Chapter 2: Enter, Team Rocket!
Welcome back for the third chapter… labelled chapter two… who makes this stuff up? :/ Probably some lune in their bedroom rewriting one of the best anime/ cartoons and video game franchises for fun while also making Yu-Gi-Oh! custom cards on . I swear I am not here to plug anything.
So as a preview, this chapter will encompass the events of episodes two, three and four of the anime. Then next chapter will be the first gym battle but this chapter will have plenty to write home about too. As a note, I don't exactly have a pre-planned schedule for when I will update this story with new chapters, its somewhat more of a when I finish them and check them out, then I'll upload them, so sometimes it could be twice a week, sometimes more than seven days.
As we rejoin our young heroes at the start of the adventure, plenty has changed in the previous several hours for them. They had started their Pokémon journeys, they were attacked then chased, met Misty and Pichu had evolved.
Well… there was something else.
"So what can we do about the Spearow that was stolen?" Serena asks the others as Ash carries the electric rodent in his arms.
"Wait, another Pokémon was stolen?" Misty questions in shock. Of course, she had heard small murmurings in Viridian City earlier the day before about someone having stolen a Pokémon from the world renowned professor.
"Yes, I had thrown a Poke Ball at a wild Spearow, it was successful but then some cloud of smoke engulfed the area and the ball was gone. Then we were ambushed by the rest of the flock" the raven-haired boy tells her, feeling frustrated that it was the second Pokémon essentially stolen from him the previous day.
"Well once we get Pikachu to the Pokémon Center, we can also report the theft to an Officer Jenny" Misty tells them with an air of authority.
Taking a closer look at the orange-haired female, Serena considers her for a few moments. She seems to be familiar for the young Pokémon trainer. But why? Is she famous? Has to be. A model? A trainer? An athlete? Even some super fisherwoman? Or was she some look-a-like of a famous person?
Before she could voice any of her questions, they're each brought out of their conversations by a green-haired female. She is wearing a fairly short, dark blue skirt, hat and short-sleeved top. On the hat it has red on the top, with a black flap, with a gold insignia at the front. The cuffs of the top are also folded red with a light blue front to the top. She has white gloves with a black belt around her waist and a side attached. Then has black shoes on.
She's coming over with speed. On a motorbike. She stops just next to the fairly scared group. She first notices the bruises and injuries sustained on Pikachu. She hops off her bike and demands "How did you let that poor Pokémon get like that?"
"We were attacked by a group of wild Spearow" Ash responds with concern as he looks towards his friend.
The woman then asks "Were you now? And how do I know you didn't cause this", she points to the electric type "to happen on purpose?" her hands now firmly on her hips as she stares him down.
"Hey!" Serena interjects with fury as she goes on to say "He was trying to catch a Pidgey, a Spearow got in the way. It was captured but then someone stole the Pokéball. Then we were attacked!"
"And can you prove this? Any identification on any of you?" she questions continuing to eye up the children.
Lillie remembers what the professor had told them before they left. She responds with "Yes, we do, Officer" as she pulls out her Pokédex to present.
Dexter chimes in saying "Hello. My name is Dexter, programmed by the Pokémon Professor, Samuel Oak. This Pokédex is designated to ten year old, Lillie Yvonne. Adopted child of Grace Yvonne, of Pallet Town, Kanto Region. One Pokémon captured, seven Pokémon encountered"
Ash and Serena both present their own Pokédexs as their form of identification also.
Then the officer turns to Misty, saying "And yourself Miss?"
Misty then takes out a badge of some variety, hidden from the view of the others. The officer nods her head and apologizes, explaining "Unfortunately, we have had reported robberies of Pokémon recently. As I am sure yous are aware, Professor Oak was robbed last night of a Pokémon. I needed to make sure yous were no danger to the safety of Viridian City"
Misty responds by saying "So, Officer Jenny, what should we do about Ash's stolen Spearow then?"
"Tell me exactly what happened about Spearow" The officer tells them. They give a recount of the prior day's events. "Smoke? That reinforces my belief that both incidents were perpetrated by Team Rocket" she responds with annoyance.
"Team Rocket?" Ash questions in confusion.
"An evil syndicate, or ruthless gang of thugs who steal Pokémon, rare valuables, and the sort. Their leader is unknown and shrouded in mystery" Misty tells him and the other two females.
This causes Ash to clench his left hand and grind his teeth, as he states "So some petty thieves cost me two Pokémon in the same day? Why don't they just go out and capture their own Pokémon, the fair and legit way?"
Serena looks at him in sympathy as she responds "Some people don't like playing 'fair' Ash. But we'll find your Spearow eventually"
He nods his head but says nothing back.
Sensing that the 'interrogation' is over, Jenny offers "How about this, I'll take yous to the PokéCenter by an escort for taking up your time" They agree as they head off.
From the nearby shadows, a trio of individuals hide by the trees. The male and female have mostly white outfits on. The female with a high skirt, and thigh-high black boots, a white crop top and a small black top underneath along with arm long gloves. She has excessively long dark-pink hair and blue eyes.
The male has black boots that go just below his knees, a black under top and elbow length black gloves. He has green eyes and bluish hair. On both of their tops they have a large, red 'R' insignia on the front.
Whereas the final one is rather different and much shorter in stature. A small, feline Pokémon with cream-colored fur that turns brown at the tips of its hind paws and tail. Its ovoid head features four prominent whiskers, wide eyes with slit pupils, two pointed teeth in the upper jaw and a gold kabon coin embedded in its forehead. Its ears are black with brown interiors and are flanked with an additional pair of long whiskers.
