Ash's heart was pounding so hard he feared he would have a heart attack right there. His hands were cold and shaking.
In front of him, Clefairy glared at the gang of Rattatas surrounding her. Facing her was the big Raticate. He was looking at her with an unfriendly look.
"Clef Clef!"
"Raticateeeeee!"
The two Pokemon were talking.
The five Rattatas circled around Luna with watchful eyes.
"Clef Clef!"
"Raticate!?"
"Clef..."
Luna had pointed towards Ash's things lying on the floor.
"RATICATE."
Suddenly, the five Rattatas jumped at the same time in an ambush. Luna had her skin bitten by one.
"CLEEEEEEEF", screamed the Pokémon with the pain that afflicted her body.
Then she was hit by another one.
Now what do I do?, Ash thought fearfully. He knew it was his duty as a Pokémon trainer to command her in a battle, however, he had never battled in his life. How am I going to lead a Pokemon like this?
Luna suddenly used the move Flash to emit a blinding light. The Rattatas hesitated, disoriented.
When the light had dissipated, Luna had disappeared from the view.
Where?, Ash wondered. He looked around the surroundings in search of the Pokemon. The Rattatas did the same.
When he looked up, he saw it. A pink light descended towards the sky. When it descended it hit the ground with a strong impact, sending gusts of wind through the place.
It must be the move Moonblast.
The grass began to fly everywhere.
Ash's cap almost went flying, but he held it tight over his head.
When the gust of wind ceased, Ash realized that the blow had opened a large gap in the field, revealing his location. On the ground, a Rattata had been knocked out by the blow, leaving four seriously injured.
Oh no.
Luna came floating from the sky and landed on the ground.
Raticate began to scream in rage: "RATICATEEEE RATICATEEEE." Until then he was just watching the battle.
He left his location and ran towards Luna with his claws bared. She easily dodged the move, flying and doing an airborne stunt in a casual manner. She then delivered a Mega Punch to the ground, causing a rift. The gang ended up unbalancing on impact.
"Clef Clef!"
By the intonation of the Pokémon Ash knew that she was not taking that battle seriously.
Ash, however, remained attentive. He knew he couldn't underestimate the power of a wild Pokémon-it could often be fatal.
Suddenly, Ash was again at Pallet's pokemon school. Teacher Matilde explained to the class about the dangers of traveling along Pokemon routes.:
"When walking along the routes, everyone should be very careful. It is not recommended that anyone cross areas dominated by wild Pokémon such as tall grass, forests and lakes, unless they have a Pokémon with them or are authorized to", explained the teacher for the class.
Ash was in his desk, watching with eyes gleaming with anticipation for the day he would turn ten years old and set off on his own journey.
"There are items like repellents and pokédolls which serve to prevent battles with wild Pokémon, or at least escape safe and sound. In any pokémart you will find these in addition to, of course, many others which will be essential for your journey."
He came back to reality.
Luna was surrounded. On her sides, the Rattatas formed a circle, preventing the Pokémon from making any advances. When she tried to fly over them she had been hit by a Raticate Quick Attack and thrown to the ground.
"CLEF," she yelled.
Then the Rattatas all departed at the same time, biting into the Clefairy who was screaming in pain.
Ash couldn't stand to watch that massacre any longer and looked away. He couldn't even move his eyes, let alone take action to stop the fight.
I'm a trash.
When he looked back at the scene his Clefairy was in a deplorable situation. Blood flowed from the raw wounds. The Rattatas continued to surround her.
It was at this point that Ash decided he couldn't stay doing nothing. If he didn't do something he knew his Pokemon would die right there.
Gathering courage, he ran from where he was, picked up some rocks from the ground and threw them in the direction of the Pokemons. He looked at his things lying on the floor and suddenly had an absurd idea.
There's no other option.
"STOP", yelled Ash trying to draw attention to himself. "COME HERE YOU BASTARDS!"
The Rattatas and Raticate looked at him.
Ash was prepared.
Suddenly, the Pokémon shifted focus and headed toward Ash with their claws and teeth showing.
Ash snatched his cookie jar from the ground and quickly dashed through the undergrowth, followed by his pursuers.
When he realized that he was finally away from the scene of battle, the boy looked back, still running. The Pokemons continued to chase him at high speed.
He opened the butter cookie jar and threw it all on the ground.
The Pokémon stopped their pursuit, looked at the cookies thrown on the ground, suspicious. Then they began to devour them.
There went my cookies, he thought grimly, as he watched his favorite cookies being savagely devoured.
Ash took advantage of the distraction and hurried back to where Luna lied down on the ground.
- - - - -
When Ash arrived at the scene he realized it was too late.
He took a potion from his backpack and gave it to the pokemon's through her mouth. Luna hadn't even sketched a reaction.
He knelt on the floor next to Luna who lay unconscious. He heard her heart beatings.
Nothing.
He started to sob. His tears spilled from his eyes and fell, wetting the Clefairy.
His first Pokemon had sacrificed its life to save him.
"No need to worry, I'll protect you," she had said before they entered the tall grass.
"Damn!," Ash said angrily.
Anger at Luna for being so haughty and careless. Anger of the Pokemon for stealing his things and causing everything to happen. But most of all, anger at himself for taking Luna to a dangerous area and not being able to move a muscle when she needed him the most.
"Idiot," he heard the voice in his mind.
He wiped his tears and looked at Luna. She still didn't make a move.
Where it came from?, he asked himself.
He heard the sound of footsteps coming towards him.
He turned in time to see. When he saw it, Ash fell back, scared.
A Clefairy was walking towards him in disdain.
"L-luna!?"
The Pokemon stopped in front of him.
"With flesh and bones."
Ash wiped his tears, confused.
"H-how!?"
Luna walked towards her other fallen body. Then he kicked it hard.
Suddenly, the body emitted a small smoke. In a "Puff" it fell apart.
A substitute?, reasoned Ash.
Luna floated and landed on his shoulder.
"Can you explain to me what's going on?", Ash demanded an explanation for what had just happened.
Luna yawned.
"During the battle I got so bored with those weaklings that I decided to play a little prank...", she said through the Psychic Link. "I used the Flash to create a Substitute and have some fun. I thought it would be funny to see you guys thinking I was dead, and it really was. The way you started running like a coward was hilarious. 'STOP', I laughed so hard after hearing that little scream. "
She laughed.
Ash turned dark.
"I didn't run scared! I was trying to save you," he said, pissed off. "I thought we were friends but apparently I was wrong. You only care about yourself."
Luna stopped laughing. "It was just a joke."
Ash, however, looked very unfriendly. "Get off my shoulder."
"Come on, why..."
"GET OFF MY SHOULDER!," he yelled.
Luna was startled. Then she dropped from his shoulder.
Ash gathered up his discarded things and put them back in his backpack. Luna tried to say something but Ash wasn't paying attention. He was too angry to hear anything. He walked all all the way towards his tent, followed close behind by the Clefairy.
He wasn't willing to forgive the Pokémon this soon, so all the way to Viridian the two didn't exchange a single word. Luna had played with his feelings. For a moment he really thought his Pokemon had died. It didn't matter if she considered it all just a joke, it wasn't for him.
And he knew that a big hole in the trainer-pokemon relationship had been formed that day. When would it close? It was still a mystery even to him.