. Treecko was leaping around, launching out a burst of bullet seeds but it wasn't obvious what he trying to hit. Pikachu and Sylveon were at the centre of the chaos, both in battle stances with cheeks sparking and feelers raised, respectively.
"Crobat, use Uproar!" Brock shouted.
The poison flying type flew up over all the Pokémon. Shaking in the air, an echoing soundwave vibrated out from him and covered the entire campsite. Slowly all the Pokémon calmed down, with Duskull being the last to stop completely. Mareepishly looking around, a massive sweat drop on his head.
"What happened?" he asked.
"We were attacked," Treecko growled, anger written in his narrowed eyes as he approached a nearby tree, "I didn't see what, but it attacked from afar."
"It was probably some wild Pokémon," Ash sighed, "but we need to be on guard. It could come back if we're not careful."
"Maybe we should have the Pokémon keep watch out throughout the night," Serena suggested, "it'll be too dangerous to pack up camp and try to move now."
"But you should take it in pairs. And if you feel like you're getting tired then swap out," Brock added.
"I'll take first watch," Treecko declared, jumping to climb the tree. Resting on a branch as he over watched the campsite, "and I'll be fine."
"As a ghost, I'm use to staying up all night," Duskull opted, floating up to meet the grass type, "so I can keep you company."
Despite not verbally replying to him, it was clear Treecko wasn't too thrilled at the offer. He sat on the branch, ignoring the ghost as his rolled the twig around his mouth some more. Not discouraged, however, his pure ghost type just started circling around the tree in a playful manner.
"Well if you need help or anything then don't hesitate to get one of us," he called up to his two Pokémon. Duskull gave a thumbs up but Treecko barely even acknowledged him.
Looking around at everyone else, the Pokémon began to settle once more. Everyone made their way back into the respective tents, but Serena had him wait outside a little longer as she finished changing into her nightwear. Guess that little distraction saved him before she pushed the massage any further.
It's not that he didn't enjoy giving her a massage. It's just it's hard to trust himself with how his body has been reacting to her, as of late. Not to mention, she seems to take great pleasure in teasing and testing him every chance she gets. Of course, back at the slow dance she made it clear that she wasn't mad or anything but why keep teasing? Is this her own development or something?
Ash blinked awake and smiled at the sight before him. His lovely blonde girlfriend was curled up into a ball on top of him with her head resting on his shoulder and a small trail of drool was escaping out the corner of her mouth. Light breathing soothing against his neck.
Chuckling to himself, he cautiously used his thumb to wipe it away. Knowing how embarrassed she'd get about such a thing. Placing his lips against her forehead, he held it for a few seconds before whispering into her ear, "hey babe, it's time to get up."
"Huh?" she groggily blinked awake, "what time is it?"
"Not sure," he admitted, "but the suns up already and I wanna check on the others after last night."
"Okay..." she replied, sliding to the side, "if that's what you want to do then. Go and check and I'll get changed, then we can swap spots."
Nodding in agreement, he gave her a swift peck on the lips before standing up and making his way outside of the tent. Looking around the site, he noticed several shadows within the other tents indicating they weren't the only one's up. As he scanned the floor, he saw most of the other Pokémon asleep, as he looked up towards the tree, he even saw Duskull sleeping with a massive sleep bubble out of his... nose? Although Treecko was leaning against the top of the trunk with his eyes scanning the surrounding area. The twig still swirling around in his mouth. Their eyes locked and he leaped down towards him.
"How are you this morning?" he asked.
"Fine," he replied, "I saw some movement out on the beach, but I can't be certain it was the same one from last night. We should be ready in case it attacks."
"Alright but maybe you should get some sleep," he suggested, "I'm gonna get the others up so staying awake would just be bad for you. Thanks for staying up, though."
Nodding to respond, he disappeared into a red light. Ash smiled at the serious Pokémon and put the device away. Looking around, he slowly started to wake the others up and set out bowls for Pokémon food. Brock and Max were next out of the tents and they set to work on making a campfire, preparing breakfast, with Serena exiting the tent in her usual attire. As she took over preparing the Pokémon food, he made his way back inside the tent to change.