Chuckling the female remarks "Oh looks like they're on to us James"
James responds with "Guess we did steal his Spearow"
The Pokémon ends off with "However we didn't steal that professor's Pokémon, no way!"
They then rip off a nearby poster which depicts a glimpse of the trio and rip it up throwing it to the floor.
At the PokéCenter.
The lady at the front desk is taking three Pokéballs from a young brunette. Her hair while mostly shoulder-length still went a little ways down her back. She has a light-blue vest top and a black top underneath, black wristbands, a short red skirt and a white hat. On the hat there is a red pattern and half of a Pokéball pattern at the front. She has blue knee-length socks and white sneakers with a black sole and red stripes on both. Then has a yellow handbag on her shoulder too.
The young female says "Thank you Nurse Joy, I will just go to my room now and collect them in a little while or tomorrow".
The nurse nods her head and watches as she walks away, she is about to go off to the Pokémon storage area when the local officer bursts in with several children following her in shock.
The officer says "Joy, this Pikachu needs some attention. It was attacked by the flock of Spearow on Route One. I need to leave to make a report of another Pokémon being stolen" and before Joy can respond, the officer was off. Again.
The nurse takes Pikachu and takes him and Misty's three Pokéballs away as well.
Serena decides to let her grass Pokémon out of his ball and sees the brunette. He goes over to her.
She doesn't seem to notice until Bulbasaur was right next to her. Almost making her jump. She turns and sees the Seed Pokémon and narrows her eyes.
The honey-blonde female calls over to her starter as she walks over to the brunette.
Meanwhile Ash goes to the phone booths to make a call to Professor Oak and his Mum.
He decides to call the professor first. As the other end picks up, he is greeted by the oldest member of the Oak family.
Smiling, the professor says "Ash, my boy, how are you doing? And how is your Spearow was it? I also see that that Pichu has already evolved which is great" as he looks at his research data for Ash on another monitor to his right.
With a solemn look Ash corrects him "Actually" he takes a deep breath "Spearow was stolen from me, Officer Jenny said that it was likely the work of Team Rocket. And Pichu did evolve after saving me and… Misty from a large flock of Spearow that attacked us"
Taken aback by all of this new information, Oak goes on to say "My god, that's a lot to have happened in just your first day Ash. But did you say Misty?"
Confused, Ash says "Yeah, orange-haired, likes fishing" although before he continues, he suddenly cuts himself off as he remembers "Oh wait! I saw a mysterious bird Pokémon, soar above us. A large one at that"
Forgetting what Ash said about Misty, the professor goes on to list 'large' birds "Pidgeot? Fearow? Swellow? Pelipper?"
Ash tells him no to each of them and then goes on to say "We tried scanning it with Dexter, but it didn't register" then Ash notices something on a nearby wall. He exclaims "It looked like that!" as he points towards it.
Oak is obviously confused by this and asks him to explain what the Pokémon looks like.
He explains from the stone engravings as it having many tails or rear feathers, long wings, a beak and a three piece crown. Which doesn't seem to help the professor. But comes to a conclusion nonetheless.
"Articuno? You think you saw the ice legendary, Articuno? I'm afraid to say that you must be mistaken. There are many whom search their whole lives looking for any of the three legendary birds, to no success. Maybe a misidentification?"
"I'm certain I saw that Pokémon though" Ash says his gaze downcast.
They speak for a few more minutes before ending the call, so that Ash can ring his mother.
Serena extends her hand to the stranger and says "My name is Serena, sorry that my Bulbasaur disturbed you"
The girl observes the stranger's hand carefully before deciding to shake her hand as she introduces herself "My name is Leaf Green. Cute little Pokémon you got there. Your starter I assume?"
Smiling, Serena nods her head as she picks Bulbasaur up "Yep just got him yesterday, haven't really had too much time to bond with him yet. What was your starter Pokémon then?" she asks wishing to continue their conversation further.
Making a side glance, Leaf considers her words and reveals "I got myself a… rare Pokémon from Unova, actually. A gift from my parents. Zorua" she knows that she needs to get away from the rather too friendly girl in her path.
Dialling his home address, a rather familiar face pops up on the monitor. A much older brunette in her pyjamas. She has a look of joy as she looks at her son.
"Ash! It's good to see you haven't forgotten me already" she says happily as she looks at her roughened son. Noting the marks on his clothing, she asks "Did you already have a rough adventure?"
Grimacing and smiling meekly he says "Well, there was issues with Pichu. I tried to capture a Pidgey, accidentally caught a Spearow, that got stolen and we were then attacked and pursued by a large flock of Spearow. Then Pichu would evolve into Pikachu after he saved my life"
Visibly concerned she says "You were attacked? And someone stole your first capture?" she seems in deep thought as she considers this.
Ash confirms and goes on to say "Yep, and we spoke to Viridian Cities Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy. Apparently it sounds like it could have been Team Rocket"
A look of fear crosses her face as she warns him "Ash, listen here" but as she says this the phone cuts off. In fact all of the electricity cuts off in the Pokémon Center. It remains this way until the emergency back-up generator comes on. Ash, Serena, Lillie and Misty converge in the main entrance of the Center as Nurse Joy also appears. However Bulbasaur is nowhere to be seen.
