Chapter Three: A few flares make a wildflame
The damn Spearow. It was always the damn Spearow.
Though not individually powerful, they'd evolved - darwinian evolution, mind you, as opposed to the metamorphosis that the common folk had taken to calling such - to dominate almost every area where they managed to procreate. The only species that found similar successs in their own habitats were Pidgey, who competed with Spearow in most routes where they could actually survive in, and Geodude, who had grown to almost dominate all of Kanto's cave systems. All of those were behind the Zubat and Rattata lines, who were able to procreate at absurd speeds and could populate an area with a single couple and a few weeks in peace, but still.
It was sunrise when they decided to try and raid their camp. Sunrise. Really, who attacks on sunrise? Ash was almost as offended as he was startled, having been torn from his peaceful slumber within his tent by the shrill screams of a Spearow outside. On the bright side, both Fennekin and Bulbasaur had taken to sleeping close to him, so they were roused to sleep at mostly the same moment as he was.
Ash slowly pulled the tent's screen open.
It was still cold and mostly dark outside, with the gorgeous hue of pink only just having sprouted from the horizon, but it was apparently enough for the supposedly diurnal birds, who were circling overheads while two pecked at the top of their tent. It was all Ash could do to throw on his shoes as he rushed outside, instinctively covering his head with his arm as he quickly examined the scene.
What a way to wake up! He didn't feel like he'd slept nearly enough to feel like dealing with… seven Spearow, all of which were now gunning for both him and his party. Fields like these were essentially a Spearow's playground, so they were at a disadvantage - this group was small, but if they called in the whole flock, Ash would likely be in danger.
He had to act quickly.
"Bulbasaur," the boy spoke softly, turning his eyes toward the tense grass-type who, like before, had taken to standing in front of him protectively while growling. "Do you think you can use your Vine Whip to grab the ones that are flying?"
She paused, looking up for a second like she was running the calculations in her mind, before shaking her head slowly. Ash suppressed the urge to sigh; he'd expected such an answer, since the Spearow were at least 40 feet in the air, but it would've been a nice surprise.
"Do you think you can grab them if they come lower?" He tried. Bulbasaur nodded this time, narrowing her crimson eyes dangerously. Good.
- He blinked away the memory of a smoking Pallet, roused by the adrenaline in his veins. Not the time, he told himself, and grimaced at the feeling of his nails digging into his palm involuntarily. No.
"Fennekin! Try to use Ember at those Spearow above us. They don't have to be strong, just fast." He spoke quickly, but tried to keep his voice even. The small fox nodded even as he let a low, dangerous-sounding growl from his muzzle continuously, baring his dangerously sharp fangs in clear anger. It was a startling sight, but one that made him feel more at ease than not. "Bulbasaur, use Growth for as long as you can, then Vine Whip at the Spearow on top of the tent. You can grab those, right?"
She nodded once, focusing, and Ash immediately caught the tensing of her muscles as her bulb took on a slight glow. It was a faint thing, subtle if you didn't know to expect it, and marvelous in concept - he would've liked to see it for the first time in better situations. For all of his big dreams of kicking the champion's ass, Ash had always been fascinated by how Pokemon did stuff.
Now, however, was not the time.
It began.
Fennekin's leap was quick and well-placed, and the embers that burned brightly within his mouth shone through his teeth for just a second before the Ember attack was violently spat out, followed by another small fireball just like it. They seemed denser than the ones he'd seen the day before, like Fennekin had made them smaller to make sure they'd travel the distance required - and if that was the case, Ash was very interested in seeing what else his friend could do with the move.
The bright embers attracted the attention of the two Spearow atop their tent even before they hit their marks above their heads. A furious shriek escaped the beaks of the startled bird Pokemon, and they stopped their attack on the tent to turn against Fennekin and dive with hatred clear in their black eyes, their wings furiously beating as they picked up in speed while still struggling to keep themselves aloft, as was characteristic of the species; Spearow had amazingly strong wing muscles, but their wingspan was still short enough that they had to beat their wings amazingly quick to stay in the air.
Maybe that effort was why they were so pissed all the time. Ash wouldn't know. What he did know, however, was that his plan worked.
Fennekin spat two more embers just as his previous two hit their marks above their heads, marked by the sound of even more pissed off birds above their heads. Before the Spearow who'd been atop the tent could peck at the fire-type, however, Bulbasaur triumphantly made her presence known as two of her vines shot past his cheek and wrapped around the Spearow, each grabbing a foot and tightening painfully around the pink skin.
The birds were unceremoniously slammed into the ground headfirst, and Fennekin somehow found the time to spit embers at them too before turning up to look at the approaching five, who were making their presence very clearly known.
- Ash felt his knees tremble slightly. An angry Spearow could likely hurt him a good deal if it decided to dig its talons into his skin… which is to say nothing of what would happen if it aimed for the neck instead.
