The Island of Pink Pokemon
Thunder boomed across the sky as dark clouds formed on the horizon.
"Laa..." Lapras cried out with an anxious tone.
"Pika pi..." Pikachu's ears flattened.
"A tropical storm!" Tracey anxiously exclaimed.
"Not again..." Chloe groaned out.
"It's close, we've got to take cover fast or we'll be caught in it!" Brock shouted out.
Ash shot a quick look around before picking out a nearby island. "Lapras head for that island, we've got to find cover!"
"Laaaa!" Lapras quickly adjusted his trajectory and began ferrying the group towards the nearby island. All of the Pokemon had already taken shelter from the storm upon their arrival, preventing Tracey from making out what island they were on.
The group began darting their heads about in search of cover while Ash returned Lapras to his ball. "You'll be safe in there Lapras, thank you."
"Laaaa!" Lapras cried out as he disappeared back into the ball.
"Ash, up there!" Brock pointed towards a nearby hill that led further up the island, a cave could be seen at the top of the island marking a good place for the group to take cover.
"Venonat is anything dangerous up there?" Tracey asked his trusty Bug type while releasing him from confinement. He wasn't about to go racing directly into an Ursaring's den.
"Venonat!" Venonat stared up at the cave as he looked it over with his radar sense, he saw several Pokemon inside but their shapes and sizes indicated that they were merely small Pokemon that were hiding from the storm. Venonat shook his head causing Tracey to utter out a sigh of relief before giving off a quick wave of his hand.
"Let's get going!"
"Right!" Tracey and the others quickly shot up the hillside and raced on into the cave as rain began pouring down upon the island. The group didn't take much notice of the pink Pidgey, Rattata and Paras hiding inside the cave at first as they were more concerned with rather everyone made it or not. Upon realizing that everyone was safe the group quickly settled down. Tracey pulled out his sketchbook and began anxiously looking it over in hopes that it hadn't gotten water damage while Brock was hard at work attempting to get a fire going. Chloe leaned her head up against Ash's shoulder as they sat down on the cave floor.
Chloe let out a sigh of content before gasping out as she felt something wet and scaly moving through her hair. "Ah-Wait Toxel?" Upon reaching up she received a light electrical touch.
"Tox!" Toxel wasn't happy that Ash's shoulder was taken but rather than take out his frustration on Chloe, he went directly for Pikachu. "Toxel!" Toxel gave Pikachu a hard shove, pushing him off Ash's shoulder.
"Pi!" Pikachu grunted out while faceplanting against the ground.
"Tox tox..." Toxel covered his mouth as he giggled out.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu angrily snapped up at Toxel as he leaped back to his feet. Electricity crackled through his cheeks. Toxel may be a baby but Pikachu found Toxel's jealous behavior getting old fast and didn't appreciate getting pushed around!
"Eevoi!" Eevee softly soothed her mate, rubbing her tail along Pikachu's back before twining their tails together as she looked him in the eye. "Eevoi..." Eevee gestured towards Ash and Chloe's laps, seemingly suggesting that they could lay there.
"Yeah Pikachu, you can sit here." Ash gave his lap a quick pat, inviting Pikachu over. Pikachu shrugged before plopping down in Ash's lap, his tail remained wrapped around Eevee's tail as Eevee plopped onto Chloe's lap. Chloe closed her eyes while her head remained on Ash's shoulder, Ash leaned his head back against the cave wall as his own eyes closed.
Brock decided to take the time to start cooking up lunch and it wasn't long before a delicious aroma wavered through the cave. The pink Pidgey, Rattata and Paras' noses began to twitch as the aroma wavered towards them, their curiosity got the better of them as they began walking towards Brock. Croagunk turned towards them and uttered out a shocked croak at the sight.
"Croagunk!" He gasped.
"Huh? What is it-Oh wow!" Brock dropped his spoon into the soup pot causing a bit of liquid to come splashing out. "Pink Pidgey... pink Rattata... and pink Paras? W-What?! H-How's this possible?!"
