This chapter's one of my favorites. Hope you guys enjoy!
Sure, she's seen Paul act angrily in the past, but nothing like how he acted today.
She remains stuck in her thoughts throughout the entire meal, and she's certain that at least Brock notices it, but he doesn't call her up on it once, something which she greatly appreciates.
All she can do now is keep training, she figures. After all, she may be battling Paul again in the future, so she best be ready for it.
Route 213 - Sinnoh
"So, you've never seen Monferno's Blaze before?" Ash asks to her left, tone curious, as they begin to climb up yet another hill on their way to Pastoria City.
They left the Valor Lakefront a couple of days ago for Pastoria City, everyone eager to head there not only for her and Ash's next Gym Battle, but to also meet her Grandpa and Pokemon. They ran into Paul on their way, something that Casey wasn't too surprised by.
It's not like he could've gotten that far ahead of them, anyway.
They didn't really say much to one another, even after Paul accepted Ash's offer for a battle. Casey just sat with Dawn and Brock and observed the battle, which was going completely fine until Chimchar's ability kicked in for the first time. Casey and the others watched in horror as the Chimp Pokemon completely lost control; Ash barely managed to calm him down.
So now, as they're not far off from reaching Pastoria City, Casey and Ash are discussing the ability, the latter hoping the former can offer some kind of advice on the matter.
"No. Never. I've read about it, so I understand how the ability works and all, but it's never kicked in for Monferno." Casey replies, carefully considering her answer before responding, "The Pokemon with the ability has to practically be at breaking point, you know? Barely hanging on by a tether."
She figures that's why she was so surprised to see Chimchar in that way. She's never seen Monferno get like that, not even when he was still a Chimchar. The ability's just never kicked in for him.
"So Monferno's never been like that?"
"He must've been. He's had to have been. I guess he's just never been that far gone." Casey explains, "But I do know that Chimchar shouldn't have looked like that."
"It was scary to watch." Dawn admits to her right, face pale at the thought of the situation.
Casey may not be fearless, but she doesn't easily get scared that often, and what happened with Chimchar frightened her. It scared all of them, even Ash, and she has a feeling that it's likely to happen again. Perhaps they might not be able to prevent that, but at least they can try and prepare for it.
"Look, I know that I've never seen it with Monferno, but if Chimchar becomes like that again, we'll do everything we can to help." She offers without hesitation.
"Thanks, Casey." Ash replies, Pikachu chiming in with a 'thank you' from his shoulder.
"Don't mention it." Casey replies, smiling, "I'm sure that you'd do the same for me."
The group slips back into a comfortable silence as they continue to make their way up the hill, finally stopping once they reach the top to admire the view. Or, in Casey's case, to admire the familiar view.
From the gorgeous stream that runs through the city, to the copious amounts of trees that surround it, she recognises it in an instant.
"Is this it?" Brock asks.
"Yeah. This is home." Casey nods, a smile on her face so wide that it hurts.
She takes off in a run towards her home, calling back to the others to follow her as she goes, and she's almost tripping over her own feet because of how fast she's going. She passes by the village store, and the old Pokemon School that she studied at for years when she was younger, and she's surprised that the others manage to keep up with her.
She's practically vaulting herself over the white-picket fence surrounding her Grandpa's ranch - her home - when she reaches it.
She's elated to be home.
She made it back, and her friends are right there with her, albeit a bit breathlessly.
"Please...don't take off like that." Dawn gasps out, bent over as she tries to catch her breath.
Casey looks to her friends apologetically, "Sorry, guys. I probably should've given you more of a warning, huh?"
"That...that would be nice." Brock says, standing up straight as his breathing becomes less staggered.
"Teddi-ursa?"
Casey hears a familiar cry from behind her that instantly brings a smile to her face. She turns around, her smile growing even more at the sight of an old friend.
"Teddi!" Her Teddiursa practically cheers, rushing towards her and jumping up into her awaiting arms with a gleeful cry.
"Hey, Teddiursa! How you been?" She asks, pulling him back after hugging him tightly.
"Teddi! Teddi-ursa!"
"So cute!" Dawn squeals, and with that the period of peace and reunion is shattered like a thin pane of glass going up against a brick.
Teddiursa, while admittedly adorable, hates being labelled as such. Maybe it has something to do with his pride, but he's always hated being ogled over for his cuteness. That's something that Casey learned soon after first meeting him.
She can't blame Dawn - after all, she couldn't have known - but now she's struggling to hold Teddiursa back as he attempts to use Thrash from her arms, Dawn and the others cautiously backing up as he becomes more and more enraged.
"We don't use that word around Teddiursa!" Casey yells, her words barely making it out as she struggles to restrain the Little Bear Pokemon.
