Pokémon – Thunder Yellow
Fanfiction By – Spirit Reader
Pokémon Original Creator – Satoshi Tajiri
Chapter 9: The Brave Little Bird – Part 2
Takashi's Pokémon
Pikachu (Male)
Froakie (Female)
Pidgey (Male)
"Fearow…use Drill Peck!"
As he watched Fearow prepare itself to launch its attack, Takashi Nakamura braced himself for what was about to take place. In the span of only a few hours, the young Trainer not only found himself catching a brand new Pokémon in Pidgey, but also learning that he seemingly belonged to a young woman named Ariel. Not only that, but he also discovered that Ariel was being harassed by a man named Kaze and his powerful Fearow. It was a lot to take in, but Takashi saw that he didn't have time to ponder on his situation for very long.
With just one flap of its large and powerful wings, Fearow flew towards Takashi and the others at an incredible speed. As it did so, the Beak Pokémon began spinning around like a top, which in turn made its sharp beak become a makeshift drill. In the nick of time, the managed to barely evade Fearow's attack and watch as it began making its way towards an oncoming tree. To their utter shock, they watched as tree was instantly cut in two due to the sheer power of Fearow attack.
Once the tree fell to the ground, Fearow quickly picked itself back up and prepared to launch another Drill Peck. Refusing to allow it to do that move again, Pidgey got in front of the group and began flapping his tiny wings as hard and as fast as his could. This was Pidgey's Gust attack, but unfortunately the wind that he was creating was simply not strong enough to stop Fearow, who began making its way towards him.
"Pidgey, look out!"
Almost on instinct, Takashi immediately ran up and grabbed a hold of Pidgey. He then ducked down at the last minute, barely managing to avoid Fearow's attack. Then, as he watched Fearow come around for another assault, the young man promptly made his counterattack.
"Pikachu, use Thunder Shock and Froakie, use Bubble!"
Nodding their heads in compliance, Pikachu and Froakie stepped up and proceeded to launch their respective attacks. For Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon unleashed a blast of electricity from the red sacs that were on his cheeks. At the same time, Froakie fired off several highly dense bubbles from her mouth. The two attacks flew over and struck Fearow, causing it to stop in its tracks. However, much to Takashi's surprise, his combined assault wasn't as effective as he had hoped.
In one swift and powerful motion, Fearow managed to shake off Pikachu and Froakie's attack before continuing on with its Drill Peck. The two Pokémon managed to avoid Fearow in the nick of time, but they were blown back a bit by the air pressure that it created. They then watched as Fearow flew back to Kaze's side, who seemed a bit amused by what was taking place.
"Not bad kid," He said in a slightly sarcastic tone. "At least you're doing better than that woman beside you. I couldn't believe how weak she and her Pokémon were."
Taking a glance at her from the corner of his eye, Takashi saw how hurt Ariel was from Kaze's comment. Although he wasn't there for that battle, it was obvious from the scratches on her body that Ariel gave that fight everything she had. To be disrespected like that was an obvious blow to her pride as a Pokémon Trainer, which was one of the reasons why she was upset. Takashi understood that and although he wanted to say something in response, he knew had to focus on the battle right now.
"Alright…" He said as he prepared himself again. "Pikachu, now use Quick-"
Just before he could finish announcing his next attack, Takashi was suddenly caught off guard when he saw Pidgey struggle to free himself from his grasp. Despite his injuries, the Tiny Bird Pokémon was determined to finish his fight against Fearow and he wasn't about to let anyone stop him. As a result, despite the fact that both Takashi and Ariel tried to calm him down, Pidgey broke free and began flying towards Fearow again.
As everyone looked on, Pidgey used his Quick Attack to fly at Fearow at an incredible speed. Even though Fearow was able to avoid the initial strike, Pidgey quickly followed it up by flying straight up, landing the second blow directly into his opponent's chest. Unfortunately, while Fearow did feel the impact of Pidgey's attack, it was nowhere near enough to take it down. Because of that, the Beak Pokémon simply knocked Pidgey towards the ground with one of its large wings.
"It's over for you, small fry!" Kaze declared with a deadly smirk. "Fearow…destroy it with Hyper Beam!"
Without any hesitation, Fearow opened its large beak and began charging up energy for its Hyper Beam attack. After gathering up enough powerful, Fearow unleashed a powerful blast towards the fallen Pidgey. As Takashi and Ariel both looked on in horror, Froakie immediately stepped up and jumped in front of Pidgey at the last moment. The two of them were then seemingly consumed by a large explosion, created at the moment Fearow's attack struck.
When the smoke cleared and Froakie and Pidgey were nowhere to be seen, everyone initially assumed that they were completely destroyed. At that exact moment however, Fearow suddenly found itself struck from behind by several bubbles. When it turned around, the Beak Pokémon saw that they attack came from Froakie, who was standing on top of a tree branch. By her side was also Pidgey, who managed to survive as well.