"Huh?" Tracey looked up from his sketchbook and quickly turned pale at the sight of the pink Pokemon. "Arceus almighty... once the storm halts we've got to get out of here! It's illegal for humans to be on this island!"
Ash and Chloe shot wide awake at their friend's shouts and uttered out similar shouts of their own at the sight of the pink Pokemon.
"I didn't know Rattata could be pink!" Ash gasped out.
"Pika..." Pikachu gazed at the pink Pokemon with a shocked expression.
"T-They can't... or they shouldn't." Chloe stuttered out. "Shiny Rattata are supposed to be gold!" She retrieved her Rotom Phone and quickly scrolled through it before opening up Rattata's page. "And the only known regional variants are black and maroon!"
"That's because they aren't born pink." Tracey informed causing Ash, Brock and Chloe to give him a questioning look. "This island is home to a special type of berry called Pinkan Berry, which the island is named after. A regular diet of consuming Pinkan berries causes the Pokemon of this island to turn pink. The island was quickly turned to a reserve and catching the Pokemon that call it home was made illegal. Heck you're not even allowed to set foot here, I'm guessing all the signs got knocked down in the storm!"
"Whoa!" Ash's eyes grew wide before an anxious gasp escaped his throat as he saw Toxel munching on a rather unusual pink colored berry. "Gah! I-It won't turn Toxel pink will it?" He didn't want to be accused of being a criminal, if Officer Jenny found them she'd likely be understanding if they explained that they were simply taking cover from the storm but not if a pink Pokemon was with them!
"Hm? Oh no, it'd take weeks of consuming that berry on the regular. At most Toxel will turn pink for a few hours before the effects wear off." Tracey explained causing Ash to utter out a sigh of relief.
"Tox..?" Toxel looked up from the berry and tilted his head lightly as he didn't understand what was going on. Suddenly his purple scales began turning a light pink color resulting in the group gasping out.
"So it is true!"
"But temporary!" Tracey was quick to remind them.
"Tox..." Toxel anxiously looked about his body before gazing towards his trainer with a look of confusion and fear. "Tox!"
"Don't worry Toxel, it'll only last a few hours." Ash tried assuring him.
"Tox..." Toxel let out a sigh of relief before plopping down on his trainer's shoulder.
The storm began dying out causing the group to turn their attention towards the outdoors as sunlight began shining through the cave's entrance.
"Well looks like the storm's over, I say we get out of here before we're caught. Toxel's current situation will leave us in quite the predicament." Chloe suggested with a light drop of sweat.
"Right, well it was nice seeing you all!" Ash chuckled while giving the pink Pokemon a wave of farewell.
"I'd gladly cook you something but I'm afraid we can't stay any longer." Brock reached into his bag and began hastily cleaning his pot and pans before stuffing them back in. Though he did open a jar of Pokechow before sprinkling it throughout the cave. "Hopefully that'll make up for it, it's my own special recipe!"
"Cooo!"
"Rattata!"
"Paras!" The wild Pokemon uttered out cries of appreciation upon tasting Brock's delicious Pokemon food.
The group quickly gathered their things before hurrying back towards the ocean though they didn't get far when they heard the familiar sound of machinery along with an even more familiar set of laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
Ash, Brock and Chloe glanced back up the hill before turning towards each other. "Team Rocket!" They simultaneously exclaimed.
"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu growled out.
"Here of all places?" Chloe sighed out. "They must have followed us..."
"Regardless we can't just let them roam free, they could get away with the Pokemon!" Ash shouted while making a mad rush up the hill, Pikachu shot up alongside him as they ran towards the laughter.
"Ash wait up!" Chloe shouted after her boyfriend.
"Yeah, wait for us!" Tracey shouted.
"Hold up!" Several park rangers and an Officer Jenny tackled Brock, Tracey, Chloe and their Pokemon. "You three are under arrest!"
"Under arrest?! But we were just taking shelter from the storm, honest!" Tracey shouted while tears practically fell from his eyes.
"Is that so?" Officer Jenny asked while looking towards their belts. "In that case you wouldn't mind if I searched your Pokeballs, right?"
