"Well, at least it's not snowing," Ash said, breathing the crisp mountain air. "Grass-types don't like snow much."
"Not that I think Chikorita would mind," Pikachu added. "She is one tough Pokémon."
"Yeah." Ash scanned the slopes. "Can't see... wait a second."
Walking forwards, he looked closer. "There. Just on the edge of where I can see. A point of green light."
"I'll take your word for it," Pikachu said. "How long do we have?"
"Brock said they were renting everyone skis for a day, so that long. Should be easily enough time."
"That looks kind of scary," Stantler said, watching as Psyduck went down the slope with arms flailing.
"He's fine," Togekiss told him. "Psyduck's not very graceful, but he is very powerful. He just doesn't always bother using his psychic powers if he feels he'll be fine without."
"I see." Stantler didn't, not really, but he had an inkling.
Ninetales came next, tails waving like a banner in the wind as she steered herself down the ski slope. Crobat flew alongside, matching her speed as best he could, and their combined wakes did interesting things to the snowy dust of their passage.
Misty was using Seadra to help her steer, and the watery Pokémon was making good use of his high swimming speed to keep them moving down the slope at a rapid clip.
(Yes, it wasn't water. But he didn't care much.)
Once they'd gone past, and the wash of their passage had faded, Stantler looked a bit confused. "Isn't someone missing?"
Togekiss floated a bit higher, then came back down again. "Here he comes."
Brock came into view around the bend, wobbling a bit.
He'd lost his left ski somewhere, and was balancing along on just the right.
"Shouldn't we... help him?" Stantler asked, as his new trainer went past on one ski and at high speed.
"He'll be fine," Togekiss assured. "He's got Geodude with him, who can make sure he's in no trouble."
She looked back into the lounge. "Want some more food? It's complimentary."
"Compli-ment-ary?" Stantler repeated.
"It means we can have as much as we want." Togekiss waved her wings. "I'm going to have a bit more, and then go and have a fly."
"Okay." Stantler looked down at his hooves. "I don't think I can do the ski-ing, though..."
Togekiss followed his gaze. "Hmmm... you're right. Well, I know what we can do instead. I'll get some of the others, and we can have a snowball fight!"
Whatever plan Ash had to reconnect with Chikorita had forgotten one important detail about her.
She was monumentally stubborn as a Chikorita, and had in fact been game to fight Charizard back when they'd first met.
So, it was a battle. Not to capture her, just to get close enough to touch her.
And it took some doing.
"Get back here!" Ivysaur shouted, vines whipping out.
Chikorita's razor leaves slashed out and cut one vine, and Ivysaur grimaced and pulled the other one back. While he did so, Chikorita ran a bit further, then turned and began slowly charging a Solarbeam.
"Isn't it overcast?" Pikachu asked, blinking.
"It's still doable, just takes a long time to charge," Ivysaur replied. "Okay, Grass isn't working."
His flower flashed, and the ground underfoot creaked and rumbled. A small number of rocks responded, ramming together into a miniature but respectable boulder, which then shot off towards her.
Just before the Ancientpower arrived, Chikorita fired. The Solarbeam blew the Ancientpower into fragments, and then went on to hit Ivysaur – who grunted, and took the attack with relatively little damage.
"I'm not fast enough," he said reluctantly. "Anyone else want to tag in?"
"If I may." Lucario walked forwards, past Ivysaur. "You are very impressive for a wild Pokémon, Chikorita."
She looked mulish, and the tiny plants in a ring around her neck unfurled slightly.
Lucario examined the result as he advanced. "Sweet Scent, I see."
His fists flashed into fire, and he rubbed them together until a flame built and held on the palm. With a careful breath, a blaze of flame came out and touched the edge of her Scent cloud – igniting it, resulting in a soft whoomth of an explosion and a sweet-smelling cloud of transient smoke.
A little startled but unharmed, Chikorita replenished the cloud of scented pollen. Lucario advanced through it, moving with purpose around the edge of the cloud and burning it off a little faster than it was replenished.
Chikorita stopped replacing it as Lucario got close, and stared up at him defiantly. "Do you expect me to give up?"
"No. I respect you more than that." Lucario paused, then punched upwards.
Chikorita had just enough time to wonder what that had been in aid of when the spiral of hot and cold air activated. She was whirled into the air by the sudden updraft, and went flying thirty feet into the air.