The vines Bulbasaur had wrapped around the Spearow let go of their unlucky victims, who remained still on the ground. Now with her main weapons free once again, Bulbasaur rushed to his side and looked up, havint taken a more advantageous position to strike at the approaching Spearow. Ash followed their movements with bated breath.
They flew into range. Her vines shot up once again, and Fennekin squared himself for the approaching attacks. He knew they wouldn't be able to stop all the Spearow; his friend was preparing to take damage in order to deal some more himself via counter-attacks. He found the time to spit two more embers as they descended, chipping at the birds just a little more.
- !
The Spearow, however, were surprisingly dexterous fliers. Of the five who were furiously descending at Fennekin to try and peck him into submission, four managed to notice the approaching vines despire their speed and twirled mid-flight out of the way, while the last one was a little too slow despite its attempt. The Vine Whip wrapped around its wing and pulled, and Ash winced at the pained shrill that this elicited.
That was a dislocated wing, easily. The violent slam into the ground probably didn't much help with that, either.
Three Spearow mercilessly attacked Fennekin. Their talons struck at his fur and their beak slammed against his head, but the Fox was steadfast in dealing as much damage as he got. Each time a peck was delivered against him, Fennekin instantly answered with an ember or a scratch attack.
. . . Wait.
Three?
Bulbasaur's pained moan instantly told him what was going on. One of the Spearow had dove into her while he wasn't looking - and, given the type matchup between the two of them, Bulbasaur was in an unfortunate position.
The bird was smart enough to stick close, too, knowing it could distract her out of attacking with her already-extended vines through pain. Unlike their limbs, it took a Bulbasaur active focus to control their vines. She braced herself for pain and slammed her head into the Spearow's chest, which briefly knocked the wind out of its lungs, but it was clear who would come out on top between the two.
She'd been caught unaware.
Just - damn it!
"Fennekin!" He cried out, uncaring of the attention that got him from the vicious birds. "Jump over their head and grab onto one of their backs! Use Hypnosis on another one!" His order was barked quickly. "Bulbasaur, you - Ah, damn it!"
Ash didn't really have the time to grab a rock to throw at the Spearow attacking his friend, and most of his stuff was left at the tent. So he grabbed what he did have on hand, a shrunken PokeBall from his belt, and threw it dexterously with his whole arm at the Spearow's head like it was a baseball.
It hit home. Ash used Rock Throw, he though with some humour, but his humour vanished when he remembered what was about to happen; the PokeBall, now expanded, opened and surrounded the Spearow with a fierce, brilliant white light, which it drew within itself before closing and falling to the ground.
He didn't have time to watch it, though.
"Saur, retract your whips and slam it if it breaks free!"
He turned to look at his other friend quickly, just in time to see the fox jump back, narrowly dodging a peck to the head as he struggled to gain enough ground by retreating a few feet. It was enough, however; the muscles in his haunches tensed as he prepared his next move, which came soon when the Spearow converged to dive into it with another relentless row of pecks.
Fennekin's jump was remarkable. His research online told him that, unlike the Froakie line, Fennekin weren't particularly dexterous by nature, but his friend seemed intent on going against that; it managed to twirl around mid-air as it crossed overhead the startled Spearow, then landed perfectly on one of their backs, extending his vicious claws into the creature's shoulderblades and thighs. The added weight brought it straight into the ground, but not before the fox could angrily growl as he glared at another of the Spearow.
His eyes flashed a deep, brilliant purple - it was light in tone, closer to pink than to blue, and felt hot even though it had no warmth. A second after, a Spearow's eyes rolled to the back of its head and it, too, came crashing down into the ground, obviously unconscious. The only bird who remained aloft had to spin around its own axis to attack Fennekin once again - which it did, diving quickly into the fox and slamming a vicious beak into his head.
Fennekin had done marvelously, but the fire-type wasn't looking too good. There were patches of fur clearly bloodied and Ash could count at least six open cuts on its head; thankfully, none had aimed for the eyes quite yet.
"Ember!" He ordered, and noticed the fire-type complying immediately - but it was unnecessary, as a pair of aggressive vines slammed against the Spearow's head and caught it off-balance. This was the chance Fennekin had been waiting for; he pounced on the bird and mercilessly brought down its claws on its face until it was moving no longer.
Then, and only then, he turned back to the Spearow he had jumped on and spat one last ember on its already-fallen form. Bulbasaur gingerly walked up to it, growling slightly at the fox as if asking a question; after a moment, Fennekin nodded, rubbing his head softly against the grass-type starter's leathery skin. Ash took in the sight, basking slightly in the friendship between his two partners and on the adrenaline that rushed through his skin, enjoying the sensation of triumph he once again felt.
Letting out a sigh he wasn't sure he was holding, he walked up to the two worn-out Pokemon and knelt in front of them.
"You two okay?"