"Not at all ma'am! Go right ahead, we'll prove our innocence!" Chloe gave Officer Jenny a consensual nod.
"Eevoi!"
Officer Jenny picked a Pokeball at random from Chloe's belt before tapping the button.
"Freeee!" Sakura burst out causing Jenny and the rangers to gasp out before delivering harsh glares towards the three twerps.
"Poachers!"
"We ought to throw them to the Sharpedo!"
"No but we are taking them to the station!" Officer Jenny returned Sakura to the Pokeball before pushing Chloe to her feet. "Now march!" She cried while slapping handcuffs onto Chloe, the park rangers followed their example by slapping handcuffs onto Brock, Tracey, Croagunk, Eevee and Marill.
"Officer Jenny this is hardly necessary, Chloe's had Sakura since she began her Pokemon adventure!" Brock tried reasoning with Officer Jenny.
"That's right, I caught her in Viridian Forest. She's a shiny Butterfree!" Chloe anxiously exclaimed.
"Shiny?" Officer Jenny paused in place while reaching into her pocket, producing her own Rotom Phone which she held out towards Chloe. "That is a shiny Butterfree." The Butterfree in the Rotom Phone's picture was a darker shade of purple than normal Butterfree, it's eyes were a noticeable shade of green while the only pink on it's body was it's wings!
Chloe went pale at the sight. "T-That's not... y-you mean Sakura's not a shiny?!" She asked. Her words carried a great sense of disbelief causing Officer Jenny to look the kids over once more before frowning. It's a real shame that they couldn't speak Pokemon, else they'd know that Treecko and her were real friendly prior to their capture on account of being poached. Treecko was nabbed from one of Hoenn's many forests while Butterfree was nabbed from this very island, after the poachers were apprehended the Pokemon were set free into the wild with Butterfree and Treecko sticking together up to the point that Ash and Chloe captured them.
Brock and Eevee shared similar looks of disbelief as they stood in complete shock.
"You really are just a bunch of innocent kids, aren't you?"
"Stupid ones, there's clearly signs all over the place!" One of the ranger's snapped, the same one that suggested they feed them to the Sharpedo.
"Shut up Ellis, the storm blew the signs away!" One of the other ranger's slapped his friend on the back of the head.
"Yes we are, if you'd look at my Rotom Phone then you'd see that I'm right!" Chloe exclaimed. "They register where you caught the Pokemon! It's right there in my pocket!"
"I'll reach in there," Ellis reached out only to have his hand slapped away by his friend.
"You're not stealing her wallet, Ellis."
"Aw..." Ellis hung his head. Given his personality, he was most likely an ex-con doing community service.
Officer Jenny reached into Chloe's pocket and retrieved her Rotom Phone before opening it up. "Chloe Cerise of Pallet Town..." She muttered out while scrolling past all the insignificant data before eventually reaching Butterfree's data. "And here we are, Butterfree captured at Viridian Forest..." Officer Jenny frowned before performing a quick bow.
"My apologies, Ellis and Billy uncuff them. They're free to go!" Officer Jenny sighed while uncuffing Chloe. "Poachers have gotten away before so I can only assume that Butterfree of yours is the offspring of a Pinkan Butterfree or was set free when the poachers were apprehended." Officer Jenny shrugged. "Either way nothing I can do but I'm afraid that your stay must come to an end, being here is still illegal and I'm willing to ignore that for the time being but if you stay any longer then I'm afraid I'll have to take you in."
"My boyfriend's still out there, I'm not leaving without him!" Chloe shouted before darting around as a loud explosion went off behind her.
"Hahaha!" Jessie, James and Meowth laughed out while a large mechanized Meowth scooped up various pink Pokemon such as Nidoking, Parasect, Nidoqueen, Gloom and Caterpie.
"Just look at this large haul!" James laughed while a pink Pichu whisked by before landing inside the mech's containment unit.
"Da boss is going to be real pleased!" Meowth clapped his paws.