She begins to feel him slipping out of her grip, and she almost considers circling herself around him in an attempt to protect her friends, but then she feels him being ripped from her arms by a strong voice, and that plan gets scrapped from her mind.
A blue aura surrounds Teddiursa's small frame, and she watches as her Xatu lowers Teddiursa to the ground by his feet. It's a sight that's familiar to her; she travelled through Johto with the both of them, and Xatu would often be the one to calm Teddiursa down when he got himself into a state when she herself couldn't manage the task.
The aura vanishes, and all it takes is one look at Xatu for the rage to leave Teddiursa, and the previously angered Pokemon stands subdued by Xatu's side.
"Thanks, Xatu." Casey says, thankful for Mystic Pokemon's sudden arrival, "It's good to see you."
Xatu nods before taking off again.
Yeah, that's the Xatu I remember.
"That Xatu belongs to you, Casey?" Ash asks, voice sounding impressed.
"Yeah. He's a bit reserved, but he's the only one who can really calm down Teddiursa when I can't." Casey explains, looking back to her friends, "Besides, my Pokemon all sorta respect him, so he's really helpful when it comes to settling disputes between them."
She found Xatu back when he was just a Natu near the Ruins of Alph, and even then he was a reserved being. He didn't really fit in with the flock of other Natu and Xatu that she found him with, which were rather loud and boisterous. Still, he was kind, and she even saw him giving up some of his food to the other Natu who seemed younger than him.
That's why she chose to catch him: his pure kindness and goodwill.
"Teddi!" Teddiursa cries out suddenly from behind her, and he sounds panicked and far different to how he did before.
She looks back in his direction, noticing the four figures in the distance that are approaching at rapid speeds. They don't need to be up close for her to figure out who it is. One's rushing at her with a Rapid Spin, another using ExtremeSpeed, another rushing her way with a Quick Attack. Perhaps most terrifying of all is the figure coming towards her using Take Down.
"Oh, no." She murmurs, face paling. "Move out the way!" She shouts to her friends, jumping to the side herself in a desperate attempt to avoid the rapidly approaching figures.
The others, Teddiursa included, dash to the other side, which is good because they're no longer being targeted, but the figures in question are so fast that they manage to redirect themselves with ease, and soon all four of them are crashing into her with intense force that sends her down to the ground in an instant.
Wartortle, a Pokemon that was gifted to her whilst he was still only an egg for winning a tournament in Saffron City, jumps onto her stomach, his cries as fast as his Rapid Spin was. Her Arcanine and Jolteon each nuzzle their heads under either arm, the former being the only girl of the small group. She was the only female Pokemon that travelled with Casey throughout the Kanto Region, so the two of them formed the additional bond that comes with being the only girls among a group of boys. Rhyhorn stands at her feet, noticing how she's being smothered at the minute, and choosing to let the others have their time first. Rhyhorn's the oldest out of her Kanto Pokemon, and because of that he's always been like a de facto older brother to them all. He developed a very selfless attitude because of that role, something that Casey's still immensely proud of him for possessing.
"Wow! I forgot how fast you guys are." Casey chuckles, sitting up and smiling around at the group as they all try to get closer to her, "Yeah, I know! I missed you guys, too!"
"Wow! Your Wartorle can use Rapid Spin just like May's!" Dawn says from behind, watching the Pokemon curiously along with the others.
Ash seems mesmerised by them all, whilst Brock seems observant. Teddiursa's gone, but she expects that's because he's found something else to play around with. Sometimes he has his head in the clouds and gets distracted quite easily.
"Yeah, and he packs a punch with it." Casey replies, then looking over to her left, "Arcanine, can you go let Grandpa know that we're here."
Arcanine nods before bounding off in the direction that she came, and the others go rushing off after her playfully like it's some kind of game.
That's something that she always appreciated about her Kanto Pokemon: their love and affectionate attitudes towards one another. They're always up for helping each other or playing together.
"You have loads of Pokemon, Casey!" Ash remarks as she stands, his and Pikachu's eyes lit up with glee.
"We haven't even met them all yet, Ash." She replies, playing into his excitement because she understands fully well for herself. She experiences it pretty much every time she meets a Pokemon, even if she's met another one of its species before. She feels like it's a sensation that most - if not all - Pokemon Trainers experience.
"Really?"
She nods, offering to the lead the group further into the ranch. They follow on after her as they walk through a surprisingly empty section of the ranch (then again, it is quite big, so all the Pokemon are likely in different areas).
They begin to see the house in their line of sight, and Casey smiles fondly at the familiarity of the building.
It's the house that she was raised in. The house that she ran around in and played in for years.
It seems to look smaller and smaller every time she comes home.