Just before Fearow's Hyper Beam landed, Froakie grabbed Pidgey and used her incredible jumping ability to dodge the attack, using the resulting smokescreen for cover. Unfortunately, while she was able to survive that experience, Fearow's attack also created a powerful shockwave that damaged Froakie a good deal. Even though she managed to launch a follow up attack, it was clear Froakie was hurting and Kaze had every intention of exploiting her weakness.
"Quick Fearow, use Drill-"
Before Kaze could even finish his declaration, Pikachu immediately ran up and tackled Fearow from behind. When it turned around, the Beak Pokémon watched as Pikachu was getting ready to launch another electric attack at it.
"Pikachu, use Thunder Shock!"
"Fearow…Fury Attack!"
At the exact moment Pikachu fired off another blast of electricity at Fearow, the Flying Pokémon immediately responded by preparing to strike back with its sharp beak. The two attacks collided, shocking Fearow while knocking Pikachu down towards the ground. While that was going on, Froakie jumped down with Pidgey and promptly made her way back towards Takashi and Ariel.
While proud of his Pokémon for her quick actions, Takashi took notice of Froakie's injuries and saw that she took a lot of damage. He then looked over towards Pikachu and saw that he wasn't fairing much better. Even though he managed to get two attacks on Fearow, the Beak Pokémon simply wouldn't go down. Not only that, but the combination of being struck by a Fury Attack and crashing into the ground, damaged Pikachu a good deal. This battle wasn't going to last much longer and if things continued as they are, Takashi knew he was going to lose.
Ariel suspected this as well as she observed the battle. Fearow was so strong and durable that even fighting 3-on-1 wasn't enough to take it down. Something needed to be done about this because knew that Takashi couldn't afford to lose.
"We should retreat! We can't win right now!"
"…I know," Takashi agreed. "But how do we get away?"
As Ariel tried to figure out how to do that, the young woman noticed that Pidgey still seemed eager to fight, despite the fact that he could barely stand. When she saw that, Ariel suddenly remembered a move that Pidgey knew that could help them out of this situation.
"Pidgey!" She called out to. "Use your Sand Attack!"
Upon hearing Ariel's command, Pidgey turned his head and looked at her with a confused expression on his face. The little Flying Pokémon knew exactly what she was planning, but was reluctant to go about it. He wanted to continue fighting, but using Sand Attack meant that wasn't going to happen. Pidgey was about to disobey her, but stopped when he took notice of both Pikachu and Froakie.
Despite the fact that they injured too, the two of them were determined to protect Pidgey long enough to use his move. They got those injuries trying to protect him and were willing to get hurt even more if that meant they could all get out here. Upon realizing that, Pidgey reluctantly swallowed his pride and proceeded to flap its wings towards the ground. This caused a small sandstorm to completely envelop the area.
To protect his eyesight, Kaze used his arms to block the oncoming sand. When Fearow took note of that, the Beak Pokémon turned its attention away from Takashi and the others for a moment and used its massive wings to blow all the sand away. Once it was gone, Kaze and Fearow looked back and noticed that everyone was gone. They were the only ones left.
"Hmph…Running away are we," Kaze said as he stared out into the distance. "Oh well…I'm sure I'll be seeing them again soon enough."
Kaze let out a small smirk as he turned around and began making his way towards another section of the forest. As Fearow followed close behind, the two of them came across a large number of Flying-Type Pokémon, all of which were trapped in cages. As he watched the Pokémon struggle to break free from their restraints, Kaze started laughing hysterically.
"After all…They wouldn't want abandon you all, would they."
Later, as the moonlight shined down on the Viridian Forest, Takashi and Ariel were busy sitting by a small campfire as they tended to their Pokémon. It's been about 3 hours since the battle against Kaze and his Fearow and the two Trainers were trying to come up with a way to defeat them. Not only that, but that things have died down a bit, Takashi decided that now would probably be a good time to tell Ariel about how he and Pidgey met.
As she listened, Takashi explained to her that he encountered Pidgey after he was blown away from one of Kaze's attacks. He attempted to tend to his wounds, but Pidgey ended up attacking him instead, forcing a battle between them. Since Pidgey refused to give up no matter how many times he got knocked down, Takashi reluctantly decided to catch him instead.
"I see…" Ariel said after listening to the story. "So that's what happened."
"…Yeah," Takashi replied. "I thought Pidgey was a wild Pokémon. If knew he belonged to you, I would've found another way to stop it."
"It's fine…Besides, Pidgey isn't technically my Pokémon."
Takashi's eyes widen a bit after hearing Ariel say that. All this time, the young man was under the assumption that Pidgey belonged to her. But now it's revealed that's not the case at all.