"And I'll be able to enjoy a nice spa day with the bonus we'll surely receive!" Jessie eagerly exclaimed.
"Hey spa days are expensive you know!" James shouted out.
"Yeah, how come you get to decide what we do with the money?" Meowth snapped.
"Wobbuffet!"
"Because being this beautiful isn't cheap or easy!" Jessie revealed causing the three to face fault.
"Ugh..."
"Tox..." Toxel fell off of Ash's shoulder as Ash raced towards the mech.
"Team Rocket!"
"The twerp!" Jessie, James and Meowth simultaneously exclaimed.
"Let's retreat, Meowth activate rocket boots!" James shouted out.
"Right on!" Meowth reached for the red button.
"Hold on, we missed one!" Jessie pointed towards Toxel, who was still very much pink, who could be seen racing after Ash and Pikachu. Jessie pushed Meowth aside and activated the vacuum causing the large hose to shoot across the field in an attempt to suck Toxel up.
"Pika!" Pikachu raced for Toxel as the lizard started lifting from the ground, Pikachu was quick to bite Toxel's tail before he could fly away. His claws began digging into the dirt as he attempted to fight the vacuum's force. "Pika..."
"More power!" Jessie slammed another button causing the vacuum's wind force to greatly increase.
"Jessie stop!" Meowth tried pushing her away.
"Wobbu!"
"Yeah, Pikachu's stalled and Eevee's nowhere in sight! Let's make a retreat and win for a change!"
"You're not going anywhere, Nidoking use Horn Drill!" Ash shouted while throwing an arm forward.
"KING!" Nidoking burst from his ball and began stampeding towards the Meowth mech, his horn rapidly spun about before making contact with the Meowth mech. A large electrical spark appeared as Nidoking sliced through some important wiring and an explosion shortly followed after.
"Ahhh!" Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet all hugged each other as the mech began exploding beneath them. The containment unit broke allowing for the Pokemon to get set free while Team Rocket was blasted off into the air.
"Looks like Team Rocket is blasting off-"
"BEWEAR!" Bewear leaped into the air and quickly scooped the Rocket trio before they could fly off. Stufful held his paws in the air and uttered out a gleeful scream as they flew through the air. Bewear gave the island a quick look before seemingly thinking it too dangerous to settle on as she landed on a tree and forced it down before releasing her grasp on it, resulting in her being launched through the air as if the tree were a slingshot! "Bewear!" Bewear shouted while flying towards a distant island, taking Team Rocket with her.
"Pikaaa!"
"Tox!" Pikachu and Toxel had gotten sucked into the vacuum hose right as the explosion went off resulting in the two blasting off.
"Oh no, Pikachu! Toxel!" Ash anxiously shouted while fearing they'd fall into the ocean. Though thankfully that didn't seem to be the case as their trajectory was much too low and they were falling away from the island's coast. Ash uttered out a sigh of relief before swiftly returning Nidoking. "Don't worry guys, I'm coming!" He raced off in the direction he last saw them in, hoping that the two would be okay.
"Pika..." Pikachu groaned out while recovering from the fall. The electrical mouse shot a quick look around before spotting Toxel nearby, his body was limp and not moving causing Pikachu to let out a cry of alarm. "Pika!" Pikachu raced around and began hastily nuzzling and licking his younger brother in hopes of waking him up but Toxel remained still.
Pikachu snapped his fingers and shot a quick look around before spotting a Sitrus berry. The electric mouse sprang forward and grabbed hold of the berry before racing back towards Toxel. "Pika..." Pikachu quickly sliced the berries into appropriate sized slices before placing them into Toxel's mouth one at a time so that the baby wouldn't choke.
"T-Tox..." Toxel's eyes slowly opened up as his health restored. "Tox...?" Toxel tilted his head at the sight of Pikachu before slowly darting his head about in search of Ash. "Tox? Tox?!" Toxel cried out for Ash but didn't receive a response.
"Pika pika, Pikachu pika pi!" Pikachu responded by giving Toxel's shoulder a reassuring pat, stating that the two of them got separated from Ash but shouldn't be worried. This has happened before and they were reunited after a time. "Pika pika!" Pikachu gazed up to get a good indication of their location before flicking his tail towards the west.