Still, it's a large house. Four bedrooms, with three additional rooms for any Pokemon that may opt to sleep inside at night, which comes in handy if it ever storms. She'd always help her Grandpa round up the Pokemon and get them inside when it stormed - something that she had to do more so herself the older he got.
As the house gets even closer, so does her Grandpa, whose being assisted by her Machoke. Machoke's always been a kind soul, which you wouldn't expect from him from his strong, muscular appearance. You'd think he'd be disciplined, which he is when he's in battle, but he truly has a heart of gold and a boundless sense of humor.
"Casey, my dear! It's so good to see you!" Her Grandpa says, a bright smile on his wrinkled face at the sight of her.
"Hi, Grandpa." She replies, crossing the rest of the distance to give him a hug. It saves Machoke having to assist him the rest of the way. He has his walking stick, but he's always preferred to rely on the Pokemon.
Walking with them provides him with company.
"It's good to see you too, Machoke." She adds, pulling back to smile at the Superpower Pokemon.
"Ma-choke!" He replies, surprising her when he reaches forward and pulls her under the arm that her Grandpa's not holding onto.
"You're still as strong as ever, I see." She says as he releases her from his strong grip, chuckling when he reaches up and lightly tussles the hair on her head with a cheeky grin.
Ah, good old Machoke.
"I see that you've brought some friends with you." Her Grandpa says, his eyes drifting over to Ash and the others, "Aren't you going to introduce them to me, my girl?"
"Grandpa, this is Ash, Dawn and Brock." She replies, gesturing to her respective friends, "Oh, and don't forget about Pikachu and Piplup."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Pip-lup!"
Both Pokemon greet her Grandpa warmly from their trainer's shoulder and arms respectively, and then their trainer's do the same.
"It's lovely to meet you, sir." Brock says politely.
"Yeah, thanks for letting us come to your ranch." Ash adds, Dawn echoing his sentiment.
"Oh, please. Any friends of my darling Casey are friends of mine." Her Grandpa replies, smiling brightly at them all, "And, please, call me Jeffery."
Everything seems to be going just fine, but then the distant sound of a familiar cry ruins it all. It's a mixture of rage and surprise, and it's a cry that she recognises.
"Oh, dear. Not again." Her Grandpa mumbles, tone grave.
That makes her panic even more. He's heard this before.
"Was that Mankey?!" She asks, but she doesn't even wait for an answer before she's taking off in the direction of the cry. The others run behind her, with her Grandpa and Machoke trailing behind at a far slower pace, and she's crying out manically as she goes.
"Mankey! Mankey, where are you?! Mank-!"
She stops, both her running and her sentence, when she reaches a small clearing in the ranch, the sight of her Scizor standing between her Mankey and Metang bringing her to a halt.
Mankey looks frightened, presumably of Metang, who is glaring at him from the other side of Scizor. The Pincer Pokemon in staring intensely at Metang, his pincers raised defensively and his legs poised.
"Sci-zor! Zor! Zor!" He yells, brandishing him arms wildly in an attempt to appear threatening.
"Meta! Met!" Metang bites back, standing its ground.
The tension between the two of them is unprecedented. For Metang, she can tell that it's hatred, but she's travelled around long enough with Scizor in the past to see past that for him. Sure, he's angry, but there's something else there.
It's almost like pity.
"What's going on?" She asks, cautiously attempting to dissolve some of the attention.
"Zor?" Scizor murmurs, his guard temporarily lost as he turns towards her.
Mankey looks at her too, his fear long forgotten as he rushes towards her and climbs up onto her shoulder, shielding himself by hiding into her side. Metang takes this as a chance to take off, disappearing deep into the forest area of the ranch before anyone can stop it.
She notices that Scizor's ready to follow it, and she knows that she can't let that happen or there'll be an all out war on her hands.
"Scizor, stop!" She orders, voice steeled. He stops, though he still looks ready to fly off in an instant, "It's not worth it. Trust me on this one, okay? You trust me, don't you?"
She sees the tension leave Scizor's body, and his pincers ultimately come to rest at his side.
Scizor's always been the protective type. He looked out for Mankey and Teddiursa in particular during their travels through Johto, because the two of them were the youngest and the smallest out of the group. That in no way makes either of them weak or defenseless, but it sure did make Scizor's protective tendencies kick in.
Behaviour like that is all well and good, that is until someone ends up getting seriously hurt.
She hesitantly walks towards Scizor, Mankey still on her shoulder, and reaches out to place a hand on one of his pincers, a gesture she often used to comfort him in the past. He turns to her, and though she can still see the anger in his eyes, there's a flicker of recognition and warmth in them too.
"You miss me?" She asks, smiling.