After a pause. the two nodded, looking a little proud of themselves. Their injuries were many, but none were particularly bad; a few Potion sprays would likely do the trick, and Ash was happy to groom them back into looking pretty after that. He was just thankful his mom had stocked him up on extra supplies before he left; those extra potions were coming in clutch soon enough, he could tell.
They'd still been injured, though. Maybe if he'd been better, they wouldn't have been - this had all just been so… new, to him.
Fennekin moved first; with a small yip, he walked close to Ash and licked the tip of his nose while standing up for a second, drawing a giggle from the boy at the tickly sensation. Following his lead, Bulbasaur let out a soft growl and pressed her head against Ash's chest, knocking the boy down on his butt.
He didn't mind, though. These pants were made to get dirty anyway.
Ash took advantage of the time he had with the Spearow unconscious to gather his camp supplies, take down his tent and get the absolute hell away from there, opting to go deeper into the woods so as to be less visible from above.
Something he'd been a little surprised to gather was a Pokeball - his Pokeball, which now contained a Spearow, apparently. This was certainly not how he'd expected his very first capture to go; the only reason Ash had even thrown that Pokeball in the first place was because it was the first projectile he could get his hands on.
Not that he was complaining. Fearow could be surprisingly fearsome if well-trained. Admittedly, he hadn't originally wanted to catch either of the common bird Pokemon, finding them a little underwhelming compared to his favourite of Kanto's birds, Doduo, but life often worked in its own mysterious ways. At least he had a flier now. That might come in handy.
Ash would still get himself a Zubat, though. Crobat were awesome.
He'd walked alongside his team for a good two hours into the forest before they finally felt safe enough to set up camp again, following the river to make sure they would know how to get back. It went a lot faster this time around, though their being in thicker woods meant they had to be a little more careful as they walked… and he had to remind Fennekin not to start a fire, whick thankfully hadn't happened even after he used his embers to take down a particularly nosy Pidgey.
After that, it was a matter of applying the Potion to their wounds. Modern Potions, produced with Sitrus, Oran and some chemical stimulants, could be applied with both sprays and injections, though the latter was considered to be the superior option due to increased effectiveness. Since the wounds they'd received were superficial, though, Ash felt confident in applying it through spray before wrapping each wound carefully with his first-aid kit. They'd be fully healed wtihin a few hours, but it was better to be safe than sorry, in the end.
It felt… nice. They'd battled before, against a few wild Pokemon, but it hadn't felt this exhilarating. It'd never been this big a challenge, maybe - he wasn't sure what it was that had made this victory so triumphant, aside from the whole 'they would all die if they lost' thing.
On second thought, maybe he knew why it felt triumphant. Huh.
Fiddling with his Pokedex while his two friends took a few moments to rest in the tent, Ash turned his gaze to the Spearow's pokeball, which he had gingerly laid out in his sleeping bag. Was it too early to release the bird? He wanted to scan it for its moves and gender, but it would likely be wiser to wait at least until both of his Pokemon were healed up.
Ash knew better than anyone else how dangerous a wild Pokemon lashing out could be, captured or not. At the mere thought, he had to suppress the violent shiver that wracked up his body, desperately banishing the thought of his previous wounds away from his mind. He was not ready for that. Not yet.
Inhaling softly, Ash moved his thoughts elsewhere.
"I'll need to give it a nickname," he mused. A yip and a growl, both sounding curious, drew his attention to the two curled-up pokemon, who had apparently forgone their nap to pay attention to his talking to himself. Ash felt his cheeks warm up in embarassment, but shrugged.
"The Spearow," he clarified. "I'll have to give it a nickname. You two have bee fine without, because there aren't any Bulbasaur or Fennekin around, but there will be tons of Spearow for most of our journey, and Fearow aren't all that uncommon either. Just calling it by its species will get confusing real fast."
A pause.
While the two exchanged looks, Ash narrowed his eyes at them and thought to himself. That line of thought was fine, but there was something else; nicknames humanized pokemon, making them more distinct as beings as opposed to simple members of a race or tools. Nearly everyone he'd ever heard talk about the subject agreed that Pokemon felt closer to their trainer if given nicknames, and the opposite was also true.
He'd been foregoing something, it seemed.
"You two… do you want nicknames, too? Or, well, just names, if that's how you want to think about it, because my name is Ash, not human, but - You know what I mean."
A pair of excited nods answered him. They were, once again, very alert. Had they been waiting for this? Ash suddenly felt a little bad for not naming them immediately, but did his best to banish those thoughts from his head. Now he needed to think of names.
"I… okay. I'll need a while to think, though."
Thankfully, they both seemed agreeable to that - but continued to watch keenly. Clearly, they'd had a different interpretation of a 'while' than he'd intended, but Ash wasn't nearly heartless enough to say so - not after seeing how eager the two looked.
He decided to name Bulbasaur first. She was… a protector, he'd noticed. Not actively the type who wanted to fight, but she'd fight fiercely if he was threatened. Other than that, though, she was a sweetheart - easily the sweetest of the pair, despite Fennekin's affectionate nature.