"But you told me that you take care of all the Flying Pokémon in the Viridian Forest. Doesn't that mean that Pidgey is your Pokémon?"
"No…" Ariel answered. "It's true that my family and I take care of the Flying Pokémon here in the forest. But that doesn't mean that the Pokémon belong to us. We just take care of them until they're ready to move on somewhere else. Also…if Pidgey were in fact my Pokémon, then your PokeBall wouldn't have been able to capture it."
Upon hearing Ariel's explanation, Takashi proceeded to pull out Pidgey's PokeBall and examine it. He was a bit confused as he thought a PokéBall was capable of catching any kind of Pokémon. But now it's been revealed that the ball wouldn't have worked if Pidgey had belonged to Ariel. When she saw the look on his face, Ariel went on explain what she meant.
"When a Pokémon is caught by a PokéBall they are essentially 'marked' by it. This mark protects the Pokémon, preventing them from being caught by another Trainer's PokéBall. The only way to get rid of the mark is to either Release the Pokémon or destroy the PokéBall that it's connected too."
"I see…" Takashi said as he began to understand. "So because Pidgey wasn't marked, my PokéBall was able to catch it."
"Exactly…Which means Pidgey is your Pokémon now."
After hearing Ariel say that, Takashi started to feel a bit better about the situation involving Pidgey's capture. Initially, he had every intention of returning Pidgey to Ariel if that's what she wanted. He didn't want to feel like he stole her Pokémon. However, now that Pidgey is technically his now, the situation was different. Still, although a part of him was glad to have a new Pokémon friend on his team, Takashi knew that he couldn't really accept it until he got Pidgey's thoughts on the matter.
Speaking of Pidgey, Takashi wanted to see how he was doing and so he started looking for him. He soon spotted the Tiny Bird Pokémon sitting on a small stump, staring at the moon. Takashi also noticed that Pidgey had a determined look on his face as it was clear that he was still thinking about Kaze and his Fearow. Just seeing that look on his face reminded Takashi of something, prompting him to ask Ariel about it.
"So…can I ask you something about Pidgey?"
"What is it?" Ariel replied with a slight nod.
"It's just that…most of the Pidgey I've seen are quite cowardly. Usually don't like to fight and will always try to run away if they think they're in trouble. But this Pidgey's different. He's so determined that he'll never back down from a fight, even if he's injured. Did something happen…or was Pidgey always like that."
Pausing for a moment, Ariel took a moment to look at Pidgey. As she watched the Tiny Bird Pokémon stare out into the night sky, the young woman started thinking about his past. At the root of it all, Ariel was aware that Pidgey's past was the reason why he's so stubborn and refuses to give up. Because of that, and because she trusted Takashi, Ariel decided to explain what she knew.
"Pidgey…" She started off. "Pidgey is rather passionate Pokémon. I guess he's always has been. But, that passion mostly stems from his father, Pidgeot. Ever since he was just a hatchling, Pidgey had always looked up to Pidgeot and strived to be just like him. I guess that's the reason why he's always so stubborn when it comes to battle, as he knows his father would keep on going even if it meant death."
"…I see," Takashi replied, getting a better understanding. "Wait…You just said that Pidgey knows that his father would keep on fighting until the very end. Does that mean…"
"Yeah…" Ariel placed her head down for a moment before looking back at Pidgey. "About 2 years ago, a large group of angry forest Pokémon appeared and attacked us. Despite being outnumbered, Pidgeot fought bravely and managed to buy us enough time for us to escape and find a new place to live. Unfortunately, although he managed to drive those Pokémon away, Pidgeot's injuries were simply too severe and soon died from them. Since that day, Pidgey has been so stubbornly determined in practically everything that he does…as he wants to live up to his father's example and be just as strong as he was."
Once Ariel finished her explanation, Takashi took a moment to look towards Pidgey as well. Having just heard his story, the young man realized just how similar the two of them were. The two of them were not only very stubborn and determined, but they also wanted to live up to their respective fathers legacies and make them proud. Takashi understood that and, as a result, his respect for the Tiny Bird Pokémon quickly began to grow.
Now that he had a better understanding of Pidgey's feelings, Takashi knew exactly what he had to do now. To that end, he picked himself up and started making his way over towards Pidgey. Then, as Ariel and the other Pokémon looked on, Takashi sat down next to his newest friend. Although Pidgey was a bit apprehensive at first, the Flying-Type quickly calmed down after seeing the smile that's on Takashi's face. He then listened as the young man started talking.
"I know what it's like…" He started off. "The pain of losing your dad and the desire of wanting to be as strong as him. Sometimes you can get so consumed by it that nothing else really seems to matter. I guess…What I'm trying to say Pidgey, is that I know what you're feeling."