He nods, and she can't help but laugh at the way he's trying to remain collected and brooding. He begins to walk way, heading in the opposite direction to where Metang went, and Mankey jumps off of her shoulder to follow him.
"What was that all about?" Dawn asks from behind, concerned.
Casey looks to her Grandpa knowingly, and he looks back at her in the same way, "As you can see, Metang hasn't changed one bit since you left it with me."
"What do you mean, Jeffery?" Brock asks, and it's clear to Casey that her friends are beyond confused.
She probably does owe them an explanation. After all, she'd want one if she was in their position, but then her Grandpa makes the offer of lunch, and none of them can ignore the hungry feelings in the pit of their stomachs for any longer.
They head back towards the house, Machoke continuing to assist her Grandpa up until when they're reaching the front door of the house before heading off into the ranch. The group make their way inside, and when they head into the kitchen Casey finds herself smiling at the sight of an old friend.
"It smells great in here, Exeggutor." She says, breathing in the fresh aroma of the stew that her Exeggutor's mixing with the help of his Psychic attack.
"Exeg-gutor?" He murmurs, his face lighting up when he turns around and lays his eyes on her. "Exeggutor!" He cheers, using his Psychic attack to pull her towards him.
She laughs as she moves through the kitchen and over to Exeggutor's side, where she hugs him tightly, "I've missed you too."
"Wow! An Exeggutor!" Dawn gasps as Casey pulls back from Exeggutor, reaching into her pocket to withdraw her Pokedex.
"Exeggutor, a Coconut Pokémon. Also known as "The Walking Tropical Rain Forest." Each coconut has a distinct face and its own character."
Dawn places her Pokedex back into her pocket, looking on in awe as Exeggutor turns back towards the food and continues preparing it.
Exeggutor's similar to Machoke in the sense that he always wants to help. You'd think that not having arms would inhibit his ability to do so, but he always finds a way. She noticed that determination and goodwill the moment she met him, and that's what ultimately prompted her into catching him.
He's been a great friend and excellent battler ever since.
"Need any help in here, Exeggutor?" Her Grandpa asks, gesturing to the food. Exeggutor pauses, clearly considering his offer, before declining with a curt nod and going back to the food again. "Very well. Let's head out into the garden. I believe Lanturn and Magcargo may be out there."
Her ears perk up at the mention of Lanturn and Macgargo, the only two of her Pokemon that she's yet to reunite with. She makes her way towards the garden, walking straight through the patio area to the pond at the end of the garden, where she suspects she'll find Lanturn.
She kneels down at the edge of the pond, smirking at the sight of a faint light beneath the clue blue waters.
"Hmm, I wonder where Lanturn must be?" She asks rhetorically, playing into the game that she's played before. Lanturn then pops up from her 'hiding place' and splashes a small amount of water in Casey's direction, who laughs lightheartedly at her behaviour.
"Still up to your old games, huh?" She remarks, reaching out to pat Lanturn's head affectionately, who responds with a content cry.
Lanturn's always been the playful type. She likes to play around, and even if that sometimes gets her in trouble with other Pokemon (Casey lost count of how many times she had to scold her for messing with Teddiursa during their Johto travels), she still remains optimistic and bubbly. Even in battle, Lanturn has faith until the very end.
"Pip-lup? Lup?"
She turns around, spotting Piplup poking at a familiar shell structure that's nestled in the corner of the garden. She knows what's about to happen, but it's unfortunate that she's too late to stop it.
Magcargo slides out from within his shell, letting out a loud yawn that causes a stream of fire to come out of his mouth and hit Piplup directly in the face.
"Ah! Piplup!" Dawn screams, face paling in horror as she sees Piplup's burnt face.
"Sorry, Dawn. I should've warned you guys about that." Casey says, standing up and walking back towards the group, "Magcargo does that when he wakes up sometimes. I didn't get used to it until I got burnt at least a dozen times."
She winces at the memory of the same thing happening to her. On the bright side: at least it helped her learn more about Magcargo.
Magcargo loves to sleep, more so than perhaps any Pokemon she's ever travelled with. Sometimes she wonders if Magcargo's actually a Snorlax trapped in the wrong body. Still, when needed, Magcargo pulls through in battle by being fully alert and ready to face any challenges thrown his way.
They sit for lunch shortly afterwards, tucking into Exeggutor's freshly made stew coupled with a batch of freshly baked rolls. It's a nice home cooked meal, which, despite loving Brock's cooking, is something that she's seriously missed whilst travelling.
She has questions, and she chooses to wait until they're all a fair bit through their lunch before asking them. She waits for Ash to finish explaining to her Grandpa what it's like to live in Kanto before speaking up.