He was almost finished when a loud crash could be heard. Hurrying outside he saw a scene of total chaos. Poochyena, Torchic, Phanpy, Duskull, Cacnea, Dugtrio and Stantler were all running around, through up a thin trail of dust. His ground type was about to smash into Brock's Lotad, who pushed him back with a surprisingly large water gun.
High in the air, Murkrow was crazily flying around Taillow, who was still, watching the chaos below with narrowed eyes, clearly looking for the cause. Crobat and Beautifly, were higher up, trying to call out and calm everyone down.
Not listening to the fully evolved flying types, his determined bird dived straight down and ended up smashing into Hitmontop, who was thrashing around in all directions. Nearby he saw similar close combats between Sudowoodo and Granbull. Even both Silcoon and Cascoon were fighting. Two powerful forces collided in the middle of the chaos, with the implosion pushing everyone back. It was revealed to be a blast of psychic and fairy wind between Sylveon and Espeon.
As the commotion settled, he saw Feebas and Marill hiding out in the nearby pond, clear scared expressions on their faces. Brock was holding his Slakoth, with Max cowering behind his leg, as May cowered behind Sakura. Pikachu was on all fours with cheeks sparking, as he looked over at where he was watching.
Shaking it's head and looking around, a red-shelled, crustacean Pokémon with a short tail narrowed its saucer-like eyes, which had small pupils. It had three spikes on top of its head. It possessed four pairs of limbs in total: two large pincer claws, which opened and slammed shut in an aggressive manner, with three pairs of legs holding him up. The upper segments of its legs, the underside of its body, and lower halves of its pincers are cream-coloured.
"It's a Corphish!" Max declared, "from what I've read, they're mischievous and like to cause trouble for others!"
It looked around as many of the larger Pokémon joined in, surrounding the new Pokémon. He cast a glance around and slowly backed up as the others surrounded him. Opening his claw, he quickly launched out a bubble beam burst, which struck Torchic.
Crying out in pain, he leaped up and shot out a barrage of embers. They spewed over most of the crowd, who also cried out.
Soon a series of poison stings from both of the pure bug types joined in. With others running around, restarting the chaos.
A powerful blast of lightening shot into the air, bringing everyone to a stop. As the dust settled, however, Corphish was no-where to be seen.
Sighing in defeat, they finished setting up breakfast and regrouped at the morning meal. They sat down and dug in with an a thick atmosphere filling the area, not even the Pokémon were conversing. Eventually, May was the first to speak up.
"I take it that we're heading straight off from here?" she asked, a hopeful tinge in her tone.
"We can't," Ash replied, "for all we know, Corphish considers this entire island his home. It could just keep following us and it wouldn't be fair for one of us to stay up every night until it gives up. If it ever will."
"So, what do you suggest we do instead?" she asked.
"I'm... not sure," he admitted, "but we need to think of something."
"Why don't we all come up with plans and we can discuss them after we've eaten," Brock suggested, "besides, it's not like this is the first troublesome wild Pokémon we've run into. Right Ash and Serena."
"Even Poochyena was a little bit of a troublemaker, remember," May added.
Nodding in agreement, they settled back down and finished their meal. Ash's mind tried to come up with a plan on how to handle this situation, but he quickly had a thought that came to mind. Inwardly smiling, he figured the best way to handle a Pokémon like this would be like he did with Noctowl back in Ilex forest. A strong water type would make a great addition to his team.
Ash sighed and looked around at the campsite, everything having been put back in place. He took his hat off and wiped his forehead as his team began to gather and group in front of him. Putting the cap back on his head, he looked around to see his friends closing in as well.
"Are we going to set off or what?" May asked, "I still think that's our best bet."
"But we can't be sure that leaving will solve that issue," Serena noted, "some Pokémon are very determined and it could continue to chase us until it gets what it wants, and we don't even have the slightest idea what that could be."