Before any of them can say anything, there's a crash through the skylight as smoke fills the room up.
Coughing, Ash thinks to himself, noting the similarities, 'Not again! These must be the people who stole my Spearow!'
As the smoke clears, a male and female appear on the ground as two purple Pokémon are in front of them. One a spherical gaseous Pokémon with craters across its form with gases escaping them along with an oval and cross under its face. The other is a long serpent who's eyes, underbelly, the thick stripe around its neck and rattle are yellow.
They take their Pokédexs out to scan them quickly.
Ash's one says "Ekans, the Snake Pokémon and a poison type. It sneaks through grass without making a sound and strikes unsuspecting prey from behind. It can freely detach its jaw to swallow large prey whole. It can become too heavy to move however"
Serena's one says "Koffing, the Poison Gas Pokémon and a poison type. "Lighter-than-air gases in its body keep it aloft. The gases not only smell, they are also explosive. It mixes toxins with raw garbage to set off a chemical reaction that results in a terribly powerful Poison Gas. The higher the temperature, the more gas is concocted by this Pokémon"
The female says "Prepare for trouble" The male says "And make it double" The female says "To protect the world from devastation!" The male says "To unite all people within our nation!" The female says "To denounce the evils of truth and love!" The male says "To extend our reach to the stars above!" The female says "Jessie!" The male says "James!" Jessie says "Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" James says "Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
Lillie then asks "Was all of that really necessary?"
Immediately Jessie's head snaps towards her in fury "Listen here, little miss rich girl, we are taking over this Pokémon Center and there's nothing yous can do about it"
James then picks his radio up as he calls through saying "Meowth, did you get what we came for?"
Through minor static, they each hear "Meowth, that's right, yep getting a few now"
The members of Team Rocket grin at this.
Balling up his fist, Ash angrily demands "Did yous steal my Spearow from yesterday?" as he glares menacingly at them.
Jessie laughs as she takes a Pokéball from her belt tossing it casually. Out comes an avian Pokémon. She says "Is this what you were talking about kid?" the Spearow glares daggers at the raven-haired boy.
Misty joins in to say "Real low, stealing a common Pokémon like Spearow from a starting trainer, criminals!" as she reaches for her Pokéball only to remember that she had given them to Nurse Joy earlier.
Elsewhere in the building.
The Meowth is walking on its hind legs through the storage room, picking a couple of Pokéballs off a shelf as he then encounters an unexpected sight. A young brunette, in the room with him.
She smirks at him as she too grabs a Pokéball and hides it in her pocket as Serena's Bulbasaur walks into the room following her scent again. She notices the Seed Pokémon come into view and tells Meowth to leave before she deals with him herself.
The feline sees the grass type and decides that it would be in his best interests to leave right now. Bulbasaur however doesn't see Meowth leave nor does he sees her steal a Pokéball for herself.
Meowth comes running into the room with the others in as the girl stays talking to Bulbasaur.
The cat-like Pokémon says "Well while there was a minor problem, I have what we came for" as he tosses each of them a Pokéball each.
Lillie scans the Pokémon with her Pokédex "Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokémon, and a normal type. Meowth withdraws its sharp claws into its paws to slinkily sneak about without making any incriminating footsteps. For some reason, this Pokémon loves shiny coins that glitter with light"
Leaf in the other room comes across her own Pokémon, along with Pikachu, seemingly well rested and considers taking him for herself. However reconsiders as it awakens and as Bulbasaur was still with her. But comes up with a plan as she takes her own Pokémon and escorts Pikachu, Bulbasaur and three other Pokéballs which must belong to either of those two from earlier, she guesses.
Ash snarls at them "You won't get away with continuing to steal other people's Pokémon, you thugs!"
Serena also adds "The police already know what you've been up to, know that you stole Ash's Spearow"
Then Lillie suggests "And you probably stole that Charmander from Professor Oak, a few nights ago too"
James retorts "Afraid not darling. Someone else stole that lizard from the old man"
Then it hits Ash as he exclaims "Wait! You were the guard at the lab yesterday, the one who was acting strange especially towards my friend here" as he moves to stand in front of Lillie.
At this moment Leaf bursts in and tells Pikachu to use Thunder Shock on the villainous group without revealing herself to Meowth.
Instinctually James tells Koffing to use Poison Gas. Which causes an explosion. However… it doesn't as Nebby stands in front of Lillie and Ash as it cuts the explosion off. But at the same time reveals itself to them.
Meowth makes the suggestion "Maybe we should leave them for now"
Jessie and James agree but say that "They'll be back" and with that they return Spearow, Ekans and Koffing to their respective Pokéballs and escape from the scene.
The others are left in shock, mostly due to what Cosmog had just done. Misty and Nurse Joy are confused by the appearance of this strange entity. While Leaf is interested. She puts the three Pokéballs on the floor by Bulbasaur and Pikachu and then leave hidden without being seen by the others.
The four young trainers eventually leave the Center and go to Route 2. Where they encounter another Purple Pokémon. A small, quadrupedal, rodent-like Pokémon. It is pinkish purple with darker patches. It had large, spiny ears with teal insides, oversized front teeth and red eyes. Its back is covered with three lines of large spines.