Lucario hadn't tried to target it too specifically, so the spiral of wind tugged at him as well, but he weighed over ten times as much and merely had to check his stride slightly. His arm snapped out as she came back down, and caught her as gently as possible.
"There," Ash said, touching Chikorita's neck.
Her slightly sullen attitude changed to shock and then relief, as she recognized the boy before her – and then the light of evolution flowed over her, as all that she had done and been since applied itself in a flash of sudden energy.
When the light faded, Bayleef stood there, looking none the worse for wear despite the battle.
Then, predictably, she glomped Ash.
"Yeah, I missed you too..." Ash chuckled weakly. "Ow?"
"Sorry," Bayleef said, not sounding very sorry. "What happened?"
"Time travel," Pikachu summarized. "It's more complicated, but let's work with time travel for now."
"I see... I think." Bayleef frowned. "It was Ash, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, me again," Ash admitted.
She blinked. "Did you just understand me?"
"Yeah," Ash agreed. "Honestly, whenever I realize I can do it, it makes me amazed all over again... but talking to my Pokémon all the time, really talking to them..." He smiled. "It's really precious, but at the same time it's kind of become normal. Which is fine, but it might take some of the wonder out of it."
"Basically, it's because Ash is an aura user," Lucario supplied.
Bayleef looked over at him, and jumped. "You're new!"
She shook her head. "No, right, I did see you before. You were the one who beat me just now, that's right. Sorry, getting confused."
"It's fine, we've all had it," Ash reassured her. "Though – I had a question."
"Ask away," Bayleef said, looking around and rolling her neck to stretch it.
"Why do you keep jumping on me?" Ash asked. "None of the others really do that as much..."
Bayleef blushed suddenly. "Well... uh... I like you."
"So do the others," Ash replied, frowning. "I don't understand."
Pikachu fell off Ash's shoulder, and burst out laughing.
Ash glanced down at his starter, vaguely confused, then back to Bayleef. "And why is this funny?"
"No, I mean... like you like you." Bayleef shuffled her feet.
"Still not seeing what-"
Lucario interrupted him. "As entertaining as this is, I think I can cut to the chase. Bayleef. Would you say that it is in the same way that Charizard likes Charla?"
Bayleef blushed again, then nodded.
"...oh, right..." Ash said, blushing himself. "I never... that explains a lot, I guess..."
He sighed, then looked at her. "I... I'm flattered, I guess. And I do like you – love you – but the same way as the rest of my friends, human and Pokémon."
Bayleef nodded, looking a bit glum. "I kind of guessed. I think I worked it out a long time ago. But – still. It's how I feel."
"...this got a lot less funny," Pikachu decided.
Ash was silent a moment longer, then stood. "Bayleef, I don't think... I can't be quite what you want, because I don't have feelings for you that way. But I can be a friend. Would you like that?"
Bayleef looked down for a moment, then back up again. The smile on her face was a little forced, and her eyes were wet, but she nodded. "I think I'd like to be your friend, Ash."
Ash and his Pokémon went up to the ski resort themselves, deciding they had enough time to join in with their friends. The resultant snowball fight was quite impressive, especially when Stantler essayed an illusion and had everyone throwing them a foot to his left for a minute or so.
Eventually, though, the friends headed back down-slope.
"What's next?" Brock asked, as they crossed the tree-line into light forest.
"Hmmm..." Ash looked ahead. "There's Cherrygrove city, but there's nothing much to do there... Dexter?"
Nothing of importance until Violet City. You may as well head straight there.
"Excellent."
Ash blinked. "Who said-"
His eyes went right. "Suicune?"
"The very same." The lithe Pokémon essayed a small bow.
"Wow..." Stantler said, gaping. "You're a legendary."
"I am." Suicune looked him over. "You're a Stantler."
"That's right..."
"He's new, but I think we're quite pleased with him so far," Brock added. "He wants to see the world."
"A most noble goal. I have seen much of the world, and it never fails to astonish me." Suicune smiled, then returned her attention to Ash. "If you have some time free... well, chosen one, catch-as-catch-can."
With that, she turned north, and broke into a lope. A hundred feet away, she turned and looked behind her, then beckoned forwards.