Pidgey looked up at Takashi with a shocked expression on his face. The Tiny Bird Pokémon didn't expect to hear that, especially from a human. However, his surprise would only increase as he listened to the young man's story.
"Still…you need to learn that there's only so much you can do on your own. Even if you believe that you can do anything, that doesn't mean that you can. It's only by working together with your friends that it actually becomes possible. At least…that's what my dad always taught me."
Pausing for a moment, Takashi reached into his pocket and pulled out his father's headband. As he stared at it, the young Trainer starting thinking about his late father and all the lessons he taught him. Thinking about those times brought a smile to his face, but it also caused Takashi to shed a few tears as well. Upon wiping those tears away, Takashi looked at Pidgey with a confident smile on his face.
"I know that you're going to become a strong Pokémon, just like your father. And, if you'll let me, I would like to help you get there…by first beating Kaze and his Fearow!"
As Pidgey stared at Takashi, the Tiny Bird Pokémon took notice of his smile. It reminded him of the same smile that his father would used to give him whenever he was feeling down. That smile always made Pidgey feel better and it always gave him the confidence to keep going even when he feeling down on himself. Because of that, Pidgey was slowly beginning to see an image of his father from within Takashi.
Later on, as he continued to look on at him, Pidgey later notice both Pikachu and Froakie get on top of their Trainer's shoulders. Although the way they expressed it was slightly different, both Pokémon vouched for Takashi's claims. It was only by working together that they were able to get out of their respective problems and become good friends with him. The same situation was now applying to Pidgey and both Pikachu and Froakie wanted to help him just like how Takashi helped them.
Upon seeing all of that, Pidgey looked down towards the ground for a moment as he thought about the battles he had against Fearow. Remembering that the second battle went far better than the first because of the teamwork that Takashi's Pokémon displayed, Pidgey realized that the only way he could win was to work with the others. Because of that, the Flying-Type gave Takashi a determined look as he nodded his head at him.
"Alright then. Now…I think I have a way to defeat Kaze and save the rest of your friends. Listen up."
While Takashi discussed his plan with his Pokémon, Ariel was looking at all of them back at the campfire. This was the first time she's seen Pidgey being so agreeable with others before. Most of the times, the Tiny Bird Pokémon would just stick to himself, preferring to be alone as it trained or dealt with other problems. However, that wasn't the case now as Pidgey was willing to work with Takashi. Just seeing this brought a small smile onto Ariel's face as it showed her that Takashi was a positive influence on the Flying Pokémon. She then proceeded to join them as they made their plans.
The following day, as the sun was beginning to rise above the Viridian Forest, Kaze and his Fearow was busy standing at the edge of Ariel's Pokémon Sanctuary. Having dealt with people like her and Takashi before, the thug was confident that the two of them would return for the captive Flying Pokémon. Once they do, Kaze would make sure that they wouldn't escape and that all of their Pokémon would be his.
Eventually, after about another hour of waiting, Kaze's Fearow noticed something heading towards them from the east. Turning his head, Kaze looked on and watched as both Takashi and Pidgey was walking towards him. Upon seeing them, a fiendish smile appeared on both his and Fearow's faces.
"So you've come back," He said to them. "Good…That saves me the trouble of having to look for you."
"Same here," Takashi replied. "This time I'm going to put both you and your Fearow down for good!"
As Kaze smirked at Takashi's words, the young man simply kept his cool. He then glanced at Pidgey and noticed that he was shaking in anticipation. Just looking at Fearow angered the Tiny Bird Pokémon greatly, so much so that he wanted to lung straight at it. Fortunately, Pidgey restrained himself after it glanced over at Takashi. If he wanted to save the other Flying Pokémon, Pidgey knew that he needed to keep his cool just like Takashi and focus on the task at hand. As a result, Pidgey simply held his ground and waited for the opponent to make the first move.
After a bit of waiting, Kaze realized that Takashi was goading him to attack first. It was an obvious tactic, but he decided to go along with it in order to prove that no plan that the Trainer came up with was good enough to defeat him.
"Alright…Fearow, use Drill Peck!"
Nodding its head in compliance, Fearow spread out its large wings and began flying towards Pidgey at an incredible speed. It then closed its sharp beak before spinning around like a top. Upon seeing that, Takashi had Pidgey respond in kind.
"Pidgey, dodge and fly up into the air!"
Pidgey responded to Takashi's order with a loud cry. He then flapped his tiny wings before flying high into the air, narrowly avoiding Fearow's attack. Once he saw that, Takashi quickly launched his next move.
"Now use Gust!"
Right away, Pidgey started rapidly flapping both his tiny wings as quickly as he could, creating a small windstorm. Unfortunately, the attack didn't have much of an effect on Fearow due to the Beak Pokémon's greater size and strength. Because of that, it was able to easily dispel the attack with one flap of its own wings. As soon as that happened, Fearow started flying towards Pidgey again.