Serena pulls out her Pokédex to scan it "Nidoran, the Poison Pin Pokémon, and a poison type. This is of the Male variant of the species. It scans its surroundings by raising its ears out of the grass. Its toxic horn is for protection. It raises its big ears to check its surroundings. It will strike first if it senses any danger"
She calls out Bulbasaur to battle it as the others watch. Pikachu sits on Ash's shoulder as Lillie and Misty watched from a nearby bench. Ash being the motivational type. Plus there was only room for two people to sit on the bench considering Lillie's… anxiety around new people.
Misty catching on, asks in a soft tone "Hey are you alright Lillie? After earlier?"
Not giving eye contact she simply answers "I'm okay. Thank you" as politely as ever.
Misty shrugging her shoulders, resumes watching the honey-blonde female.
Serena tells her starter to use growl, in order to weaken the poison type's attacks. In response the rabbit-like creature leers at him. Serena then orders Bulbasaur to use Vine Whip, which the wild Pokémon avoids and retaliates with a Bite to the vines. This hurts Bulbasaur as he winces. Then he retracts the vines once able to. However Serena realises something. She tells Bulbasaur to use Vine Whip again, and despite hesitation Bulbasaur follows through. The same thing happens again and Serena tells Bulbasaur to charge at Nidoran and hit it with Tackle, then follow it up with a Headbutt. Bulbasaur obeys and it knocks Nidoran down. Serena smiling then tosses a Pokéball to capture the Poison Pin Pokémon, and after several shakes, it's successful.
Ash runs over and gives her a high five as Serena and Bulbasaur celebrate. Of course she makes sure to pick the capture device up quickly due to recent events.
With that they start heading into Viridian Forest. Full of bug Pokémon. And wouldn't you know it, someone is afraid of bugs.
Misty is constantly on edge looking around as she in some way determines that they are 'all watching her, waiting to capture her and crawl all over her' as she put it.
This goes on for some time as the others talk amongst themselves until Ash spots something on the path in front of them. A green caterpillar like creature with a yellow underside and a teardrop-shaped tail. There are yellow ring-shaped markings down the sides of its segmented body, which resemble its eyes. Its most notable characteristic is the bright red antenna on its head.
Ash grabs his Pokédex to scan it "Caterpie, the Worm Pokémon, a bug type. Caterpie has a voracious appetite. It can devour leaves bigger than its body right before your eyes. From its antenna, this Pokémon releases a terrifically strong odour"
Ash considering his options, decides that it is typically a weaker Pokémon, so once again decides to throw a lone Pokéball at the 'worm' Pokémon. It shakes briefly before dinging to register a successful capture.
Before Ash celebrates, Misty interjects and says despairingly, "Oh great! Now we need to travel with the creepy little creature"
Ash picking up his official second capture, retorts angrily "Well despite how much I appreciated your help, Misty, you didn't need to come along with us in the first place. I mean what do you even bring to this group?" as he glares at her.
This offends Misty as she gets upset and gets in his face, saying "I came along because I figured yous wouldn't mind and I could help teach yous the ropes considering my experience. I thought I was helping you out!"
Ash snaps back "Well we don't need your help, if you can't even handle bug Pokémon, why would I need your help against the Rock type gym leader?"
Lillie stands off to the side anxious and not sure how to cope with the situation. So… she runs off, without the others seeming to notice, further into the woods off of the path.
Serena tries to calm them down, telling them to "Stop this nonsense now!" and that's when she realises that her friend has disappeared. As she looks around she says "Oh no… guys, Lillie is gone!"
This takes the bickering duo out of their argument as they realise that Serena is right.
Eyes widened in panic, Ash suggests splitting up. He will go one way while Serena and Misty go another way. Both in the general direction that they would assume Lillie is. They two girls agree, reluctantly.
As Ash is walking and having Pikachu and Caterpie, whom he released from its Pokéball, help him look. Then sees what looks like a larger Pidgey. A bird covered in brown feathers, has a cream-coloured face, underside, and flight feathers. It has a crest of pinkish-red feathers on its head and black, angular markings behind its black eyes. The plumage of its tail has alternating red and yellow feathers with ragged tips. Its beak and legs are pink, with two front toes and one back toe on both legs.
Ash recognises it as Pidgeotto, and scans it "Pidgeotto, the Bird Pokémon, a normal and flying type, and is the evolved form of Pidgey. It flies over its wide territory in search of prey, downing it with its highly developed claws. It has outstanding vision. However high it flies, it is able to distinguish the movements of its prey"
He then says "That's what we need to help find Lillie!" he tells Pikachu to use Thunder Shock on it. The electric mouse listens and takes the bird down. Fighting back, Pidgeotto uses Sand Attack in response, but the electric type avoids it but falls prey to a Quick Attack, then a Gust. Ash having an idea tells Caterpie to use String Shot to slow the avian down. It works then he has Pikachu deliver his own Quick Attack. As Pidgeotto seems much weaker he throws a Pokéball at it. It captures.
However he also comes to the realisation that with Pidgeotto weakened, it won't be able to help too much for the time being. So he continues searching for his lost friend.
'I need to find her. Lillie is important to me, just like Serena. It's my fault she ran off. I'm supposed to be there for her to support her and protect her and yet I let some squabble scare her off" he thinks to himself as he calls out her name.
Pikachu is sniffing for her scent as Caterpie follows along behind him as if mimicking him.
Ash eventually says to his two Pokémon, "I'm going to climb that oversized tree" as he points to a tree which he had noticed sometime beforehand "and see if I can find her. You two stay down here"
Having grown up in a small town like Pallet, surrounded by an overabundance of trees, wildlife and his insatiable thirst for adventure and risk taking, Ash has a knack for climbing trees. Often having to save Meowth, Rattata and other small Pokémon from trees. He was pretty much their answer instead of having fire emergency vehicles deployed to handle such incidents in the typically peaceful Pallet Town.