"Serena's right," Brock added, "with packs or flocks, they are easier to understand. They need to feed all their members so it's usually about food, supplies or territory. But because Corphish is acting alone, it could be after any of those or some weird other agender specific to itself."
"So, what should we do, then?" Sakura asked, crossing her arms, and narrowing her eyes.
"We should set up a base and study it," Max suggested, "that would be our best chance at learning what it wants. Unfortunately, the only thing I read about Corphish before was that they are tricksters and tend to live alone in the wild because their tricks pushes everyone away."
"That could be what's happened here and we're just the latest target of his tricks," Ash sighed, "but I doubt studying it would help us now."
"What would you suggest then?" Max asked.
"I think I know," Serena shook her head, a smile spread across her lips, "you want to catch it."
"Of course," he smiled, "if I can catch Corphish, not only will it solve our problem, but it'll stop the little guy from attacking anyone else."
Gathering around, he relayed his current plan for what he wanted to do. Clearing out a big training area, Serena and May set up their own training session as Pikachu and Granbull joined in. Sakura and her Espeon and Azumarill joined in. Taillow, Duskull and Sakura's Beautifly hid among the tree's ready to act as look out. While Ash, Phanpy and Treecko stood by, ready to leap into action at the first sign of trouble. Brock and Max set up their stuff a little further away, out of the marked-out battlefield.
It didn't take long for Duskull to re-emerge and reveal Taillow saw the blow of sand approaching. Looking ahead he saw the direction that it was coming from and instruct Phanpy to match it with a rollout. Having already set up a defence curl, he shot off as the group ended their training session. He smashed into the moving earth pile and knocked Corphish out of. Landing on his side, as Phanpy recoiled back, landing next to him.
His Treecko leaped forward, landing on one knee. Casting a glance back, he saw a glint in the grass type's eye. With a swift throw, he planted the twig by Ash's feet. Stand back up and facing Corphish, who snapped his claws in an offensive manner.
"I'll handle him," the wood gekko declared, "no-one threatens my group and gets away with it."
Corphish yelled something which Ash knew he shouldn't repeat. Smirking, he narrowed his eyes ready for the battle.
Both claws opened and two streams of high-speed bubbles followed. Quickly covering the ground between them.
Treecko countered with his own Bullet Seed. Although because he had to spit it between the two streams of bubble beam, it was quickly overpowered, despite his type of advantage. They continued forward and struck the ground where Treecko once stood... but he wasn't there any longer.
He appeared running alongside the streams, blinking from one side to the other. Stopping right in front of him, he swung his tail around, whacking Corphish.
The water type prevented being sent flying, however, clamping a claw down on the tail. Landing back on his legs, he sent Treecko flying sideways.
Opening his claws, he sent two high powered jets of water out. It struck his wood gekko Pokémon and blasted him into a nearby tree.
As the water guns faded, the pure grass type was no longer visible. He wasn't against the tree or even in sight. Although his impact on the trunk was.
A series of yellow bullets shot out of a nearby bush, causing Corphish to stammer backwards. Shaking his head, the water type launched a double bubble beam into the bush. Blowing the shrubbery apart, once again Ash's grass type was no-where to be seen.
Corphish quick spun towards a rustling bush and destroyed that as well. Revealing, once again, to not be hiding the wood gekko.
Treecko appeared by leaping from over the water type, going from side to side. He absorbed several balls of energy as he made a dive towards the pond where Serena left Feebas the previous night. A massive splash of water covered him.
The pure water type shook himself and turned towards the pond as the water settled. Clear anger written on his face, he stormed over and dived in.
"Oh no, Corphish has a clear advantage when fighting in the water," he heard Max call out. Although Ash smirked, subtly glancing up to a tree.
Treecko dived from the branch, revealing himself once more. Swinging his tail overhead, he smashed into the water and sent walls up either side, forcing their opponent out. A startled expression on his face as he soar over the grass type's head.
With a deep breath, he launched out another spew of bullet seeds. Knocking the water type backwards, he landed flat on his side as Treecko used the force from his tail to bounce back onto dry land. Entering another battle stance as he watched, ready for another round.