"Pika!" Pikachu said that they landed on the western coast so if they head back there, chances are they'd find Ash and the others.
"Tox..." Toxel flickered his tail before giving off a light nod in response to Pikachu's cry. Pikachu smiled before leading the way through a set of nearby bushes only to freeze in place as the pair happened to stumble across a horde of pink Rhyhorn.
"Pi..." Pikachu's ears flattened at the sight. Thankfully they were all busy munching on berries and hadn't taken notice of him. Pikachu breathed a sigh of relief before turning to Toxel to suggest a different path only to panic as he didn't see him! "Pi pi?!" Pikachu darted his head to the left and right before spotting him, Toxel was reaching for a Pinkan berry on the very same bush that a Rhydon happened to be eating on.
"PIKA!" Pikachu clasped his paws against the sides of his cheeks as he gasped out. The electrical mouse shot across the field as fast as he could but was too late as Rhydon reached for the berry that Toxel reached out for, resulting in Rhydon lifting Toxel up into the air.
"Rhy!" The rhino opened his mouth as he prepared to chomp down on the berry. Toxel's eyes widened and began watering up at the sight as he feared getting eaten.
"T-TOX!" Toxel wailed out causing Pikachu to go pale and freeze in place as he felt every Rhyhorn turn their attention towards Toxel.
"Rhy!" Rhydon growled out while the Rhyhorn let out frustrated huffs.
"T-Tox!" Toxel fearfully shook, seemingly too terrified to move.
Pikachu was quick to act, Toxel may be an annoyance but he wasn't going to let his younger brother get eaten. "Pi!" Pikachu leaped up and grabbed hold of Toxel, prying him off the berry while his tail gave the berry a hard swat causing it to fly towards and splatter against Rhydon's face.
Rhydon grunted out, his face turned a dark shade of red as he gave Pikachu and Toxel a murderous look. "RHY!" He roared out.
"Rhy!" The Rhyhorn began grinding their paws against the floor as they prepared to charge at them.
"Pika!" Pikachu turned pale once more as the Rhyhorn had them surrounded, there wasn't anything to do but run! "Pi!" Pikachu held tightly onto Toxel's arm as he dragged him away from the Rhyhorn's territory as fast he could which wasn't as fast as normal on account of being on two legs rather than four. "Pika pika!" Pikachu shouted at Toxel to snap out of it or else they wouldn't make it out of there. If Pikachu tried attacking right now he'd only get whacked from behind before getting stomped on for the last time!
"T-Tox..." Toxel shivered and gave a nod of understanding as he dropped onto all fours before racing alongside Pikachu though he wasn't anywhere near as close to Pikachu when it came to running speed. Pikachu frowned and slowed down before crouching over.
"Pika!" He snapped while flicking his tail towards his back. Toxel was quick to catch on and leaped onto his brother's back. Pikachu grunted out at the weight before darting off as fast he could. "Pika pi!" He zigzagged back and forth between Rhyhorn, he could what sounded like Rhyhorn's colliding behind him but he didn't dare look back as he could hear the pink Rhydon still giving chase. The two soon reached the end of the clearing but Pikachu didn't stop and kept blindly racing ahead before eventually coming to a forced stop as they arrived at a dead end as rocky slants surrounded them in nearly every direction.
Pikachu shot anxious looks in every direction before quickly turning around only to see the pink Rhydon and his horde of Rhyhorn stampeding towards them.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu snapped while looking back at Toxel, telling him to get away so he wouldn't get hurt.
"Tox..." Toxel shook his head as he refused to leave Pikachu.
"Pika!" Pikachu snapped while giving Toxel a light shove. 'I'll be fine, now move or neither of us are getting out of here!'
Toxel quickly raced away, his back planted against the rocky wall as he watched Pikachu.