Ash stood frozen for a moment, then grabbed a Poké ball from his belt. "Charizard! Let's follow her!"
The orange Fire-type materialized in a flash of white light. Charizard sank to the ground as Ash returned Lucario and Bayleef – to save weight – and then collected Pikachu and jumped aboard.
Brock, Misty, and their companions watched as orange shape followed blue shape over the nearest ridge, and out of sight.
"Well... what do we do now?" Misty asked.
"Maybe we should head to Violet City..." Brock suggested. "I guess he'll go there eventually?"
"It's about the best we can do, I think."
"She is very, very fast," Charizard grunted, wings beating the air in steady whams. "I'm going as fast as I can, and we're only making up ground very slowly."
"Right." Ash patted his flank, and bent low to reduce the air resistance. "Okay, try and gain height without losing her. We can dive down for speed, and then Pikachu can try to slow her a bit."
"Got it." Charizard's flight tilted up very slightly. "Keep an eye on her, can you? I need to concentrate."
As the smallest, Pikachu bent over Charizard's side, and spotted the moving blur of blue. "I can see her from here, yes."
"Good. Let me know when you're losing her."
Suicune hopped from rock to rock, balancing for a moment on a tiny point before jumping further, and ascending a low ridge without breaking stride.
High overhead, she could see the cream belly and red-orange wings of the trainer's Charizard. A powerful Pokémon, from what she had heard.
She had also heard the Pidgeot was far, far faster – so, knowing he wouldn't be able to keep up if she went at full speed, she was making it a merely difficult challenge.
Well, okay, very difficult.
Another glance overhead, and she saw the Charizard was no longer climbing.
In fact, he was diving shallowly – trading height for speed, accelerating towards her and gaining a slight speed edge.
Excellent.
This was why she had argued he was worthy.
But – why make it easy?
Suicune glanced around, and spotted a valley which led to a riverbed. She loped over to it, then began running upstream towards the north – the river flashing to pure, sparkling clarity as she ran along.
"Okay, this could be tricky," Ash said, eyes forward. "Charizard, can you break through the tree cover?"
Through the branches, he could see the flickering blue shape which was Suicine. Charizard was currently angled to hit the river considerably ahead of her, estimating by eye where she would be when he reached it so their paths would intersect.
"Yes, I can," Charizard replied. "Flare blitz, if nothing else. But I won't be able to fight – I'd make it through, but not cleanly."
"That's okay." Ash touched his three full Poké balls. "We've got others to do any fighting."
"Got it."
The ground came up with surprising speed. One moment, it was distant and the trees looked like toys, the next everything was approaching and the branches went from sticks to thick logs and then Charizard burst into flame-
Ash's teeth clicked together painfully as Charizard hit a big tree, sending it crumbling and crashing to the ground. There was a moment of clear air, and then he slammed bodily into another large tree and came to a crunching, rumbling stop.
Jumping clear, Ash returned him and released the rest of his team. Ivysaur and Bayleef went to either bank, and Lucario joined him and Pikachu on the water surface.
Suicune looked up, then around at the flaming barricades which had dropped across the river both upstream and downstream. "Unorthodox, but effective."
"That's my fighting style!" Ash grinned.
"Is your Charizard okay?"
"I don't know," Ash replied, grin replaced by a frown. "But I hope he is."
"As do I." Suicune's face set. "But I am not caught yet."
"Thunder wave!" Ash called. Pikachu nodded, and fired out a potent blast of electricity.
With incredible grace, Suicune jumped, and was in mid-air at the moment the attack reached her. Water blasted outwards in a sparkling blue wave, and the attack was mostly soaked up by that rather than connecting with her.
What got through crackled along her flank, and concentrated on her legs.
"Power whip!" Ash added, and the two Grass-types lashed out.
Suicine dodged, slower than before, towards the eastern bank of what was becoming a small lake. She let Bayleef's whips grab her, then took one in her mouth and bit it in half.
Ivysaur's whips got to her before she could sever the other, and she raised a paw and tugged with all her might – pulling him off the bank and into the water with a splash.
Lucario had not been idle. He ran forward, palm sparkling with electricity for a Thunderpunch, and delivered it as Suicune divested herself of the last vine.
Suicune took the blow without complaint, and kicked out with her forelegs at Lucario. He took them in a grip, and his feet glowed brightly as he tried to hold her. "Pikachu! Now!"