As for her species and line… Known for the plants on their backs, they grew as they absorbed sunlight, had remarkable control over plantlife, were stocky… Ah…
"I'll just… list you a few names, okay? And you can tell me which one you prefer."
Bulbasaur nodded.
"Okay, so… Amazon?" They were supposed to be a group of fierce women, after all. But Bulbasaur adamantly shook her head, so he continued. "Uh… Spring?" No. "Ivy?" A pause, but no. "Vine?"
Still no.
Oh, this was hard.
"How's… Petal? I mean, Venusaur and Ivysaur both have flowers on their backs…"
She paused, narrowing her remarkably intelligent eyes at that in thought, but ultimately decided against it. Still, it was the one she'd considered the most thus far; he was in the right path. If not petal, though…
Ah! Ash had an idea.
"What do you think about Blossom? That's what you'll do, after all, both literally and figuratively."
There it was. The joy. Bulbasaur - wait, no, Blossom - nodded enthusiastically. She was sold on the 'that's what you'll do', it seems; the happy murmur escaping her mouth was enough to make sure both he and Fennekin knew she was pleased. Were she not comfortably resting, Ash was sure she would've jumped at him.
He smiled to himself. Blossom. It suited her; she was sure to Blossom in more ways than one. Her seed, her strength, her skill… They were all only just beginning to walk the path they'd set out on. In time, Blossom would grow into a force to be reckoned with.
Now, for his other friend… Fennekin met his gaze with a pair of intelligent and keen eyes. That's a word for all of him, actually; Keen. No, rather, sharp. Fennekin was sharp both in and out of battle, in both skills and ferocity. He was affectionate in many ways, and loyal in many others, but Fennekin's thrill came from the adrenaline he got when testing his power against someone else. He lived for it, and, judging by the way he moved, had trained by himself for it.
Ash stopped to consider his species. He was relatively unfamiliar with the Fennekin line, for obvious reasons, but…
He thought back to the way Fennekin had wielded ember last time. To how relentless he had been in attacking. If Ash told him to, he had no doubts that the fox would be more than happy to keep going until nothing was left.
Nothing but… well. Ash was taken, unfortunately.
"Cinder. Or Soot." He suggested. "Which one do you prefer?"
An interested raspy bark. He liked it, thankfully. But which one?
"...Soot?" He wagered. No, the shaking head of the fox told him. So, Cinder. Huh.
He mulled over it for a while. Cinder, noun. The smouldering left after a fire. An odd name.
It fit him. He flashed the newly-named Cinder a grin.
"My next suggestion was Hephaestus, but that's a little too much, I think."
Cinder snorted at the thought alone.
Blossom heard it far before he or Cinder did. It was a few hours before sunset, and they'd all taken the time to sit inside his damaged tent to relax and eat a few berries, but Blossom hadn't really relaxed like they had. She was on edge, a fact he'd been unable to appreciate until at one point, mid-berry bite, she stood faster than he could process it and rushed outside with urgency in her steps.
His first thought had a panicked tone to it. Was something wrong? What was going on? Were they being attacked once again?
His second, however, was a lot less worried and a lot more frustrated.
"I swear to Arceus, if it's more Spearow, I'll-"
"Uh… hi?"
There was a boy in front of their little camp. That was certainly not a Spearow, he dimly noted, chastising himself for his slow reaction. He felt like he'd somewhat earned it, but still. Newbie move.
The boy looked… odd. He looked like he was a few years older than Ash himself, with caramel brown hair that had an odd purple tint to it and bright red eyes. His clothes looked worn, but well-kept, and his pack was a little smaller than Ash's own, so he wasn't rich enough to buy one of the fancy ones either. His face was sharp and angular, with a strong jawline and large eyes, and the boy had some five inches on Ash.
More interesting were his weird tattoos - they were faint, only a shade darker and greener than his skin, but clear enough to be visible. Two dash-like marks between his eyes, one under each eyebrow, and a small crystal-shaped mark on the top of his forehead.
He looked… weird. Really weird. But he didn't look threatening, especially not with Blossom's vines wrapped tightly around his body like chains, keeping him tied to a tree without the ability to do anything beyond the occasional twitch of his hands. An unfortunate situation to be in, certainly. Ash wouldn't like to be in the boy's place.
The stranger shot him an uncomfortable smile, eyes flickering toward the growling Bulbasaur, who kept her eyes on their impromptu prisoner at all times.
"Uh… help me out here?" He tried.
"Blossom, let him down!" He barked, cheeks blazing red. Not the way he'd intended to make his first human acquaintance while on his journey, not at all. Hesitantly, the grass-type retracted her vines and stepped back, though it was clear to Ash that she did not trust this guy in the slightest.
He was in the same boat, but…
A bit awkwardly, Ash looked at the boy and offered him a small, uncomfortable smile.
"Uh… can I help you?"
A pause.