"Fearow, use Fury Attack!" Kaze ordered.
"Pidgey, dodge with Quick Attack!" Takashi countered.
Both Pokémon acted upon their respective Trainer's orders as Fearow prepared to bombard its opponent with a rapid barrage of powerful strikes from its beak. Thankfully, Pidgey managed to avoid the assault by using his Quick Attack to speed up his movements. The two Pokémon then started flying across the sky, with one of them trying to land an attack while the other tries his best to avoid getting hit.
As the battle continued, Takashi looked up and noticed that Fearow was gradually closing in on Pidgey, despite the later using Quick Attack to increase his speed. Because of the injuries that he sustained the other day, Takashi knew that Pidgey wasn't at 100 percent and that one powerful attack could take it out. To that end, he needed to come up with something now before it was too late. Luckily, an idea soon popped into his head after remembering where he was.
"Pidgey, make your way towards one of the trees!"
Pidgey glanced over at Takashi while still trying to avoid Fearow's attacks. Right away, the Tiny Bird Pokémon immediately understood what he was planning and quickly went along with it. With that, Pidgey dove down towards one of the trees and began flying in front of it. Upon seeing that, Kaze decided to put an end to this battle right now.
"This battle is over!" He declared. "Fearow, use Drill Peck one more time!"
Without any hesitation, Fearow started diving down towards Pidgey and once again started spinning its body like a giant top. This time, the Beak Pokémon sped up its movements so that it would be practically impossible for Pidgey to avoid getting hit. When he saw that, Takashi knew that he would have to time this just right and so he raised his right arm high into the air. He then silently indicated to Pidgey to focus on his hand, with the Flying Pokémon did.
Once Fearow reached a certain point, Takashi quickly swung his arm back down, signaling out to Pidgey. Upon seeing that, Pidgey gathered all of his strength and used it to narrowly avoid Fearow's attack. He then watched as Fearow's beak became stuck within the tree that it just hit. While this shocked Kaze immensely, this was precisely the moment that both Takashi and Pidgey were counting on and so they immediately responded with their counterattack.
"Pidgey, use Quick Attack…and don't stop!"
Nodding his head again, Pidgey started diving towards Fearow at a blinding speed and rammed his tiny body into his opponent's rib cage. Although the attack didn't do much damage at first, Pidgey kept on attacking the same spot of Fearow's body over and over again. This caused a small acumination of damage to gradually pile up, causing Fearow to feel a good deal amount of pain.
Eventually, after finally freeing its beak from the tree, Fearow turned around and saw Pidgey rushing towards it again. It tried to move out of the way, but the repeatedly blow to its ribs made it difficult to move. Because of that, when Pidgey struck it there again, the attack literally knocked the wind out of it and knocked the Beak Pokémon towards the ground. Pidgey then prepared himself to launch the final attack.
"Alright Pidgey," Takashi called out too. "Let's wrap this up with one last Quick Attack!"
After letting out a loud cry, Pidgey started flying up high into the air. Once he was high as the tallest tree within the Viridian Forest, he dove back down and started making his way towards Fearow. As Kaze looked on, he noticed that Pidgey was using both the speed of the Quick Attack along with gravity in order to increase the overall power of the attack. Knowing that he could lose if this attack landed, Kaze decided to stop playing games and soon pulled out a PokéBall from his belt.
"It's not over yet, punk!" He said as he threw the ball. "Golbat, use Air Cutter!"
Looking on in shock, Takashi watched as the PokéBall that Kaze just threw opened up and unleashed a massive blast of light energy. Upon taking shape, it turned into a giant blue bat-like Pokémon with purple wing membranes and an extremely large mouth. When Pidgey saw this new Pokémon, he immediately stopped his attack, giving Fearow the opportunity to recover and join its comrade in the sky.
"Did you really think that this would be just a one-on-one battle, kid?!" Kaze asked Takashi. "If so, then you really are a fool!"
As Kaze started laughing at him, Takashi glared at Kaze as he balled up his fists. Although he should have expected this from the beginning, a part of him hoped that his opponent would play this battle straight. However, that wasn't the case anymore and now he had two opponents to deal with instead of just one. Takashi then went on to pull out his PokéDex, hoping that Dexter will give him some insight on Golbat.
"Golbat, the Bat Pokémon and the evolved form of Zubat." Dexter explained. "Once it strikes, Golbat will not stop draining its victim's blood even if it's too heavy to fly. Golbat is a Poison/Flying-Type."
Once Dexter finished its explanation, Takashi quickly put the PokéDex back into his pocket. He then turned his undivided attention towards both Fearow and Golbat. The situation, which was already difficult to begin with, was now even more troublesome. Still, Takashi managed to keep his cool. Panicking wasn't going to change anything. Right now, he needed to stay if he and Pidgey were going to get out of this situation in one piece.