"So, I'm guessing by what happened out there that theres been no progress with Metang."
He sighs, shaking his head regretfully, "I'm afraid not."
"Does it not even listen to Xatu?" She asks, because she surely would've thought that Metang would at least listen to him if no one else.
"I catch Scizor trying to fight it off from attacking the others at least eight times a week. Sometimes even more."
That makes the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach grow even deeper. Metang can get out of control sometimes, but she wouldn't have expected it to happen that much.
"But if you're trying to fight it off, won't it be better for Arcanine or Macgargo to do that? After all, they're Fire-Types." Dawn suggests.
"We don't want Metang to get hurt, my dear." Her Grandpa replies, smiling sadly, "Since Scizor is a Steel-Type Pokemon, his attacks won't do enough damage to seriously hurt Metang. Just enough to deal with situation at hand."
Yeah, because that's what Metang's become now. A situation.
"You've told us about Metang before." Ash says, looking to Casey, "What exactly happened with it? Why doesn't it listen to anyone?"
She sighs, but she knows that she shouldn't, because she owes them an explanation and now that they've seen Metang's behaviour she's going to have to give them one regardless.
"I met Metang whilst I was in Johto. This guy - he was a lot like Paul, in many ways - was training Metang along with another at the same time. I ran into him around Blackthorn City, and it was there that the other Metang evolved into Metagross in a battle against my Mankey, which was great for it, but not so good for Metang."
She remembers the guy well. He gave off the vibe that he thought he was above everyone else, just like Paul often does. She didn't really like him.
"What do you mean?" Ash asks, leaning forward subconsciously as he listens intently.
"The guy didn't want Metang anymore. Said that it was weak in comparison to Metagross. He was willing to abandon Metang, which he said he had raised since it had hatched as a Beldum. I tried to get him to change his mind, cause Metang wouldn't know how to survive on his own because it had never been on its own before, but he wouldn't listen." She explains, cringing at the memory of his vile behaviour, "So, I said that I'd take Metang with me, which was something that Metang wasn't happy about."
"Why not?"
"That's what I don't know. Maybe it doesn't respect me, or maybe it's because its previous trainer abandoned it, but it just never listened to me." She says, pausing for a second to consider why that is.
Not that she hasn't already considered that over a hundred times already. It's something she's never been able to figure out.
"After a while, I sent Metang back here, hoping that my Grandpa might be able to get through to it, but that hasn't worked either." She continues, finishing off her explanation into Metang's backstory.
She felt ashamed to be sending Metang to her Grandpa. Sure, he was a Pokemon Breeder, and he has an abundance of experience with caring for and training Pokemon, but she still feels like it was her job to do that for Metang.
"Metang rarely socializes with the other Pokemon, unless it's to get into an argument with one of them. When I fed them lunch today, it didn't even show up. Most days I leave out food for it in the area it sleeps in, but it never comes out to eat while I'm there." Her Grandpa tells them, and Casey's surprised because she didn't even know that fact about Metang. It only makes her feel even worse about the situation.
"I only know its eaten when I come back and find the empty dishes." He adds.
"But couldn't that just be one of the other Pokemon?" Brock asks logically, because in a sense he could be right.
"They don't dare go near Metang's space." Her Grandpa says, "Not even Scizor. He only steps in when Metang comes towards them."
"It's a shame, because Metang is powerful. That guy may have been a jerk, but he trained it well. The few times it did somewhat cooperate in battle, its attacks were strong. I'd love to compete with it again." Casey explains, her thoughts drifting to the few times she had the opportunity to see Metang in action.
It could use such powerful moves, and it rarely missed when it did. And even if it wasn't as strong as it is, that guy still shouldn't have cast it aside. She still doesn't understand how someone can do such a thing.
"So, when am I going to meet all the Pokemon you've caught here, then?" Her Grandpa asks, swiftly moving the topic of conversation onto something less bleak, which Casey thinks is something that everyone appreciates.
"Round up the gang. You can all meet them together." She replies, embracing the change by standing up from her seat and showing that she's ready to go.
Her Grandpa nods, turning towards Lanturn's pond.
"Lanturn!" He calls to the Light Pokemon, who turns to face him in an instant, "Gather everyone to the front lawn, please!"
Lanturn nods, looking up to the sky and firing a brightly colored beam up into it. Both Dawn and Ash's eyes light up at the sight of it, and even Pikachu and Piplup watch the display in awe.
"Lanturn used Signal Beam!" Brock gasps, clearly impressed by Lanturn's display of the move even as it fades away.
"She can gather all the Pokemon on the ranch to the house by using that move. It's great for mealtimes." Her Grandpa says, adding even more reasons for Casey to be proud of her Pokemon.