After that, the boy chuckled, dusting his pants and stretching his arms. It was a real wonder to witness - he'd gone from tense to relaxed at a moment's notice. "Nah," said the stranger. "Don't be like that. I should'a known not to approach y'all like that, especially with your tent looking like…" He gestured vaguely. "Spearow problems, eh?"
Ash felt himself relax a little at the boy's words. It was a little easier to talk to someone who expressed familiarity with his situation… and, despite his loving being alone with his team, it was nice to have some more human interaction. He'd been half-worried this dude was some sort of Team Rocket nutjob trying to rob him, but he doubted those types were the sort to make small talk.
"Yeah," he agreed, a little embarrassed. "Woke up today to a bunch of them attacking us. Ended up catching one, even."
"Huh." The boy whistled in appreciation. "They're a handful, but if you manage to train 'em right, they can be quite the menace. Got my ass kicked by a Fearow once. Never forgot it. You send it out yet?"
After a moment's thought, Ash decided it was harmless to answer and shook his head. "Wanted to let my team rest first."
"Good call." The boy said. "They can be rowdy at first. You'll have to tempt it with power. Anyway, the name's Cody. Noticed you were nearby and thought I'd say hi; I'm heading to a spot in this direction and usually follow the river, too. Thought we could stick together, if you're heading that way."
"A spot following the river? So… Near Mount Hideaway, then?" Ash asked, eliciting a nod. At that, he raised an eyebrow. The mons at Hideaway could be fierce, if the rumours were to be trusted. Either that wasn't true, or this Cody was more experienced than he'd assumed. "Interesting spot to pick."
"Maybe so," Cody agreed, shrugging, "but there are all sorts of interesting things up there. Caught my main partner there years ago- rare everywhere else, but there are flocks and flocks of 'em up in Hideaway for some reason."
. . . Rare everywhere else?
Now Ash was interested. He leaned forward slightly, eyes wide, and waited in silence for the boy to sate his obvious curiosity. Cody looked victorious at that, like he'd expected precisely that, and grabbed a Pokeball from his belt in one swift movement.
It looked remarkably new for a Pokeball that was over two years old, Ash dimly noticed. Cody was likely the vain type, if he cared for his partner's PokeBall to that extent. His attention was very quickly stolen, however, by the creature formed by the shaping light that the Pokeball released. Ash had never seen it before in his life.
It was like a figurine made out of clay or mud - those were his first thoughts upon seeing the floating Pokemon. Arching red markings decorated his beige body and curved around its large, closed eyes. Interestingly, a spike came out of both it's head and the lowest part of its torso, like it was some sort of top.
Ash was fascinated.
"What… is that?"
Cody smirked at his reaction, his crimson eyes taking on a glint Ash wasn't sure how to describe. He approached his partner and grinned mightily, raising a hand without a word and relishing in the look on Ash's face when the creature started floating around it while spinning.
"That there is Baltoy. It's been with me forever."
Huh.
Ash pulled his PokeDex from his bag slowly, his eyes on the strange being. He'd never seen anything like it; were they truly that common in Hideaway? It was clearly a psychic of some sort, and those were pretty rare in Kanto. He shot the boy a questioning gaze, PokeDex in hand, but Cody merely shrugged his shoulders, so Ash figured it was fine.
"Scanning… Baltoy, the Clay Doll Pokemon." It spoke after a few seconds, drawing Cody's attention. "Baltoy moves while spinning around on its one foot. Primitive wall paintings depicting this Pokemon were discovered in some ancient ruins. As soon as it spots others of its kind, Baltoy congregates with them and then begins crying noisily in unison."
Looking at the data presented on the screen, Ash couldn't stop himself from raising an eyebrow. Ground and Psychic, huh? Strong combination, he decided after a while. Their ability to levitate was noteworthy too, making these Baltoy effectively flying-type when it came to maneuvering mid-fight. It would likely be a nightmare to fight.
Cody, however, seemed more interested in his PokeDex. The boy stared at it pointedly, eyebrows just slightly furrowed and his lips curled in what Ash could only assume was his thinking face. "Have you never seen a PokeDex before?" He questioned, and the strange boy confirmed with a nod. "You can take a look, if you want."
But Cody shook his head 'no' immediately, with an urgency that startled Ash into retracting the red device back into his bag, much to Cody's clear relief.
"I'm… not real good with machines n' stuff." The boy awkwardly explained.
Weird.
But it wasn't really Ash's place to pester him about it either, so he felt it fitting to shrug his shoulders in acceptance and nod his head, uncaring. Honestly, he was much too interested in this Baltoy. What an odd Pokemon, he thought to himself, watching it float slowly around its own axis as if gravity wasn't a problem.
… Well. He should probably introduce Cody to his own party, right?
"Well… Nice to meet you, Baltoy?" He tried. The Baltoy offered no clear response, much to his embarrassment, but he moved on before it got to him. "Uh… those two are Cinder and Blossom. You can probably figure out who's whom."