"Go Pokéball!" Ash shouted, tossing an empty Pokéball through the air.
It struck Corphish and the red light engulfed him completely. Landing on the ground, it began shaking back and forth. In one of the most violent rejections to a capture Ash could remember seeing. After nearly a minute, it dinged, coming to a stop on the ground.
Smiling at the successful capture, he walked over and picked it up off the ground. The bubbling excitement of catching a new Pokémon after a good battle shot through his veins as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his Pokedex to scan:
Corphish, The Ruffian Pokémon. Corphish catches prey with its sharp claws. It has no likes or dislikes when it comes to food—it will eat anything. This Pokémon has no trouble living in filthy water.
Type: Water
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Hidden Ability: Adaptability (Note: This hidden ability is currently locked)
Gender: Male
Nature: Naughty
Move(s): Water Gun, Harden, Vice Grip, Leer, Taunt, Bubble Beam, Knock Off, Double Hit, Protect,
Suddenly, Ash's Pokedex started vibrating and the screen lit up with images of all of his current on hand Pokémon. Pikachu, Phanpy, Granbull, Duskull, Taillow, Treecko and Corphish. Although all of them were blacked out, except for Corphish, since all of them were still out.
"Please select which Pokémon you wish to send back." The device requested.
He knew that he planned on using Granbull, Taillow and Duskull in his battle against Brawly, so he wanted to keep them all and if only to be fair, he felt like he should keep his Hoenn caught Pokémon. With a heavy sigh, he reached to his belt and pulled off a Pokéball. Walking over to his ground type, he kneeled down next to him with a small smile on his face.
"Hey Phanpy, sorry to do this but I need to send you back to the lab for a bit," he apologised, "but look at it this way, you'll get to see Togetic and the others."
"Okie-dokie," he replied, forcing a smile on his face.
"And be ready because I might need you for another gym battle," he smiled, "Max mentioned their being both a fire and electric leaders in Hoenn."
Tapping him on the head with the device, he was engulfed by a red light. Shrinking it in his hand, he turned back to the device, where Phanpy's image had lit up. With a moment's pause, he tapped the image and felt the ground type's Pokéball teleport out of his hand. This was the worst part of new captures.
Standing up and put his device away, he turned to see everyone slowly approaching him. Max was the first to reach him with eyes wide and a massive smile on his face. Seeing his child-like excitement was a little nostalgic for the Pallet native. He reminded Ash of himself back before he was a trainer.
"What I don't get is, how did Treecko go from underwater to up into the tree?" Max asked.
"He never went into the water," Ash answered, "I saw the tree above rustle, confirming my suspicions but when he hit the water, he used his tail to leap upwards and gain height. The splash of water covered him and because Corphish was recovering from his absorb, he didn't notice either."
"Treecko was pretty cool," May admitted, "it was like he was back at home in Petalburg forest."
"It was totally awesome! You didn't even need to give Treecko a command!" Max yelled, "he was just like, pew pew, swoosh! And defeated Corphish."
"I trusted that Treecko could handle himself," Ash smiled, as he watched the grass type pick up his twig once more, "while Taillow is a bigger battler, you need to remember he spent weeks protecting the Pokémon of Petalburg woods. That takes some serious strategizing and training."
His wood gekko Pokémon gave a small nod to acknowledge the praise.
"Now we still have plenty of time left in the day," he smiled, "how about we return to training? I'm gonna heal up Corphish and get to know him a bit."
With everyone nodding in agreement, they set off to do their own thing. Pikachu got to work with Granbull, once more, helping her build her physical strength while Taillow and Duskull moved into the air for mid-air combat training. Treecko opted to work out in solitude, building physical strength.
Ash took his seat and enlarged his newly activated Pokéball in his hand. Releasing his newly caught water type, he slide his backpack off and got to work healing Corphish. He slowly blinked awake and looked up at the raven-haired boy, he put on a friendly expression to greet him.