Pikachu fired his Volt Crash.
Suicune released another of the instant waves of water, and the attack grounded not only into her but also into both Ivysaur and Lucario.
Before the steam and smoke cleared, Ash was squinting. "Is everyone okay?"
"I think so," Ivysaur coughed. "I can replace those petals either way."
"I'm fine," Lucario supplied, voice trembling a bit. "Is she-"
"I'm afraid not," Suicune informed them.
The air cleared, revealing her atop the wooden dam upriver. She was clearly favoring one leg, and looked very tired, but was unmistakeably conscious.
"Very close, but no. A gallant effort, chosen."
She cocked her head. "We will meet again – and I don't know what the result will be."
Suicune turned to go, then turned back. "You might want to get out of the river bed. I'm going to destroy the logs."
Ash returned those of his Pokémon who were most hurt, and clambered up to the east bank with Pikachu.
Once they were clear, Suicune smashed the first dam with a focused Bubblebeam. The second, already damaged by progressive fire, fell apart as a sudden wave hit it.
When the wave subsided, Suicune was nowhere to be seen.
"...well, that happened," Ash said. "That was close."
Pikachu nodded, and hopped up onto Ash's shoulder, leaving wet footprints on his clothes.
"Hey!" Ash chuckled, then sighed. "Right, let's get to a Pokémon centre. Dexter, where's Violet City?"
Half a mile west, Dexter supplied promptly.
"Guess we wait there for Brock and Misty, then."
Ash hoisted Pikachu up onto the counter, and passed over four Poké balls. "Thanks, Nurse Joy."
"Oh, not a problem." The Joy looked over her new patient, and Chansey ran the scanner over the rest. The results came up on screen, and she blinked. "Goodness. They have had a rough time of it. Falkner?"
"No, I just got into town." Ash rubbed the back of his neck. "I was trying to catch a wild Pokémon..."
Joy glanced up at the screen. "Which one was it?"
"No, I didn't catch her. Came close, though."
"I wish young trainers would be more careful," Joy fretted. "It must have been a strong one, with these Pokémon – and how tired they seem."
Ash nodded. "Yeah."
"Don't worry," Pikachu supplied, as he was carried into the back room for a quick check up. "We all volunteered."
Joy glanced over at her Chansey, who smiled, and assumed it had been something conciliatory. "Well... okay, then, but be careful next time."
"You bet," Ash sighed, going to sit down on one of the chairs.
"Excuse me..."
He looked up. A dark-haired woman with a bun was approaching, looking puzzled. "Yes?"
"Are you..." she paused, glanced over at the desk, and continued. "Are you actually Ash Ketchum?"
"Yeah," Ash replied. "That's me."
"Okay." She frowned. "Sorry, where are my manners... I'm Miss Priscilla, I teach at the Pokémon Academy here in Violet."
"Oh, right!" Ash said, much more enthusiastically. "What is it?"
"Well, I was wondering... are you staying here for a while?"
"A day at least. I'm going to wait for my friends, who are a bit behind me, and then wait for my Pokémon to be recovered before challenging Falkner."
Miss Priscilla looked hopeful. "Would you be willing to stop by at the academy tomorrow?"
"Sure!"
"Class, we're lucky to have a visitor today," the teacher said brightly. "This is Ash Ketchum."
Ash waved. Pikachu, on his shoulder, waved as well.
A hand went up.
"Can we see your Squirtle? He's cool."
Ash blinked. "Uh... that might be a problem, he's training back at home."
"That sucks," the kid said.
Another hand went up. "What about your Pidgeot?"
"She's training in the Orange Islands."
"Snorlax?"
"At home."
"Butterfree? He was awesome."
"Sorry." Ash shook his head. "With his family."
"Kingler?"
"At home."
"Primeape?"
"Training."
"Muk? Tauros?"
"All back at home too." Ash was feeling a bit embarassed by now.
"Do you actually have any Pokémon with you?"
Pikachu hopped down from his shoulder onto a desk. "Hey!"
"Oh, yeah, the Pikachu," someone said. "Didn't you blow up the arena?"
Pikachu thought about that for a moment, then decided to treat it as a plus.
Ash took out a Poké ball and opened it, releasing Lucario. "What about him? He was a Riolu in the League."