"Pika..." Pikachu raised his paws into the air causing a massive wave of electrified water to form beneath him. "PIKA!" Pikachu's surfboard appeared beneath his feet as he rode the wave. Rhydon and Rhyhorn's eyes widened as horror filled their faces, though they were unable to stop and could only continue running directly into the wave which soon came crashing down on top of them!
"RHY!" Rhydon and Rhyhorn cried out in pain as electricity surged through their veins, the Water type attack seemingly nullifying their immunity. One by one the Rhyhorn dropped like flies, tongues lolling out while swirls formed in their eyes. Rhydon was the last to fall, the large rhino gave Pikachu a respectful smirk as he dropped to his legs before keeling over in defeat alongside his horde.
"Tox..." Toxel's eyes lit up from admiration, hoping that his attacks would look as powerful and awesome when he grew up! "Tox tox! Toxel tox?!" 'What attack was that?!'
"Pika pi!" 'Splishy Splash!'
Toxel was silent for a moment before eventually bursting out from laughter. "Tox?! Toxel tox tox!" He laughed. 'Seriously?! That sounds like a name somebody my age would come up with!'
"Pika..." Pikachu nervously sweated while rubbing the back of his neck as he informed Toxel that Ash was the one that came up with the name.
"Tox tox..." Toxel shrugged while suggesting that they rename the technique.
"Pika." Pikachu thought for a moment before shaking his head. 'Now's not the time for that but perhaps someday we'll rename it. Come, let's find Ash!'
"Pikachu?! Toxel?!" Ash called out, his cries echoing across the night sky. He'd spent the majority of the day searching for his Electric types but he wasn't about to give up anytime soon. A light soon appeared on the horizon causing Ash to eagerly shout out. "Toxel?! Pikachu?! I'm over here!" He raced towards the light while waving his hands like a maniac only to freeze in place and yelp as a jeep came racing down the hill before coming to a screeching halt as it stopped right in front of him.
"Freeze dirt bag, you're under arrest!" Ellis eagerly leaped from the passenger seat, handcuffs at the ready.
"Stop, that's Ash!" Chloe shouted, she quickly leaped from the jeep before racing towards her boyfriend. "Oh Ash, I was so worried!" She cried out while pulling him in for a tight hug. "We couldn't find you anywhere near that explosion!"
"Eevoi?!" Eevee's head jerked back and forth as she attempted to locate her mate. "Eevoi?!"
"I was trying to find Pikachu and Toxel, they got caught up in the explosion and went flying off! I've tried tracking them down but I can't find them anywhere!"
"Eevoi?!" Eevee gasped out with an anxious expression.
"Don't worry Eevee, I'm sure Pikachu's okay." Chloe picked Eevee up and gave her back a comforting rub.
"Eevoi..." Eevee knew Pikachu was a powerful Pokemon but that didn't stop her from worrying.
"Not to worry kid, we'll search the entire island until we find-" Officer Jenny started only to go quiet as familiar cries rang across the clearing.
"Pika pi!"
"Tox tox!" The familiar cries could be heard as Toxel and Pikachu raced down the hillside.
"Pikachu! Toxel!" Ash excitedly exclaimed while racing towards his electric types, his arms extended as he prepared to scoop them in a hug.
"Tox!"
"Pika!" Pikachu and Toxel leaped into Ash's arms and began nuzzling his cheek.
"I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Tox..."
"Pika..."
Chloe was quick to take notice of how close Pikachu and Toxel were, the two were right next to each other while holding onto Ash yet Toxel made no attempt to push Pikachu away or off of Ash. "Huh? Toxel, do you like Pikachu now?"
"Tox tox!" Toxel gave an eager nod while giving his brother an admirable expression. "Tox..." He hoped to be as powerful as him someday.
"Really? What happened between the two of you?" Ash questioned while looking between the two.
Pikachu and Toxel gave each other a look while sharing a smirk. The little adventure they shared would remain a secret between the two of them, what wasn't a secret however was the newly formed friendship between the two which will grow even stronger as the journey continues!
Pikachu and Toxel are now friends with each other, told you the next two chapters would make about character growth. Three chapters left before the finale now :)