"Hey there, Corphish," he smiled, "nice to meet you. I'm Ash and-"
"I only have one question," he cut the boy off. He was surprised by the thick accent that he spoke in, although he couldn't quite recognising where it belonged to. It wasn't a region he's travelled to or Kalos, after all he remembered Serena's accent when she first moved to Kanto, "you don't just hang out on this one island, do you?"
"Huh?" he replied, not expecting that of all questions.
"This one island," Corphish clarified, "it's not your home or whatever, or your basic base that you stay in?"
"N-no," he stuttered, "we're travelling the Hoenn region. I'm competing in the Hoenn league but we're just exploring this island for training and stuff before I battle the islands gym leader."
"Okay, cool," he nodded, standing up and looking around, "so one more thing. What sort of grub do you keep around here?"
Phanpy shook himself as he materialised on the cool metal floor. That professor man runs the ranch was stood in front of him. It didn't take him long to figure out that Ash must've sent him here. While he wanted to believe it's because Granbull would be in the next gym but there was also a nagging thought at the back of his head. His ears flopped down, and his head followed suit.
"Good to see you again, Phanpy," he smiled, "I bet the others will be happy to see you. Especially Togetic."
Peaking up at the mention of his big brother. A small smile formed on his face as he turned around. Walking out of the room, he slowly trotted along the wooden floor. The smell of fresh, cool, Kantonian air leading his way. While he likes spending time with his trainer and his new friends, like Duskull, Hoenn itself is very very hot, the hottest place he's ever been. He isn't a massive fan of the heat, he decided.
Reaching the stairs, he cautiously went to step down but realised to late that his legs weren't long enough. Slipping forward, he instinctively curled up into a ball as he bounced down the stairs, unable to control where he went. The ride only lasted a few seconds, as he landed on something squidgy... definitely squidgy.
Uncurling from his position, he found himself lying on some purple sludge pile, wiggling around, he found Muk smiling down on him. "cuddle?" Muk asked as he engulfed him with his large body. The ground type couldn't help but laugh at the ticklish show of affection.
Standing the floor after the gesture, he shook himself clean of any sludge that might've still been on his body. Watching the pure poison type sliver away, he sighed in peace before that nagging thought from before returned. His head drooping down once more, he continued down the corridor to the back door. He pushed his way through the flap door, he stumbled out onto his stomach as he landed on the shaded patio overlooking the ranch.
Stammering back to his feet, he took in the sight before him. High in the air he saw Charizard locked in an aerial battle against Aerodactyl. Not wanting to watch, he scanned the floor. Dragonite was at the large lake, along with most of the water types between Ash and Serena's teams. Scanning the ranch, he saw some sort of race between Tauros and an Arcanine. With the final sight being the large rock-land training area. Several Pokémon could be seen, even Snorlax as he sent a Nidoking flying. Beside him was the large grass poison type, who glanced towards him.
"Phanpy, good to see you again," Venusaur greeted, "I take it things are going well in Hoenn?"
"Hi, Uncle Venusaur," he greeted, "and things are good in Hoenn. I've made some new friends, like Duskull. He's funny."
"Ah, yes. The new ghost Ash caught," he nodded, "Meganium mention him, but not so much about him being funny. More inappropriate."
"He can be both," Phanpy pouted.
"Yes, he can," Venusaur nodded, sending out a single razor leaf high into the air, "so who else has he caught? Tell me about the new team members since I haven't had a chance to meet them myself."
"Well after Duskull, he caught Taillow," Phanpy replied, "she's scary... like Aerodactyl or Charizard, but scarier."
"She's scarier than those two?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow up.
"I've never battled them... or lost," he explained, "and she threw me into a river. It was scary."
"Well... I wasn't expecting that," he admitted, "so what about the others?"
"Well there's Treecko, he's cool. Like a cowboy from one of those movies Uncle Pikachu watches," he explained, "he's even got this twig in mouth and hardly talks but he's real cool. I like Treecko."
"Your uncle Pikachu watches a lot of movies, not just old westerns," Venusaur chuckled, "so is that it?"
"Well he was trying to catch some sort of water type Pokémon. I think he did it because that's why I'm here now," he shrugged, "I don't know much about them, though, only that they attacked us last night and earlier today."