As for Kaze, the criminal was busy snickering to himself as he glared at Takashi. Although he managed to catch him off guard with his earlier tactics, Kaze was determined not to let that happen again. Now, with both Golbat and Fearow by his side, the real battle was now about to begin.
"It's time…" He said. "Golbat, use Air Cutter!"
With a powerful scream, Golbat began to process of unleashing its attack by rapidly flapping both of its wings. As it did so, the Bat Pokémon created several tiny blasts of compressed air at Pidgey. When Pidgey saw them, he tried his best to avoid all of them by flying higher into the air. However, just when it looked like Pidgey was safe, Fearow was hovering right above him.
"Now Fearow…Fury Attack!"
Without any time to react, Pidgey was quickly pummeled by several powerful strikes from Fearow's beak. The final strike of the assault was so great that the Tiny Bird Pokémon was sent crashing towards the ground. Not only that, but before Pidgey could even get up, Golbat brought back down with another barrage of its Air Cutter attack. This resulted in Pidgey being trapped in a small crater as his opponents continued to fly above him.
Upon seeing the dreadful situation that Pidgey was in, Takashi instinctively ran up and attempted to reach his newest Pokémon. Unfortunately, before he could even get close, Fearow fired off a powerful Hyper Beam attack at him. In the nick of time, Takashi managed to jump out of the way. He then looked up as Fearow prepared itself fire off another blast.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Kaze pointed out to him. "My Pokémon do get ever so upset when their battles are interrupted."
As his opponent started snickering at him again, Takashi started gritting his teeth in anger. Kaze had a lot of nerve to say that to him, especially since he was the one who interfering by sending out another Pokémon. Takashi was eager to step in, but Fearow blasted at him with another Hyper Beam attack. The Beak Pokémon wasn't about to let him help Pidgey. It wanted him watch as both it and Golbat finished off the Tiny Bird Pokémon right before his eyes.
Soon, the battle looked like it was about to reach its conclusion, Pidgey managed to pull himself from out of the crater that he was in. He then looked over at Takashi for a moment, giving him a confident nod. In the short time that he's known him, Pidgey has quickly grown attached to the young Trainer, especially after he encouraged him. It's because of this attachment that Pidgey wasn't about to go down without a fight and so it promptly goaded both Golbat and Fearow. When Kaze saw that, the criminal let out another sinister laugh.
"It seems like you ready for some more punishment," He said. "That's fine by me. Golbat, use Bite and Fearow, use Drill Peck!"
Once they heard their orders, both Golbat and Fearow immediately responded to Kaze's command and started flying straight for Pidgey. As he watched this from a distance, Kaze knew that it would be all over for Pidgey if their combined attack landed. This battle was as good as over and the criminal wanted to see the look of despair on Takashi's face when Pidgey was finally put down. However, just before the attacks could connect, something unexpected occurred.
Instead of giving in to despair, Takashi let out a confident smile. As Kaze looked on in confusion, Takashi raised his right hand into the air and snapped his fingers. When he did so, a bolt of lightning shot from one corner of the forest while a barrage of bubbles shot from the other. The two attacks struck Fearow and Golbat, sending them back and away from Pidgey. Once they were a good distance away, Kaze watched as both Pikachu and Froakie appeared and stood right next to Pidgey.
"Earlier you said that I was fool to think that this would be a one-on-one battle," Takashi told Kaze. "Well the same thing applies to you. You're a fool to think that I would fight fair against a criminal like you!"
Although he truly wanted to fight this battle fairly, Takashi had the foresight to predict that Kaze might try something like this. Because of that, he instructed both Pikachu and Froakie to hide out in the forest and observe the battle closely. If things went south or if Kaze were to try anything funny, the two of them were then told to step in and assist, like they did just now. It wasn't fair, but when it came to someone like Kaze, Takashi didn't really care about following the rules.
As for Pidgey himself, the Tiny Bird Pokémon looked on as both Pikachu and Froakie stood by his side. Originally, Pidgey would've pushed the two of them aside and fought this battle on his own. However, things were different now and he was glad they were by his side. Now, with the odds in their favor, the time had come to finally put Kaze in his place.
"Pikachu, use Thunder Shock!" Takashi commanded. "Froakie, use Bubble and Pidgey, use Gust!"
Right away, the three Pokémon responded to their Trainer's orders and unleashed their respective attacks. Pikachu fired off another powerful electric blast at Fearow and Golbat while Froakie launched another barrage of bubbles at them from her mouth. At the same time, Pidgey unleashed another windstorm that rapidly sped up the two attacks. This allowed the attacks to strike their targets before either Fearow or Golbat had a chance to move, much to the satisfaction of both Takashi and his Pokémon.