Having long since approached them, Cinder now stood guard next to Blossom's tense form, though the fox-like creature was a lot less aggressive and a lot more fascinated by the floating Pokemon. His red eyes followed Baltoy's slow movements unblinkingly, but Cinder still took the time to bark out a greeting before returning to his watchful activity.
That's right - the Delphox line were psychics, right? Cinder had likely lived most of his life expecting his psychic abilities to one day develop. He supposed the small Pokemon could sense that this odd creature was one such as he, and watched it closely in curious fascination.
Blossom hadn't much relaxed yet, but she'd stopped growling to simply stand next to him, looking up at Cody with narrowed eyed. Not even Baltoy's odd appearance could shake her from her vigil, it appeared, and she didn't deem it necessary to introduce herself. She'd likely made enough of an entrance already, he supposed.
Cody chuckled at the sight.n
"Protective, ain't she?" He questioned. "That's good. You gotta be able to trust your partners with all your life, or you'll end up losing it on the road."
Ominous. But, thinking back to the Spearow, not untrue. Ash nodded his head in agreement after the smallest second thinking, having reached the same conclusion. It was nice to hear it put into proper words.
"Yeah, Blossom's great. She's a little protective of me because of… reasons," he opted to say, unwilling to delve into that can of worms quite yet. "but I don't think I would've felt comfortable doing any of this if she wasn't."
For a growling Pokemon who clearly was trying to look threatening, Blossom did a good job of still appearing inordinately pleased at those words. It was an interesting sight, if for no other reason than to watch how surprisingly expressive she could be despite her astoundingly different physiology. He wouldn't have as easy a time with other species, he knew.
Such as… His eyes wandered to the PokeBall at his waist. He'd not the slightest idea how to approach his newly-captured Spearow… and the last time he'd been near a recently-captured wild Pokemon had resulted in his being sent to the hospital and almost dying. He had a decent reason to feel reluctant, but he couldn't postpone it forever.
Cody stepped toward him, and Ash was torn from his thoughts. The older boy had a knowing smile on his face, like he'd been where Ash was and was feeling nostalgic. Remembering the sterile white walls of his hospital room, Ash very much doubted that was the case.
"Thinking about that Spearow, kid?" His question was lighthearted. "I gotchu. It's always a little tense, releasing a fresh catch."
"Ash." He corrected, suddenly assaulted by the fact that he'd forgotten to introduce himself. Cody waved that away with a dismissive gesture, uncaring, and placed his hands on his hips while he looked around as if looking for something, much to the younger trainer's clear confusion.
After a few moments, Cody nodded to himself, snapping his fingers dramatically as he turned back to Ash and pointed with his thumb to a nondescript spot in the woods, where the trees were a little more closely-packed than normal.
"Release it there," the boy told him. "You want to hinder it from taking to the skies as much as possible. Have your Bulbasaur use its vines to keep it near and your weird Vulpix -" Cinder barked in displeasure. "-fire embers at it whenever. You gotta make it clear that you overpower it as well as outthink it, or it won't respect you."
Simple enough advice, but it was remarkably well-thought out. Ash had been thinking of doing mostly the same, but it hadn't occurred to him to use the trees around them to hinder Spearow's flight should it try and take off - he'd just been planning on relying on Blossom's vines to keep it close. This was a better plan, he realized, and shot the older trainer a grateful nod.
Once again, though, Cody made a dismissive gesture with his hand.
"Don't sweat it." He said. "We've all been there. I'll go with you, if that's alright; Baltoy here could be useful.'
Well. He didn't really see a reason for him to say no. The extra help could certainly come in handy; once again, he simply nodded at Cody while wearing a smile on his lips and took the time to feel appreciative of his sudden turn in luck.
They walked there in silence, with Baltoy following Cody's movements keenly. It was actually quite interesting to watch, as the odd psychic-type seemed to make an active effort to stay exactly one feet away from Cody at all times. Finally, Cody stepped back, resting his back against a tree - and sparing Blossom a dirty look, much to Cinder's obvious amusement - and motioning for him to release his new friend. Baltoy didn't receive any verbal orders, but the psychic-type floated forward until it stood above Blossom and beside Ash. Waiting.
Had they communicated through telepathy or something? Psychic-types were odd.
Ash pulled the shrunken PokeBall from its spot on his belt, pressing the button on it to make it enlarge - and adjusting his grip around it when it did. It was no heavier than it had been when it'd been empty. If he hadn't known this to contain a Spearow, he would've assumed it was empty. And, having kept both of his partners out of theirs since he got them - a decision he hadn't much thought about, honestly - he took the time to weigh it around his hand, tossing it up and catching it a few times.
Right. He grabbed the PokeBall and, with a flick of his wrist, threw it up while pressing the button on it again. It opened as it rose in the air, and the Spearow was reformed from the white light that emerged from it, falling to the ground in clear confusion. Now empty and closed once again, the PokeBall fell back into Ash's waiting hand.