"Wild Pokémon attack for all different reasons," he explained, "sometimes it's over territory or to protect their family. Sometimes it's their own sense of defence, should they feel threatened or cornered and sometimes they are looking for their own trainer or just want to have a battle."
Nodding in understanding, the pure ground type sighed as his minded wondered back towards the team in Hoenn. The nagging thought from before returned as his ears drooped once again. A sparkling blur caught his attention out of the corner of his eye and disrupted his thoughts.
"Little brother!" a high-pitched voice squealed. Turning to the source, he found Togetic shooting straight towards him. Tackling him, they rolled backwards, and he landed on his back with his big brother floating above, "when did you get here?"
"Just now, big brother," Phanpy smiled, wiggling back onto his legs, "but how did you know to come over?"
"That would be me," Venusaur spoke up, "remember that single leaf I launched into the air. Well I've created several signals to alert the Pokémon on the ranch and that particular one was for Togetic to come over for a chat. He's become a part of the team that helps keep the peace around the ranch, after all."
"Right! And when I saw you talking with uncle Venusaur I doubled down on my speed!" Togetic added, "come on, we got loads to catch up on!"
"Have fun you two," Venusaur smiled, settling back down on the patio, "and Togetic, don't worry about respond to outbreaks. I know you've missed him so if needed myself and Pidgeot can handle any incidents that might occur."
Walking down the grassy hill, the warm Kantonian sun touched his skin. While refreshing from the cool breeze which chilled him in the shade of the lab, he is just glad it's not that horrid, humid heat in Hoenn. That's the worst part of the region by far. Despite being happy at seeing his big brother again, Phanpy slowly began falling behind the fairy flying type in his trotting across the grassy ranch.
"What's the matter, little brother?" Togetic asked, facing him fully, causing him to stop, "aren't you feeling well?"
"No... it's not that," he sighed, "it's just... doesn't matter. Where are we going?"
"We're staying right here," Togetic insisted, "until you tell me what's wrong. If you're not feeling unwell then... did someone hurt, you? If they did then-"
"No, no. No one hurt me," he shook his head, "I... can't explain it. It'll sound weird."
"That's alright, everyone is a little bit weird," Togetic replied, "so explain to me. Maybe that will make it seem less weird."
"Alright so... I guess it started when we met Taillow, but I didn't notice it," he explained, "she really tough and stopped my rollout with her bare legs."
"Wow, this Taillow must be some super large and strong-"
"Actually, she's just a little bird," Phanpy cut him off, "but she's also really scary. When we tried to catch her, she even threw me into a river!"
"How dare she do that!" Togetic yelled, swooping down to engulf him in a hug, "no-body hurts my little brother! No one! When I see her I'll-"
"Calm down big brother," he insisted, "she didn't do it after she was caught... but she is still quite scary. Ash also kept asking her to be nicer."
"That's good," Togetic calmed down, "at least daddy was taking care of you. So why are you upset?"
"Because the first gym battle was a three on three, and against a rock type person," Phanpy explained, "Ash went with me, Taillow and Treecko. Both Taillow and Treecko went first and won their battles but... I was taken down pretty easily in my battle. I was meant to be the powerhouse since Ash brought me along to Hoenn. Like uncle Pikachu or aunt Granbull but instead-"
"Oh... so your upset that you lost?" he asked, to which the small ground type nodded, "okay, then I know what we need to do!"
"What's that, big brother?" he asked.
"We're gonna do some super-duper, special training!" he declared, raising up into the air with each word, "and then you'll be ready whenever you go back and can show that Taillow a thing or two."
"You'll help be train?" Phanpy asked, eyes shimmering.
"Of course, that's what big brother's are for!" Togetic declared, "let's head over to the training ground. I bet grampa Tauros will have some great training advice. He might even have a new move you could work on learning!"
She sighed and leaned back. Sat on a grass bank overlooking a river through the wooded area north of Rustboro city. Overlooking a wide bank, an old fishing rod was sat in her hands, as the rusted bobber floated in the water. Beside her sat Tentacruel, whose stoically watched the water as well.