Meanwhile, as he watched both of his Pokémon struggle to get back to their feet, Kaze started glaring at Takashi with a strong intensity. This battle has already gone longer than intended and although it was proven that Takashi wasn't as weak as he first thought, Kaze knew that he should have beaten him already. Now he found himself at a 3-to-2 disadvantage with one of his opponent's Pokémon, Pikachu, having a major type advantage over his own Pokémon. This needed to end right now and Kaze had just the means to do so.
Discreetly, Kaze put his hand behind his back and lifted up his shirt. On the back of his belt was another PokéBall, which contained his strongest Pokémon. Although he was ashamed that things had come this far, the criminal no longer cared about maintaining his own twisted version of pride. Right now, all that mattered to him was winning and with this Pokémon, victory was inevitable. Unfortunately, before he even had a chance to grab a hold of the PokéBall, something swooped in and grabbed it before he could.
When he turned around, Kaze saw that the one who grabbed his PokéBall was a Taillow. However, it wasn't any ordinary Taillow as it belonged to Ariel, who just emerged from another section of the forest. Also with her, much to Kaze's utter horror, was all of the Flying-Type Pokémon that was previously under her care. The young woman took hold of the PokéBall from her Taillow and began spinning it around on one finger.
"Oh…were you about to use this?" She said with a sly smile. "Sorry, but we can't have that."
As she watched Ariel put the PokéBall away, Kaze instantly realized what was going on here. Takashi wasn't here battling him just so that he could defeat him. Instead, the entire purpose of this battle was to distract Kaze long enough for Ariel to locate and free all the captured Pokémon. Now with them back with Ariel, Kaze now saw himself surrounded by all fronts with no clear way out.
While trying to figure out what to do, Kaze glanced over and saw Takashi walking up to his Pokémon. After smiling at each of them, especially Pidgey, the young man turned his focus directly towards Kaze. Although he had every intention of putting him down right now, Takashi wanted prove that he was the better man in this situation. To that end, he gave the criminal a single ultimatum.
"Leave this place and never come back!" He declared. "Do so and you have my word that we won't pursue. But don't…and we'll make sure that you and your Pokémon never fight another battle again!"
Upon hearing Takashi say that to him, Kaze's anger reached its tipping point. It would be one thing if he just defeated him, but he's instead offering him a chance to leave. This was a major blow to his pride, mostly because it gave the impression that Takashi could defeat him at any moment, but found that it wasn't worth the effort. It was the ultimate insult and Kaze wasn't about to let some brat get the better of him anymore.
"Don't you dare look down on me, boy!" He yelled. "Fearow, Golbat…attack them now!"
Picking themselves up from off the ground, both of Kaze's Pokémon flew up and began making their way towards Takashi and the others at an incredible speed. Fortunately, before they could even get close to him, all of Takashi's Pokémon blocked their path. Froakie and Pidgey knocked Fearow and Golbat back with both a Pound and Quick Attack. Pikachu then zapped them both with a powerful Thunder Shock, the sheer intensity of which rendered them unconscious.
Once he saw his Pokémon fall to the ground, Kaze angrily clinched his teeth. He then turned around and began making his way towards Ariel, intending to take back the PokéBall that she stole from him. Before he could do so however, all of the Flying Pokémon that was under Ariel's care immediately came to her defense and assaulted Kaze with a barrage of attacks. The final one came from Ariel's Taillow, which knocked Kaze down with its Wing Attack.
As Kaze struggled to get back to his feet, Pidgey started walking over towards him. When the Tiny Bird Pokémon eventually reached the criminal, he started glaring at him with a fierce intensity. When he saw that, Kaze immediately stepped back a bit as Pidgey's eyes made him look like he was looking down on him. He then attempt to swipe at the Pokémon, but Pidgey easily flew up out of the way.
"It's time for you to get out of here!" Takashi declared. "Pidgey, use Gust now!"
Without any hesitation, Pidgey started flapping his wings at Kaze and unleashed a small windstorm at him. At first, the storm wasn't strong enough to do anything so Kaze was able to resist it easily. But, as he continued to flap his wings, Pidgey soon found himself joined by his fellow Flying-Type. They too started flapping their wings at Kaze and the resulting wind that they were creating quickly grew in intensity. It soon reached the point that the criminal was barely able to hold on. Once he finally lost his balance, Kaze was lifted off the ground and sent flying out of the Viridian Forest, along with both of his Pokémon.
"And don't you dare come back!"
With the situation finally taken care of and all the Flying Pokémon now safe and sound, Ariel was busy leading Takashi down a path through the Viridian Forest. Grateful for everything that he's done, the young woman wanted to repay the Pokémon Trainer in some way. After a bit of prying, she soon learned that he was making his way to Pewter City for a Gym Battle. If he continued down the path that he was walking, Ariel knew that it would take Takashi quite a bit longer for him to finally get there. To that end, she decided to take him down a shortcut that she knew of.