He took a moment to examine his new… 'friend'.
It was a little larger than most of its kind - he wagered it was an inch and a half larger than the usual 1 feet tall medium for its kind, which was a little impressive… for a Spearow. It was still quite the small Pokemon, however. Its plumage was rough and uneven, thicker on its brown head than it was on the rest of its body, and its tail feathers were long and more even than the rest of it. Its hooked beak looked about as menacing as it could, and Ash could see a small notch on its side, likely the scar of some battle it had fought.
It stared at them with angry eyes, but didn't many a single sound - it looked more fearful than it did fierce, like a cornered animal. It likely knew that any attempts to escape would result in it getting wrecked.
Ash almost felt bad for it. Almost.
"Spearow," he tried speaking to it. "I caught you. Do you know what that means?"
A pause. It's eyes narrowed and it let out a fierce shriek in clear irritation, expanding its wingspan to try and intimidate them by looking larger. It didn't work. Both of his partners could take a single Spearow, especially assuming it couldn't fly away from Vine Whip's reach. On the bright side, Ash could now tell that the Spearow did, in fact, understand him as most Pokemon were able to.
Good news.
"You attacked us, and I caught you. This makes you part of my team." He spoke again, looking at Cody with the corners of his eyes to try and gauge the boy's reaction. Nothing; Cody was content to do nothing but watch. No tips, then. That's fine.
He looked back at the Spearow. It was still trying to make itself look scary, its eyes narrowed and its beak slightly opened, wingspan still expanded and talons digging into the grass and dirt below them. It would surely have attacked already, were it not certain of its fate should it try and do so. Ash was just thankful it hadn't immediately tried to fly off, or this conversation would have had a different tone entirely.
Spearow were aggressive and prideful, Ash was told. A dangerous combination, but one he could play to.
"We can make a deal." Now that attracted Cody's eyes. "I'll send out one of my partners here to battle you. Just one. If you win, I'll release you immediately. If you lose, however, you agree to join us and let me train you into being the best Fearow you possibly can. What do you think?"
Another shriek. Spearow was analyzing him, looking for tells of his dishonesty. Ash couldn't blame it; it sounded farfetched to his own ears. Which was funny, considering it was the truth - should Spearow somehow win, Ash would keep to his word and release it. He had no desire to force it to fight in his name - he knew freshly-caught wild Pokemon could be uncooperative at first, but if it became clear that Spearow just hated the thought with a passion, he'd let it go and find himself another partner elsewhere.
Whatever it was Spearow saw in him seemed to satisfy it - it nodded just once, still angry but a smidge more respectful, and shrieked once again as it beat its wings and pushed itself up, picking up speed to stay aloft. Cinder was eagerly looking at the bird, already charging up fire in its maw, and Ash had every intention of indulging its desire for battle - but it was Blossom that stepped into the quote-unquote ring.
He understood it immediately. Blossom had 'lost' to this Spearow at first, having been caught unaware. She clearly wasn't happy with that. Looking back at him over her shoulder, Blossom had made her desire clear - she wanted a rematch, a fair chance at combat.
Despite himself, Ash grinned at the grass-type and nodded. She would have it.
Spearow struck first. It was both faster and more agile, and had taken to the skies before Blossom had even stepped up. It clearly felt confident, having presumably felt like it'd been winning against her in their bout earlier - at it circled overhead, Spearow suddenly twirled to dive into Blossom with rage in its eyes, spinning as it descended in what Ash instantly recognized as an attempt to mimic a Fearow's devastating Drill Peck.
Blossom had expected it. For a Pokemon that was far from being known for its speed, the Bulbasaur proved herself more than agile enough to jump out of the way at the last possible moment, finding some pleasure into the sound of Spearow slamming against the ground. As the bird jumped back to make some distance to take flight again, its beak now covered in dirt, Ash saw the chance to do something interesting.
"Blossom! Stack up Growth while it's getting ready!"
She growled her acknowledgement at once, taking on that familiar soft glow as Spearow bent its knees, jumped and took flight once again, furiously beating its wings to speed up its flight as it uncaringly went straight for Blossom this time, having undoubtedly noticed it was unwise to go high before attacking.
It was a clear hit this time, and its beak slammed unceremoniously into Blossom's skull and tore skin to draw blood, sending the grass-type back a few feet from the force of the blow. It had clearly hurt a great deal, but Blossom remained silent as she endured the hit.
He saw the chance.
"Now! Tackle into it!"
She did. Spearow barely had time to try and fly back before an enraged Bulbasaur slammed her head against its stomach with surprising speed, her strengthened muscles having helped her push off the ground with more force to tackle into the Spearow. Growth was a handy move; her Tackle had done more damage to the Spearow than it had managed to do to her with its super-effective Pecks.