It's been about a week since her mission at Devon corporation. While they've been hiding out between the city and mountains, she hasn't been sure what to make of everyone. At first, she was scared of making friends with her fellow grunts because of the whole investigation. Despite Lance's insistence that it was needed, only those with friends can gather full information. When she took on this job, it felt it would be fun and a nice way to help out. She has to admit that when looking at the reasons Aqua do what they do, she agrees with them. It's only the methods which are wrong but-
"Hey there, missy," a booming voice appeared behind her. A discrete glance to her side revealed Matt. The large man taking a seat next to her. She couldn't bring herself to properly interact and turned her attention back to the river, "man, you've been visiting this lake almost every day since we set up camp."
"Did we get our next mission?" she asked quietly.
"No, not yet," he shook his head, "but movements of our adversaries, Team Magma, have put us on high alert. That's why we can't leave on that trip to help build your team. Sorry but as soon as we get the clear, we'll be off, and I'll keep my promise."
She stayed silent as she focused on the bobber slowly bouncing in the water. Part of her was glad that her cover for joining was a street kid who kept herself to herself. It meant that she could blank most of them without question. If only she could have more than just Tentacruel with her. She really misses some of her other Pokémon, who are with Rudy back at the Cerulean gym. He's acting as gym leader until she returns to take the position... finally.
The bobber pulled under water. Acting as quickly as she could, she grabbed the wooden rod and began pulling as hard as she could.
As she reeled the rod up, the sight of a fish Pokémon hooked on the end caught her eye. It's body was covered in tiny, sharp denticles. The top half of its spherical body was dark-ish blue, while the bottom half was red with yellow, four-pointed star below it's mouth. It had two yellow dorsal fins above its eyes, and a matching pelvic fin on its belly. It's pectoral fins were also yellow. The caudal fin was composed of two red spines with a thin yellow membrane stretched between them. It jumped off the line and landed in the water, staring daggers at her and Tentacruel, who moved in front.
"A Carvanha?" Matt commented, "guess this is your lucky day."
"Did you know anything about it?" she asked.
"Other than being a water type, it's also a dark type," he explained, "and don't let it's resemblance to Magikarp or other fish Pokémon fool you. They are very aggressive and shouldn't be taken lightly. But don't worry, Serena, if it proves to much for Tentacruel then I'll step in for you."
Tentacruel didn't seem to like that implication and raised her appendage. Shooting out a barrage of poison stingers out.
They struck the water where the fish Pokémon was, but it swam forward. Carvanha blinked from side to side with incredible speed.
A field of water engulfed the water dark type. It smashed into the jellyfish Pokémon but bounced off.
"Grab it with wrap!" she shouted. While she knew Tentacruel could handle herself, it would probably raise questions she didn't want to answer.
The water poison type extended a tentacle and it wrapped around the savage Pokémon. Raising it above the water.
"Careful because they have the rough skin ability," Matt added, "that would hurt Tentacruel whenever they use contact moves."
Carvanha opened his mouth as dark type energy spewed out. With massive force, he bite down on the tentacle, causing her to let go and drop back into the water. It swam away before taking a wide berth and shooting back with great speed. Dark type energy surrounding it's entire body.
"Double tap!" she commanded.
With a serious nod, Tentacruel made her move. Carvanha was sent flying as her tentacle knocked it flying. The tip covered in purple.
Following it flying through the air. She raised her appendage and launched out another barrage of poison stingers.
It struck the fish Pokémon and sent him flying further, landing on dry land. Flopping around on the grassy ground, it seemed to be trying to work back to the river. Narrowing her eyes, she reached into her pocket for Pokéball and tossed it.
Hitting the water dark type, Carvanha was sucked inside and it landed on the ground. Shaking back and forth, it took nearly a minute before stopping and dinging. Sighing in relief, a small smile appeared on her face as she approached and picked up her newest team member.
"That was nicely done," Matt smiled, "and with a little bit of work, you'll have a Sharpedo. I have no doubt."
"Sharpedo?" she asked.