After about 2 hours of walking, Takashi noticed that the trees that were all around him were gradually becoming smaller. He also saw that the path that he was walking down was starting to look more and straighter and focus. Although he wasn't entirely sure, he soon began to assume that he was now reaching the edge of the forest. That assumption soon became a reality when he and Ariel reached a large open space.
"There…" Ariel said as she looked at Takashi. "Now, if you continue down this path you should reach Pewter City in the next 2 to 3 days."
"Really…?" Takashi replied, amazed by what he heard. "That's great!"
When he first arrived in the Viridian Forest, Takashi believed that it would take him about 10 to 14 days to navigate through it if he followed the map. It's been roughly 6 days, so at worst he had another 8 more days to go. But now, thanks to Ariel's shortcut, he no longer had to travel as long. His battle at the Pewter Gym was now closer than ever before and the prospect of that excited the young Trainer to no end.
As he continued to think about his upcoming battle, Takashi suddenly remembered 2 things. The first was regarding Ariel and all the Flying Pokémon that was under her care. Although they managed to drive Kaze away, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't return and cause more trouble. While he wanted to be optimistic, just the thought of that worried Takashi quite and wanted to know what Ariel was going to do.
"So…What about that Kaze guy?" He asked. "Got any plans on how to deal with him?"
"…I have a few," Ariel revealed. "But the first I'm going to move all the Pokémon to another secret location. Now that Kaze knows where this place is, it isn't safe anymore."
Nodding his head in agreement, Takashi understood Ariel's intentions. Although moving to a new sanctuary would be a difficult transition, especially since she's taking care of all of those Pokémon by herself, it was ultimately the right thing to do. Besides, with her gone, Kaze will have a hard time finding them if he ever decides to show his ugly face again.
As for the next thing that was on Takashi's mind, the young man looked down for a moment before reaching for a PokéBall that was attached to his belt. Inside the ball was Pidgey, who was resting after all the battles that it had recently. Despite everything that Ariel told him previously, Takashi still wanted to be sure that it was okay to take Pidgey with him on his Journey.
"Are you sure you don't mind? I mean…you have been taking care of Pidgey for such a long time. I don't want to cause any problems."
"It's fine," She confirmed. "In fact, even if you haven't caught him earlier I probably would've asked that you take Pidgey with you."
Caught off guard by her statement, Takashi stared at Ariel with a confused look on his face. He then watched as the young looked up towards the sky for a moment. As she watched a flock of Flying Pokémon fly off into the distance, she thought about all the time she had with Pidgey. Although it would be sad to let him go, Ariel knew that this was ultimately for the best.
"I told you before that Pidgey wants to be as strong as his father one day," She said to him. "However…he won't be able to do that if he continues to stay here. In order for Pidgey to achieve his dream, he has to go out and experience all kinds of things that he could never be able to witness otherwise. Also, if I'm being perfectly honest, I think Pidgey is better off sticking with you, Takashi. The two of you were made for each other. Just promise me that you'll take good care of him."
"…I promise." Takashi said with a nod.
Satisfied with his response, Ariel returned Takashi's nod with one of her own. The young woman then said her goodbyes as she left with her Flying Pokémon to their new hiding place. As for Takashi, the young man looked down at Pidgey's PokéBall for a moment before opening it up. Once Pidgey materialized before him, he knelt down at the Tiny Bird Pokémon before proceeding to gently pet the top of his head.
"Well Pidgey…The two of us are going to be partners from now on. Let's have a good time and get stronger together."
Takashi extended his hand out towards Pidgey and waited to see how he would respond. Instead of shaking his hand with his wing however, Pidgey responded by flying up and landing happily on Takashi's head. When he noticed that, Takashi let out a small laugh as he was quite amused by that. He then stood up and began walking down the path towards Pewter City, together with his newest Pokémon friend.
"Pewter City…Here we come!"
Chapter Preview
Pewter City is so close that Takashi can practically taste it. However, just before he can get there, another situation presents itself to our young Pokémon Trainer. Just what is this problem and how long will it keep Takashi busy until he can finally have his Gym Battle?
Next Time, Chapter 10: Lost and Found
Announcements
Spirit Reader: Hey guys, it's Spirit Reader here. I've hope you've enjoyed these latest updates to Pokemon: Thunder Yellow. I know I've been gone for a while, but I'm happy to say that things are going well now. Please leave a review so that I can hear your thoughts on the chapters. I would greatly appreciate it. In addition, please know that there will be no chapter next week. Chapter 10 will instead be released during the first weekend of May. Well, that's it for now. Until next time, this is Spirit Reader Signing Off!