However, speed would put her at a disadvantage once again. The Spearow used the momentum it gained from the painful attack to pick itself off the ground with powerful wingbeats, its back turned to Blossom as it flew low to the ground and then made a sharp turn upwards to take to the skies again.
"Quick! Ready a Vine Whip! Grab it when it gets close!" He barked at Blossom.
But she did something else. Curving her body so that her head was low to the ground and her rear legs were higher, she managed to point the opening in her bulb at the Spearow, who had chosen that moment to spin in the air and try for another spinning Peck, diagonally this time.
The bulb shot out a single small seed at surprising speeds - and Ash's eyes widened as it hit Spearow's head and immediately sprouted into surprisingly fast-spreading vines and leaves. They grew from the seed on Spearow's head and encircled its wings and torso, hampering its flight and draining it.
Leech Seed. One of the moves the Bulbasaur line learned naturally. Between that morning's fight and now, Blossom had gotten a good enough grasp on Leech Seed to use it. Useful, and very exploitable, but not enough to stop Spearow's momentum-carried spinning attack.
Once again, she took the attack head on - and this time, Blossom couldn't keep silent, as the force the blow carried alone sunk it half a centimeter into the dirt. Her pained yelp was a horrible sound, and one Ash would likely prefer not hearing, but it served its purpose; the vines he'd ordered previously finally appeared, shooting from under the bulb and slamming into Spearow's torso from below before wrapping around its body. It shrieked in surprised anger, most likely having believed its attack would knock her out immediately - and then shrieked again, in pain this time, when the thin vines from the leech seed flared a deep red and its energy was drained into Blossom, her wounds closing up slowly.
If she'd done as he asked, she wouldn't have been hurt like that at all - that being said, he appreciated how resistant she was proving.
"Now! Spin it around, then launch it!"
At his side, Cinder barked in surprise. Spearow looked at him like he was insane.
And Blossom grinned. It was a fierce, beautiful thing.
She started moving, dragging the vines with both will and her own movement as they ripped Spearow out of the air and into her own little makeshift tornado, spinning it around faster and faster as it shrieked in fury, pecking at the vines in a feeble attempt to free itself. Inertia was getting to it, though - it was one thing to spin yourself, and another to be spun by someone else. The dizziness was clear.
Well, on the bright side, it wouldn't last all that long.
"Release!"
The vines aggressively stopped, and even more forcefully flung the Spearow into a tree. The resulting impact made everyone present wince in sympathy. Ouch.
Spearow feebly fell to the floor, clearly unconscious. From behind, Cody took the time to clap slowly, as if impressed. Ash doubted it was the case; his inexperience was clear even to him.
"Well done, Blossom!" He cheered, and the Bulbasaur turned to him with a smile and growled in joy at the recognition, before turning her attention toward the approaching Cinder, who proceeded to bark and yip at her in increasing excitement. He'd enjoyed the show, clearly - at times like those, Ash wished he could understand whatever it was they were saying. It sounded like a fun conversation.
As for him - he took the time to gaze at the fallen Spearow. After a few moments pitying the bird, he pulled his PokeDex from his pack and dutifully scanned it.
"Spearow, the Tiny Bird Pokemon. Spearow has a very loud cry that can be heard over half a mile away. If its high, keening cry is heard echoing all around, it is a sign that they are warning each other of danger. Very protective of its territory, it flaps its short wings busily to dart around at high speed." A pause. "This Spearow is male, has the ability Sniper, and knows the moves Peck, Leer, Growl and Pursuit."
Sniper? He wasn't familiar with that one. Clicking away at his Pokedex, he soon managed to access Professor Oak's data on it - but it was limited. As far as he could tell, it was a rare skill some pokemon had to innately target and exploit weak spots in an opponent. It was classified as a hidden ability - which in turn implied breeding, usually - but Professor Oak had pointed out that it could also simply be a mutation of the Spearow line's Keen Eyes ability, which would still be useful for exploiting weaknesses.
He saved that page to his favourite lists to continue reading later, pocketing his PokeDex for now as he once again took in the admittedly sad sight of the crumbled Spearow. He had more pressing concerns to deal with, clearly.
Recalling Spearow to its - excuse me, his - PokeBall, Ash turned and looked at Cody, who had a queer look on his eyes as he watched them. He looked… intrigued? Ash wasn't sure how to feel about that.
"You got style, Ash." He spoke after a while, raising an eyebrow in what Ash supposed was akin to admiration. "That last move was pre-etty cool."
"Thanks!" He did appreciate the feedback. "Though I think I need to work with Blossom a little... "
"Yeah," Cody answered, "I can tell. She fought hard for you, but you weren't really fighting together as much as she was hearing your suggestions and sometimes acting on them. But that's common enough for newbies - teamwork comes with time." A pause. "Tell you what. It's getting dark, and I really don't fancy walking at night - lemme set camp with you and I'll share some pointers, how's that?"
Oh, yeah, Ash decided. His luck was most definitely picking up.