"It's what Carvanha evolves into," he explained, "and with how tough your Tentacruel is, I bet it won't take you long."
Nodding into understanding she smiled down at the device in hand. Happy that she'd have someone else to help her along this mission, she looked up as a buzzing sound entered her ear.
Turning towards the source, she saw a small bug Pokémon with two pairs of wings flying towards them. It's body was mostly black with accents of yellow and grey. Most of its head was yellow, but there was a solid band of black between its gleaming red eyes. The band expanded in circular pattern around it's forehead, between two pointed crests on the sides of its head. The underside of it's head was grey and segmented, making it somewhat resemble a veil. On its back, which became visible as it shot around them in a circular manner, was a patch of black with a stretch of yellow. Most of its carapace and abdomen was black, but there was a ring of yellow near the tip. Its grey insectoid arms extended from its chest and had its small, yellow claws turned inward. There was a similar pair of black legs. It had large, veined wings with triangular, red tipping's.
"A Ninjask?" Matt mused, "I guess it must have a nest around here?"
She froze in her place as her eyes locked on it. Despite getting better with bugs thanks to the few her friends had when they travelled together, she has hardly been fully cured of her fear. Her feet slowly started backing up as her eyes refused to look away from the bug.
Tentacruel moved forward and launched out a series of blasts of sludge bomb. Imploding on the area between her and the bug.
"Run!" Matt shouted.
Not needing to be told twice, she turned on her heel and bolted away. Her team admin stayed close by as Tentacruel followed took the back, clearly ready to attack again if the bug decided to pursuit. However, as they got away, it was clear that no such chase was taking place.
"We're in luck, Ninjask aren't as aggressive as something like Beedrill so once we're clear we should be fine," he explained, "it's likely it only made it's presence known because of the battle and wanting to protect it's nest."
Unable to respond, she kept her breath as they closed in on the campsite. Come to a stop, she was slightly winded as she checked on her poison water type, who seemed fine. Turning to the side, she saw Matt approaching with a wide smile on his face.
"That was quite the run," he smiled, "but what happened back there? You seemed to freeze up against Ninjask and only snapped out when Tentacruel attacked. Blocking your view of it."
"I erm... promise you won't tell anyone?" she asked, realising that this could be the opportunity she'd been looking for.
"Cross my heart," he raised a hand.
"I've got a fear of bugs," she sighed, "I thought I had been getting better. Some kids that I hung around with had them, but I guess it's only ones I've been around for a while."
"While you had the right idea, exposure therapy is the best way to overcome a fear like that," he explained, "but because you let it be, it's almost like you reverted back. Trust me, you can get over it and I'll help yar every step of the way."
"You will?" she asked.
"Of course, not many know this, but I almost drowned a few years back and it was Kappin Archie who helped me," he explained, "not only did he save my life, but he helped me see the beauty of the ocean. So, the least I could do is help someone else in the same way. Which is why I ask; how did your fear start?"
"Well... when I lived at home, it was just me and my sisters," she sighed, "you see, our parents died when I was two years old."
"I'm sorry, missy," he apologised.
"And because they were forced to take care of me, they tended to not be nice. I know siblings don't always get on, but this was another level than just sibling rivalry," she continued, "and one day I decided to run away. I got stuck in a nearby forest with big bugs like Beedrill, Scyther, Pinsir, Venomoth trapped me."
"Ah, so you're from Kanto," he nodded, "I did wonder where that accent came from. I've not been over there."
"Y-yeah," she stuttered, "as soon as I could, I became a trainer with Tentacruel. She was a Tentacool back then. We set off and came to Hoenn. As a region covered in water, we thought it was ideal but... being a trainer wasn't exactly as easy as we thought."
"I know that for sure," he smiled, "but now your apart of Team Aqua! You've got a new family and we help our family in any way possible!"
Thanks for reading... Please Favourite, Follow and Review. Also, feel free to ask any questions through PM, I will answer them all, although don't expect too big of spoilers. Don't forget to vote in the polls. I really appreciate the support. Thank you and see ya next time...