She's missed seeing all of the great things, even the simpler ones, that they're capable of.
The group heads outside the front of the house again, with Magcargo, Lanturn and Exeggutor following them out, as the last of Casey's Pokemon make their way there to meet them.
Well, all of them except for Metang, of course.
"Ah! There you are, Shuckle!" Her Grandpa says beside her, smiling down at the Mold Pokemon as he makes his way through the crowd of Pokemon.
"You have a Shuckle, too?" Ash asks, his excitement piquing as it did before, and Pikachu even leans forward slightly on his shoulder to get a closer look at Shuckle.
'One in the same, those two' Casey can't help but think, smiling.
"No, no, no, Ash. Shuckle's my dear old friend from when I was a lad."
Shuckle's been around for as long as Casey can remember. In fact, he's the first Pokemon she can remember interacting with. She reckons that he's as old as her Grandpa, if not older. He's certainly the oldest Pokemon she's ever met, but he's still got plenty of energy for his age.
Since everyone's arrived, Casey reaches into her pockets and pulls out four Pokeballs, launching them up into the air, "Come on out, everyone!"
Her four Pokemon burst out of their capsules before her others, and it doesn't take long before they all begin to start mingling with one another. Gastrodon kicks it off, heading over to Lanturn first before talking to any of the others. Monferno and Dragonair follow shortly afterwards, before Electabuzz ultimately relents and does the same, the latter fitting right in with Scizor and Xatu.
Ash, Brock and Dawn let their Pokemon out of their Pokeballs too, and it's not long before too many Pokemon to count are on the front lawn. Pikachu and Piplup even join the crowd, and everyone gets along without a hitch.
"They're all getting along!" Ash remarks as they all watch on fondly, "That's awesome!"
"Hey, Grandpa. You know that Brock's training to be one of the world's greatest Pokemon Breeders." Casey says, looking between her Grandpa and Brock, the latter of which seems surprised but also grateful for the mention, "Do you think you could show him around the ranch?"
She reckons her Grandpa could give Brock some good advice when it comes to Pokemon Breeding. After all, he did do it for years, and he still helps to care for her Pokemon even now.
Her Grandpa looks delightfully surprised at the revelation, and he shows no hesitation in fulfilling the request. He hobbles towards Brock, who instantly reaches out to other an arm to him, which he gratefully takes.
"Of course, my boy. If you'd like, you can help me with some of my daily tasks. It would be lovely to have someone to do it all with. I may have more time to make up a fresh batch of Poffins if we get it all done." He says, clearly excited to have a fellow Pokemon Breeder present.
"I can make the Poffins, if you'd like." Dawn chimes in, her helpful nature kicking in.
"Right!" Ash adds, "Dawn makes some of the best!"
"That would be great, dear. I'm sure Exeggutor would be happy to assist you." Her Grandpa says, clearly appreciative for the help.
However, he was wrong about one thing. She looks to Exeggutor, noticing how engrossed he is in spending time with the other Pokemon. She doubts that anyone will be able to pull him away anytime soon.
"I don't know about that one, Grandpa." She says, nodding to Exeggutor.
"No need to worry. I'll be just fine on my own." Dawn says, noticing how happy Exeggutor is and not wanting to interrupt that.
She heads into the kitchen then, whilst her Grandpa and Brock walk off in another direction, leaving Casey and Ash stood by the plethora of interacting Pokemon. They watch them for a moment, both trainers glad to see their Pokemon so happy, but then Ash realises that they can't just stand there all day and speaks up.
"So, what should we do?" He asks simply.
Casey considers their options for a moment before making a suggestion, going with one of the first things that comes to her mind, "We can go check out my old treehouse?"
"Your treehouse?"
"I built this place when I was six." Casey tells Ash as she leads him through the woodland area of the ranch, out towards her old treehouse. "Well, my Grandpa built it, but I designed it." She adds, quickly correcting her minor mistake.
"I didn't realise that your Grandpa's ranch was this big." Ash remarks, looking around at the trees as they pass them by.
"Well, yeah. It kinda had to be. Before he retired, he used to look after loads of Pokemon. I couldn't count how many there were most of the time." She explains, shrugging.
She can remember all the times when the ranch was packed full of Pokemon that weren't her own. The amount of Pokemon she got to meet from such a young age was astounding, and it's probably what sparked her interest in becoming a fully fledged Pokemon Trainer.
They continue walking, Casey picking up the pace slightly because she knows that they aren't too far out and she simply can't wait to see the treehouse again. She hasn't seen it in years, so it'll be nice visit it again.
It comes into sight, but that's when she feels herself being suddenly forced into a halt, an unknown strong force keeping her in a fixed position. She knows the sensation.