Despite struggling quite a bit and almost falling a few times, he makes it to a high enough point where he can look around to see if he can catch a glimpse of his all white dressed friend. At first he gets nothing but after several minutes he finds what he's looking for. As he starts climbing down the tree, a branch that he was clutching in his right hand, snaps off due to his weight on the branch. Despite that he composes himself and continues to go down the branch without any further incident.
As he hits the ground, he picks Caterpie up and runs off towards the area he saw Lillie as Pikachu follows closely behind him. After say about three minutes of rushing through the woods, he eventually runs into Lillie.
Sees surprised and rather jumpy when she sees her friend rushing towards her. He runs up to her and gives her a tight hug, telling her "Lillie! I'm so glad I fount you, why did you run off?"
Still being embraced, Lillie responds "You and that girl were getting too much for me to handle" she averts her gaze as she continues "You know I don't like everything being too loud"
As his expression softens and as he moves away he says to her "I know, I know. Sorry Lillie, I'll try to be more thoughtful from now on"
Lillie then shrieks out as a grey rhino-like Pokémon runs past with a body covered in grey, rocky plates. Its underside and rear are smooth, and it has four short legs with two claws on each foot. It has a triangular head with narrow, red eyes, two fangs protruding from its upper jaw, small, triangular openings on the upper sides, and a short horn on the tip of its snout. A spiked ridge runs along its back.
Ash pulls out his Pokédex to scan it "Rhyhorn, the Spikes Pokémon, a ground and rock type. Its body is clad in a thick hide, and its tackles topple buildings. It is inept at turning because of its four short legs. It can only charge and run in one direction"
Then Lillie also realises that Ash had Caterpie against her during the hug. Seeing her discomfort, Ash returns Caterpie back to its Pokéball. Then asks "Are you ready to go back to the others?"
Nervously she nods her head as they leave to go back towards the main pathway. They walk in relative silence.
Well that is until they walk right into a net trap! Ash, Lillie and Pikachu all trapped inside, as Lillie starts to panic due to both the circumstances and her proximity to the rodent Pokémon. Of course she doesn't hate Pikachu however past traumas were always present even if she isn't too sure what caused it.
Out comes the trio of heels before them. Jessie, James and Meowth. They do their little motto.
Ash says, well demands "Let us out!"
Meowth responds, "No can do kiddo, your little girlfriend there has a rare Pokémon that we want" as he glares at Lillie.
Jessie says "Come on out Ekans and Venonat" and the insect-like Pokémon comes out alongside Ekans. It has a purple fur-covered spherical body. A pink pincer-like mouth with two teeth, stubby forepaws, and a pair of two-toed feet are visible through its fur. Its limbs are light tan. There is also a pair of white antennae sprouting from the top of its head. It also has large, red compound eyes.
James also calls out "Come on out Koffing and Bellsprout" alongside the gas creature is also a plant-like Pokémon with a stem-like brown body. There is a single leaf on each side of its body. It has a yellow bell-shaped head with what appear to be pink lips at the end and beady black eyes. Its stem is long, then and very flexible. Its roots resemble feet, and uses them as such.
The two of the children scan the Pokémon "Venonat, the Insect Pokémon, a poison and bug type. Its big eyes are actually clusters of tiny eyes. At night, its kind is drawn by light. Its eyes also function as radar units. It catches and eats small bugs that hide in darkness"
"Bellsprout, the Flower Pokémon, a grass and poison type. Bellsprout's thin and flexible body lets it bend and sway to avoid any attack, however strong it may be. From its mouth, this Pokémon spits a corrosive fluid that melts even iron"
Ash comments "Melts iron? Somehow I find that hard to believe?"
Meowth responds "Well, that's what the prof says is true. Maybe he's a liar?" he smirks as he looks up at them.
Ash grunts at him as a thought comes to his mind. 'I could toss a Pokéball out there while they are distracted to help us out of this situation. But what distract them like that?' as he mills this over in his head he comes up with an idea.
He sends out Caterpie, from inside the netting, to the ground which makes the trio of bandits laugh. Taking advantage, Ash throws out Pidgeotto from its Pokéball and commands it to use Wing Attack to cut through the netting. The bird Pokémon listens and they are released, falling to the ground with a thud.
This catches Team Rocket off guard as they become serious.
Jesse smirks at the Pidgeotto, as she also sends out her own bird Pokémon, Spearow, saying "Go ahead Spearow, show this twerp's flying rodent who's boss!"
Spearow glaring once more at Ash, takes off immediately after Pidgeotto. Before the raven-haired boy's Pokémon can react, it is hit by a Quick Attack by the smaller bird. Shaking the hit off, Pidgeotto fights back with a Gust, then its own Quick Attack. Spearow soars into the tree line with Pidgeotto hot on its tail.
Gritting his teeth, Ash stares down Jessie, James and Meowth.
James suggests "Just give us your odd Pokémon girl and we'll leave you alone" as he holds his hand out towards them smirking as if he holds all of the cards and is in the process of the 'heist of the century'.
Ash stands defensively in front of Lillie as Nebby shakes in her bag. A look of concern crosses her face as Ash holds a determined look as he tells them "Not gonna happen, Pikachu and Caterpie, lets handle them. Pikachu use Quick Attack on Venonat, Caterpie use Tackle on Ekans!"