"He evolved?" That voice actually sounded a bit disappointed. "He was cuter before..."
After a moment, another hand went up. "Do you have your Charizard?"
Pikachu rolled his eyes. "Finally."
"Let's go outside," Ash suggested, smirking.
Charizard stood on his hind legs, flapping his wings, and blew a small ball of fire into the sky. A faster one followed, which caught up with the first and detonated.
"Wow!"
"He's awesome!"
"That's better," Pikachu said, attempting to bask in reflected glory, but still a bit grumpy. "How cynical are these kids?"
Ash shrugged.
On the field at the centre of the school grounds, Bayleef and Ivysaur fenced back and forth with their vines, neither using anything more spectacular, but still holding the attention of some of the students.
"Mister Ketchum?" someone asked.
Ash looked down. "Yeah?"
"What do you think is your best Pokémon?"
Ash's eyes widened. "Wow, that's a hard question."
"Good start," Pikachu quipped.
After a moment to think, Ash decided what to say. "I don't think 'best' is really a sensible thing to ask, here. I mean – best in what way?"
He rubbed Pikachu's chin. "Pikachu here has been with me for the longest. He's my starter – starters are special, most people never retire theirs."
Ash then nodded towads Lucario. "I raised him from an egg," technically, "so we trust one another a lot as well. He's one of the Pokémon I have with the most diverse move set, so I rely on him a lot. He's saved my life before."
Charizard was next. "He's probably the strongest Pokémon I've ever used in any tournament, and he doesn't mind carrying me – that's really useful, by the way, and fun too." Ash grinned. "If you ever catch a Pidgey, take good care of them, the payoff is awesome."
There were scattered giggles.
"Squirtle is the one who invents moves I've never heard of before. Ivysaur seems to have a skill for every situation. Butterfree's the first Pokémon I ever caught, as a Caterpie. Pidgeot's the second, and the fastest. My Tauros come through in the most unusual situations. Bayleef and Heracross are new, but I'm glad to have them."
He stopped for a moment, then shrugged. "Best doesn't make sense. What matters is that your Pokémon are your friends, and you appreciate them for what they are – use their strengths, work on their weaknesses, and – above all – be their friends."
Ash then lowered his voice slightly, so the kids had to crowd closer. "A bit over a year ago, in Kanto, I met a Pokémon whose trainer had abandoned him for being weak. This guy had told his faithful Pokémon that all it had to do was wait until he came back, as training, and then walked away and left him to die."
The silence stretched.
"Did he die?" asked a black-haired boy.
"No." Ash shook his head. "My friends and I found the Pokémon in time, and got him to the Pokémon centre."
Another pause.
"He was a Charmander."
Charizard emitted a rumbling, purring growl, and Ash reached up to scratch his eye ridge.
"Whoa..." someone said.
"Never give up on a Pokémon. Be kind to them, help them, and they'll pay you back and more," Ash finished.
"Hi!" Ash called, waving. "What kept you guys?"
"You went fifteen miles north, that's what!" Misty replied. "We had to guess where you ended up." She walked over to the Pokémon centre counter, and handed over two Poké balls. "These two have been doing a bit of battling."
"And can you check up Stantler, please?" Brock added. "He's still young."
The little Big Horn trotted up to the counter, looking around. "This building smells... sort of like nettles? It's very clean."
"It's a building where people take their Pokémon to be healed and looked after," Brock explained, patting Stantler. "This is Nurse Joy, and her Chansey. They'll look after you."
Stantler looked at the two nurses, then nodded. "Okay."
"Brock," Misty asked, as they walked over to the waiting area. "Are you well?"
"Fine," Brock replied. "Why?"
"You didn't hit on Nurse Joy."
Brock shrugged. "Wouldn't be right, I've got a call to Philena to make."
The other two trainers exchanged a bemused look.
AN:
Better luck next time, Ash.
I know the Bayleef thing is usually played for laughs and/or drama... but it's really kind of sad, as all one-way unrequited love is. Bayleef is fully intelligent, and feels a strong love for another being... and it's one he doesn't return.
But, at the same time, it doesn't have to define their relationship either. They can still be friends.
As for Suicine – she's a roaming legendary, it was never exactly going to be easy.
Next up, Falkner. Please do review – it's a great feeling to get one.