Someone's using Psychic on her, and she has a feeling on who it is.
And then she's being flung backwards, and she lands flat on her back in the grass by Ash's feet, groaning in pain. Ash reaches down and helps her up, and she finds herself hissing in pain as she stands.
That seriously hurt!
"What was that?" Ash asks, eyes darting around the area rapidly as he attempts to find the culprit.
Casey sighs, the pain subsiding, "This must be where Metang comes to hide."
"Metang?"
"I mean, Xatu and Exeggutor can also use Psychic, but we know where they are and they would never attack me." She explains, "I'm surprised that it'd choose here, though."
"You are? Why?"
"Because it probably reminds it of me." She says, admittedly somewhat shamefully.
Still, she can't quite figure out why Metang would choose to reside here. She may not have seen it, but she knows that it's around here somewhere. There's not a chance they're gonna be able to get inside the treehouse whilst it's here though, which is unfortunate, but she's not about to risk Ash getting hurt as well just for the sake of seeing the inside of a treehouse.
"We should probably head ba-." She begins, stopping when she hears a chorus of distant anguished cries that makes her heart stop.
"What was that?" Ash asks, and she can tell by his expression that his heart has sunk as well.
The two don't say another word to each other, instead rushing back in the direction they came as fast as their legs will carry them, the treehouse and Metang long forgotten. They keep running and running until they're outside the front of the house again, where they find Dawn looking to the sky in absolute horror.
Team Rocket are there in their balloon, grinning gleefully because they've captured every single one of their Pokemon in a ginormous metal cage.
"Team Rocket!" Ash yells, voice laced with rage.
They notice Casey and Ash's arrival, and they seem to take it all in their stride, with Jessie beginning to initiate their monotonous and repetitive motto.
"We've heard it all before! Cut to the chase!" Casey shouts above their incessant noise, and though Jessie in particular looks frustrated to have been cut off, she's so preoccupied by their actions that she moves swiftly on past it for once.
Those crooks are probably having a field day right now! I can't stand them!
"Give us back our Pokemon right now!" Dawn orders angrily.
"No can do!" Meowth taunts, "When the boss sees our haul, he's gonna be mighty impressed!"
Casey tries to ignore the way he refers to the Pokemon, but she can't help the way it only makes her angrier.
"Not only Pikachu, but a whole squad of mega powerful Pokemon! What a treat!" James adds, voice cheerful for all the wrong reasons.
"We'd love to stay and chat, but we've got some cargo to deliver!" Jessie chimes in, and then the balloon begins to drift towards the forest and away from them at an uncomfortably fast rate.
"We have to do something!" Dawn cries, voice desperate.
Casey quickly scans the area, hoping to find something that may be able to help them, but she quickly realises that no Pokemon is going to suddenly appear and come to their aid. She's gonna have to do this herself.
She begins to sprint towards the retreating balloon, and it's when she reaches a tree directly underneath that she leaps up into it. She's climbing as fast as she can, and then she's jumping up onto the cage, barely managing to grip onto it as the balloon passes by.
The Pokemon all gasp at the sight of her, Monferno rushing to the front of the group to see her first.
"Hey, pal. Did they hurt any of you?" She asks, hastily scanning all the Pokemon nearest to her to check for any injuries.
He shakes his head in response, and she can't see any physical damage to any of them, so she at least feels settled in some sense.
"Hold on, everyone! I'm gonna get you all out of here!" She says reassuringly, her eyes scanning the cage in the hopes that she'll find a way to break it down.
Maybe if I can find some bolts to loosen, it might come apart.
She manages to spot just what she's looking for after searching for a few moments, but it's on the far end of the cage, and right now she's smack bang in the middle and barely hanging on. There's no way that she can get to it, and even if she could somehow she doesn't get the chance.
A large padded, mechanical fist appears by her side, striking her in the abdomen and causing her to lose her grip on the cage. She cries out in pain as she begins to fall back towards the ground, the Pokemon crying out to her in anguish and fear as she falls further and further away from them.
The wind's rushing past her, and she can feel the force of gravity against her as she falls...and then she doesn't feel either.
She feels herself come to a halt, gently being lowered down to the ground by a familiar force. And when she touches down on the ground, safe and sound, Metang's by her side, its eyes fixed on the cage instead of on her.
"Metang?"
It ignores her, rushing up towards the cage instead. Its hand glows white, seemingly charging up with power, and then it collides with the cage and surrounds it in a veil of bright white light.
She recognises what move Metang was using; it was Meteor Mash, and it's an attack she's never seen Metang use before.
The cage shatters, and all of the Pokemon burst out of it and land on the ground safely, whilst Metang rushes off to deal with Team Rocket. Casey doesn't even get the chance to see what Metang's doing, as all of her Pokemon rush towards her, and it's kinda hard to see anything when sixteen Pokemon are swarming around you.