Jessie commands in response "Venonat dodge then use Supersonic. Ekans use Poison Sting on Pikachu"
James also tells his Pokémon "Koffing use Tackle on Pikachu, Bellsprout use Wrap on the Caterpie"
Pikachu runs towards Venonat and the insect dodges the initial attack. As it sets up for the waves of debilitating screeching, Pikachu bounces off of a tree, also dodging its foes burst of offense then uses its tail to slap Ekans, sending the Poison Sting at the furry Pokémon. However despite that, it is hit by Koffing as Bellsprout grips Caterpie, preventing it from doing much.
At the same time, Spearow uses Aerial Ace on the Pidgeotto then Peck. Pidgeotto, deciding to play more forcefully goes for Quick Attack into Gust then while its enemy recovers, hits a Sand Attack, blinding the sparrow-like creature. Deciding that it had weakened the smaller bird enough, Pidgeotto grabs it with its talons and flies back towards the group. As it does so, it drops the Spearow onto Koffing, knocking it also into Ekans.
Taking advantage of the assistance, Ash tells Pikachu to use Thunder Bolt on the group of Pokémon as Pidgeotto goes to assist Caterpie, Pecking at the Bellsprout. Team Rocket's Pokémon are engulfed by a surge of electricity.
Feeling more confident, Ash steps towards Jessie and James as their group lies downed mostly and unable to do much more. Until he notices Meowth isn't there. Lillie gasps out as Meowth takes a swipe at her face after jumping up. She's down to her knees as Meowth threatens to hurt her if Ash or his Pokémon do anything.
Meowth tells Ash "Return your dumb bird to its cage and have your electric rodent back off, or I hurt her" he holds his sharpened claws to Lillie's face. Nebby is too weak to do much after the intense energy exerted from earlier in the day despite its desperate attempts to do something. Anything.
Ash lowers his gaze and returns Pidgeotto as Pikachu is forced to back off towards a nearby tree. Ash then tosses Pidgeotto's ball to Pikachu also.
Jessie says grinning "That's better kid. We don't need to do anything stupid that you would regret" by now she also returns her Spearow and Ekans back to their respective Pokéballs. James does the same to Bellsprout and Koffing. Venonat makes its way towards Meowth and Lillie to be useful.
Unbeknownst to anyone in the clearing, Caterpie had made its way around to Meowth and Lillie. Then String Shots Meowth as it makes its way around the feline, coating him in silk.
Seeing this, Jessie orders Venonat to use Bug Bite on Lillie to try and take control. Caterpie however jumps in the way of the oncoming attack and takes it for the blonde.
Pikachu comes storming over and blasts Venonat and then Meowth with consecutive Quick Attacks, making them land over towards Jessie and James. Then blasts them with Thunder Shock. They are sent flying through the air.
Rather comically, they all shout "Team Rockets blasting off!"
Ash rushes over to Lillie, as he checks on her, seeing the scratch marks and small amount of blood trickling from her fairly minor wounds. He grabs a cloth from his pocket, and dabs it against the fragile girl's cheek making sure to be extremely careful and safe with her.
He gently asks her "Are you okay now?" as his eyes flash with concern towards his close friend.
Her gaze downcast, Lillie, shaking responds meekly "I… think I am. I'm just so scared of what that bunch of criminals are capable of. If it wasn't for Caterpie, it could have been much worse"
As Lillie says this, they both look over at the bug Pokémon, seeing it start to glow and change. Knowing what that means, thanks to it having happened already with Pichu into Pikachu, they wait to see the result.
As the light dies down a new form stands before them. It seems to resemble a green chrysalis. Its body is crescent- shaped with several segments making up the lower point. The front of its shell resembles a face with heavy-lidded eyes and a sharply pointed nose. The back of its shell consists of several differently shaped portions.
Ash grabs his Pokédex and Dexter tells them "Metapod, the Cocoon Pokémon, a bug type. A steel-hard shell protects its tender body. It quietly endures hardships while awaiting evolution. It stays motionless in the shell"
Lillie says to the newly evolved Metapod "Thank you, thank you Metapod for saving me just now" she goes to pat it on the head but catches herself and decides not to.
As they are all sorted, they remember Pidgeotto's Pokéball off to the side. Of course Pikachu couldn't grip it while having previously used Quick Attack. However when they glance towards it, a large bug creature grabs it.
The nightmare fuel resembles a bipedal, yellow wasp; however, it only has four legs. Its head is round with a slightly pointed mouth, large, red eyes, and black antennae with a sharp bend in the middle. Its forelegs are tipped with long, conical stringers. It seems to stand primarily on its other two legs, which are long, segmented and insectoid in shape. It also has two pairs of rounded, veined wings, and another stinger on its yellow-and-black striped abdomen.
They try to stop it but to no avail. As it flies off through the trees, they pursue it. Returning Metapod to his Pokéball, Ash also scans the Pokémon. Dexter tells them "Beedrill, the Poison Bee Pokémon, a bug and poison type. Beedrill is extremely territorial. No one should ever approach its next-this is for their own safety. If angered, they will attack in a furious swarm. Its best attack involves flying around at high speed, striking with poison needles, then flying off"
Listening to that, Lillie asks "But what could have angered it?" however what neither of them consider is what about this aforementioned swarm that they usually travel in?