Not that she's bothered about that, because she's far too relieved to see them all safe and sound to feel that way.
"Casey!" Brock calls, rushing towards her as fast as he can whilst assisting her Grandpa, "We saw what was happening and came as soon as we could!"
Brock's Pokemon instantly make a beeline for him as Casey's did for her, and the kind Pokemon Breeder embraces them warmly despite him clearly being flustered himself. Her Grandpa slowly makes his way towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder when he reaches her.
"Are you okay, my girl?" He asks, voice laced with concern.
"Yeah." She mumbles, unintentionally coming across as distant, "Yeah, I'm fine."
Physically, of course she's fine. Metang saved her, which is precisely what's troubling her. Of course, she's grateful for its help, but she just doesn't understand why it did it?
Ash and Dawn arrive then, and their Pokemon rush towards them in relief just as Casey and Brock's did before them. Both trainers are beyond elated to have their Pokemon back, and neither are even bothered about how it happened.
They're simply so happy to see them.
And even though Casey's just as happy to see her Pokemon, she can't help but think about Metang.
It's truly an enigma that she can't decipher no matter how hard she tries.
She's up in an instant as soon as she sees the clock tick over to the next hour. It's late - 12am to be precise - and she can see the full moon up high in the night sky from her bedroom window. It's nice to be back in her childhood bedroom, comforting even, but right now her priority isn't remaining in her warm, cozy bed.
She needs to have a conversation with someone.
She makes her way through the house as quietly as possible, not having to waste the time in changing because she never even put her pyjamas on in the first place. She decided on doing this before they even ate dinner.
When she walks out into the front yard, she almost screams when she spots a shadowed figure out of the corner of her eye, but then she takes a proper look and realises there's nothing to scream at.
It's Xatu, and he's standing at the side of the house almost expectantly.
"What are you doing up?" She asks, and the pointed look that Xatu gives her exudes more sass than she's ever seen from him before.
"Yeah, I know. I'm being hypocritical." She replies sheepishly, reading his next expression and sighing, "I'm alright, I promise. I'm just...sorting something out. I'll be back soon."
He seems reluctant, but he ultimately backs down and steps back to where he was before. Casey smiles at him gratefully before taking off into the night, leaving the peaceful and quiet house behind for her destination.
She makes her way through the ranch, heading into the forest area just as she did hours before.
And, just like hours before, she's brought to a halt by a strong psychic force, except this time Metang actually comes out from its hiding place.
Metang flies out in front of her, hovering a reasonable distance away from and looking at her with a mixture of deep-seated rage and confusion.
She doesn't think she'll ever get use to it looking at her like that.
"Metang, it's only me! I promise!" She shouts desperately, as if that's gonna convince it to let her go, "Look, I just wanna talk, okay?"
It seems skeptical, but it surprises her by letting her out of its grasp and settling her gently back down on the grassy floor. She stands her ground, as does it, and a few awkward moments pass before she continues the conversation.
"I know that you've been training. You couldn't use Meteor Mash the last time I saw you." She says, and it's impossible for her to hide the pride in her voice, even if Metang can't stand her.
It turns away from her then, and she panics that it might leave, but it doesn't rush off so she takes that as a good sign.
"Look, I know that you want to battle again. I can tell that you've never stopped wanting to."
It flinches at that, and it's clear that her words have gotten to it at least somewhat.
She figures that it's progress, at least.
"I'm battling Crasher Wake soon. He's the Gym Leader around here, battles with Water-Type Pokemon. He's pretty strong." She continues, pausing for a moment before saying the next sentence, "I'd like you to battle alongside me, Metang."
She knows that she's taking a risk by saying that. Metang's...volatile, to put it lightly. But it's strong, and it clearly isn't only acting on its negative emotions based on its behaviour today, so there's a chance there.
A chance to reconcile and move forward.
"Met?" Metang murmurs, turning back towards her, the curiosity taking the forefront in its eyes.
Even more progress, for sure.
"That means we're going to have to cooperate with each other." She adds, and she can see the reluctance that appears in Metang's face as she says that.
"Look, I don't hate you, and I know that you don't hate me otherwise you wouldn't have caught me earlier. We could accomplish so much if we just worked with each other."
She tries to reason with Metang, but she honestly can't tell if she's won it over or not. However, whilst Metang tends to appear dead-set on everything it does, it actually looks conflicted for once.
"Goodnight, Metang." She says finally, and then she's turning away and making her way back towards the house.
Obviously she's hoping that Metang will take her up on her offer, but she honestly can't be certain either way.
She'll just have to wait and see.