With Misty and Serena.
"So what should we do?" Misty asks her new friend as she looks around in fear due to all of the bug Pokémon around them. Consider, for each bug that they can see, there are probably several dozens more that they cannot see.
Serena, resisting the urge to roll her eyes says "We just need to keep looking for Lillie, she won't be able to cope out here around all of these Pokémon"
Concerned and a little curious, Misty asks "But why is she like that? Also what is up with that strange Pokémon she has in her bag?"
The honey-blonde female is about to respond, when a young boy dressed in… samurai attire steps in their way.
He says "Halt! Are either of you one of the trainers of Pokémon from the town of Pallet?"
Ignoring his question, Misty mutters "Oh great, a nerd who thinks he's a samurai or something. Dumb child"
Hearing this, the boy leaps forward drawing his sword and pointing the tip of it at the red-head's face. "I am not some child of dumb. And I asked a question!"
Serena trying to defuse the situation tells him "I am one of the trainers… of Pokémon from the town of Pallet" she says considering how childish this all sounds.
"Good! I challenge you to a battle of Pokémon!" the samurai kid declares as he sheathes his weapon and pulls out a Pokéball.
Frowning, Serena tells him "We can't battle, my friend Misty and I, here need to find our friends who are lost in the woods here"
"Beat me, and I shall assist you in your friends being fount" he offers. Actually tells them.
Getting frustrated, Serena agrees. The kid says about a double battle. Narrowing her eyes Serena agrees.
Serena says "Okay let's go, Bulbasaur and Nidoran!" as she sends her only two Pokémon out to battle. The Nidoran seems excited to battle.
The boy sends out his own two saying "Go! Pinsir and Paras!"
Pinsir is a bipedal, insectoid Pokémon with a wide, dull-brown body divided into segments by thin lines. On top of its head is a large pair of grey, spiky pincers on top of its head. In its mouth are many long, flat teeth arranged horizontally and it has yellow triangular eyes. Its legs are short and thick while its arms are long and thin. It has three claws on each hand and foot; two of its toes face forward and one backward.
Paras has an orange ovoid body which is segmented, and it has three pairs of legs. The foremost pair of legs is the largest and has sharp claws at the tips. There are five specks of on its forehead and three teeth on either side of its mouth. It has large circular eyes. It also has two yellow-and-red mushrooms growing on its back.
Serena scans them both "Pinsir, the Stag Beetle Pokémon, a bug type. It grips its prey with its pincers until the prey is torn in half. What it can't tear, it tosses far. With its horns, it digs burrows to sleep in at night. In the morning, damp soil clings to its body" "Paras the Mushroom Pokémon, a bug and grass type. Paras has parasitic mushrooms growing on its back called tochukaso. They grow large by drawing nutrients from this Bug Pokémon host. They are highly valued as a medicine for extending life"
Misty cowers back seeing the two bugs before her.
Serena decides to get things started "Nidoran use Peck on Paras and Bulbasaur Vine Whip on Pinsir"
The boy says nothing as Pinsir leaps in front of the smaller bug and bats the poison type away and takes the vines without flinching. Then grabs them before Bulbasaur can retract them and uses it to drag Bulbasaur towards it.
The girl commands "Nidoran, use Peck on Pinsir!"
Paras this time seems to release a spore after jumping out from behind its partner, hitting Nidoran and it seems to stun him.
Before much more of the battle can continue, they hear a buzzing sound. The samurai kid, knowing what it means, returns Pinsir and Paras to their respective Pokéballs. "I recommend you do the same, child of Pallet. Beedrill are coming!" as he runs along a side path. Serena listens to him and does so.
Misty, very much terrified, grabs her friend's hand and takes off running after the young boy. They reach what seems to be a small cabin, tossing themselves inside before the Beedrill can catch them.
The two girls try to calm their breathing as they are both grateful to be safe but did just run a long distance.
The boy offers no words to them other than telling them, that it should be safe to leave in the morning. Then he leaves to go to a room of his own, presumably his bedroom?
Misty remarks lowly "Good riddance"
However the Pallet native reminds her "We can't stay here too long, we need to find Ash and Lillie. They won't have the shelter we have now"
Thinking carefully, Misty notes that it is starting to get dark at the moment. She also suggests that they won't be able to do much in the darkness so offers Serena the idea of staying here for the night and venturing out in the morning.
Serena considers but ultimately says "No. We should wait a little while, then if it seems clear, we leave then. The bugs may be less active at night and then early morning"
Sighing, Misty agrees with her, as she knows that she won't be able to get through the woods by herself.
An hour after dark, they leave the cabin, carefully closing the door as to not make too much noise. However as they walk along Misty says quietly "Hey at least while we were there, I managed to grab some different looking Pokéballs"
Horrified, Serena asks "What? Why did you do that?"
Shrugging her shoulders, Misty remarks "He didn't seem to need them. Here I'll show you some"
She pulls out twelve balls. Five of which are net balls, three net balls, two dusk balls and two premier balls.
Rolling her eyes, Serena smirks and admits "Honestly I did too"
They both let out low laughter. As they make their way through the trees, they come across some figures. Two people and a Pokémon. One male. One female. And a flying Pokémon.
They assume its Ash, Lillie and… a new Pokémon, Ash must have captured. Of course it couldn't be anyone else.
"Ash, Lillie!" Serena calls out in a somewhat hushed tone.
As the two of them rush forwards they realise their mistake.
"Ash? Lillie? Not so!" James tells them in a low voice.
In shock, Serena responds "Team Rocket? Why are yous here?"
Jessie tells them "We saw your friends, that boy and girl earlier. They sent us blasting off and when we landed, Meowth was captured by a hoard of Beedrill. We did find the nest and saw your boyfriend's Pidgeotto there too"
Blushing, Serena quips "He's not my boyfriend! He's a boy and a friend"
Misty giggles at this before realising that they aren't actually supposed to be playing around with these guys. She asks "So why haven't you gone and saved Meowth yet?" as she raises an eyebrow.
"We did try but to no avail" Jessie says frowning, a look of concern flashes over her face before trying to mask it.
James has a lightbulb moment as an idea strikes him, he suggests "Well if yous are looking for your friends, whom are going after the Pidgeotto, which is also where we need to go to get Meowth, why don't we work together?"
Narrowing her eyes incredulously, Serena questions "And how are we supposed to trust yous? Especially since you have that Spearow there, ya know Ash's Pokémon right there?"
James, holding up his hands, says "We promise we just want our friend back, Meowth is like family for us both"
Serena nods her head and accepts as they go towards where the Rocket members know the nest is. After maybe twenty minutes of walking they are able to see the clearing and trees full of Beedrill, Kakuna and Weedle.
Weedle is a larval-like Pokémon, with a spherically segmented body ranging in colour from yellow to reddish-brown. It has a bulbous red nose, two small black eyes on its face and two spherical feet on each segment. It also has a conical, two-inch venomous stinger on its head and a barbed one on its tail.
Kakuna I a yellow, cocoon-like Pokémon. It has a dome-shaped head and black triangular eyes with glowing white pupils. It has two scythe-like arms in the middle of its body.
On silent mode, Serena scans each of the three Pokémon. "Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokémon, a bug and poison type. It eats its weight in leaves every day. It fends off attackers with the needle on its head" "Kakuna, the Cocoon Pokémon, a bug and poison type and the evolution of Weedle. Able to move only slightly. When endangered, it may stick out its stinger and poison its enemy. Almost incapable of moving, this Pokémon can only harden its shell to protect itself when it is in danger"
Before any of them can do anything, they catch a glimpse of Ash moving towards the nest. They can see Lillie sitting off to the side with Pikachu and Metapod. Ash is crawling on his stomach softly and making each movement subtle and careful. That is until a Kakuna drops from a tree near him. This catches each of the sleeping poison type's attentions, now suddenly awake and watching intently. The Beedrill start to investigate, as Pikachu begins to try and intervene.
Gritting his teeth, Ash yells to Lillie to "Stop Pikachu from coming over Lillie! He'll get hurt" he slowly makes it to his feet as he stares the Beedrill down.
James watches holding two Pokéballs as he sneaks to get closer without the others noticing. Then when he's close enough he sends out Koffing and Bellsprout. He commands "Koffing use Smokescreen and Bellsprout use Sleep Powder now!" as they listen, a cloud of smoke engulfs the area.
However something else happens. Spearow spots Ash and takes off towards him, using Gust to try and hurt him. Which gets rid of the smoke and powder. Jessie and James both realise what happened at the same time across the clearing from one another.
Just as Serena is about to try and help, Ash uses this distraction to dash past the bugs and rushes towards the tree where his Pokéball is and spots Meowth, clearly hurt. Ash picks his ball up and tries to help Meowth out too. If for no other reason to be a good person.
Just as he frees Meowth, the Beedrill start rushing towards him. That is until Metapod cracks open from behind as something emerges from the shell. It resembles something like a purple-bodied butterfly. It has two body segments and four light blue legs. The upper pair of legs bear a resemblance to small, three-fingered hands, while the lower pair look like long, digit-less feet. It has two black antennae, a light blue snout with two fangs underneath, and large, red compound eyes. Its two pairs of wings are white with black venation.
It soars over to Ash above the Beedrill, unleashing a copious amounts of Sleep Powder over the poison types, knocking them all out. Ash embraces the bug type as Meowth thanks him. This time as he rushes over to his friends and they escape, having already returned Spearow to its Pokéball earlier.
Ash and the others escape the clearing heading a great distance from the nest and all sigh a deep sigh of relief.
Misty comments, "At least we are away from those horrible and ugly bugs"
Serena laughs as she takes out a Pokéball catching everyone's attention. She smirks saying "Hey I saw a little Weedle separate from the others while we were there and thought, why not get a new Pokémon"
Misty just shakes from that, as her eye twitches.
Ash deciding to scan Butterfree, takes his Pokédex out and scans him "Butterfree, the Butterfly Pokémon, a bug and flying type and the final evolution of Caterpie. Butterfree has a superior ability to search for delicious honey from flowers. It can even search out, extract, and carry honey from flowers that are blooming over six miles from its nest"
With that they start on the path back towards going to Pewter City and the first Gym on Ash and Serena's challenge.
That's it! Chapter two/ three is finished, and that was a really long chapter, over eight-thousand words flat. Also truth be told, I haven't decided yet who Ash will end up with, all I know is he will get with someone I guess? Lillie, Leaf and Serena are potentials. However Leaf is a long shot. Misty? I'll be truthful, never really saw the appeal. Anyways thank you for reading. As I mentioned at the start, I don't intend to upload this every Thursday, it just so happens that so far that's what has happened. But see yous next time (hopefully).