Pokémon Tails: A Journey to the East
DISCLAIMER: I don't own DBZ or Pokémon.
CHAPTER 6: Training 101 – Gohan Style!
The next morning, it was back to work with training.
"Okay," Gohan informed Brock as they all stood there at attention. "Like I told both Ash and Misty yesterday, four days a week, we'll be working on training our bodies. Today's Tuesday, so we will have a brief break tomorrow, and then it's back to training."
"I have a question," Ash answered, raising his hand like he was in school.
"What is it, Ash?" Gohan said, turning his Super Saiyan 2 gaze on him.
"How long will it be until we learn Pokémon attacks like you?" Ash asked eagerly.
Misty faceplanted. "How many times do we have to tell you, he's not a Pokémon!"
"Oops!" Ash said, embarrassed. "Sorry, Gohan! I keep forgetting."
Gohan sighed, sounding more amused than annoyed. Yes, he definitely reminds me of Father.
"No, that's all right, Ash," Gohan said. "And to answer your question, well... it could be a while to tell you the truth. You're still months away from learning ki attacks. See, there are still certain basics in learning to control your ki properly and quite frankly, you're not there yet."
"Aw, man!" Ash complained.
"Pika Pika," Pikachu sighed, shaking its head.
"Look at it this way, Ash," Brock said. "You're getting a nice healthy workout."
"Yes, and you get to train with someone who actually knows what he's doing," Misty added.
Ash fell over. "Hey, what in the world is that supposed to mean?!"
"It's like the Samurai said, Ash," Misty replied, placing both hands on her hips. "You're still just a novice."
Ash sighed and hung his head, looking exasperated.
Gohan ignored the byplay and pressed onward, as if he'd never been interrupted. "To start with, there are some basic exercises you need to become familiar with in order to advance towards ki manipulation — building your muscles, learning to dodge, that sort of thing."
Gohan glanced thoughtfully off to the side for a few seconds, then he turned back to face his students.
"I know!" he said, sounding as if he'd had a revelation. "Why don't you call out your Pokémon and they can help you train?"
Ash, Misty, and Brock shared a look.
"Sounds all right to me," Brock said, shrugging.
"It's something we can all do together!" Misty agreed.
"Then let's do it, guys!" Ash cried enthusiastically.
And all three of them tossed their Poké Balls up into their sky, where they released a variety of different Pokémon; Butterfree and Pidgeotto for Ash, Goldeen (which materialized in a lake), Starmie, and Staryu for Misty, and Onix and Geodude for Brock.
"Good, very good," Gohan said, eyeing their Pokémon critically. "I've been reading a little about Pokémon, but I'm not totally familiar with it yet, so forgive me if I'm a bit out of the loop, but for starters, I think you should divide into teams."
He turned his gaze to each of them in turn.
"Brock, you can practice dodging Onix's strikes," Gohan instructed. "And it would help if you tried some good old-fashioned grappling with your Geodude; that will improve your reflexes and build strength in your arms."
"Do I still have to train with my weights?" Brock wondered.
"Yes, the whole point of this training regimen is to push you beyond your limits, and you can't exactly surpass normal human limitations in a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere, can you?" Gohan pointed out simply, eliciting a groan from the ex-Gym Leader. "Now move! Hop to it, Brock!"
Looking as though he'd rather do anything than perform the exercises Gohan had laid out for him, Brock moved to the side.
"Misty, you can practice swimming from one side of the lake to the other," Gohan said. "Your Pokémon know Water Gun, right?"
"Yes, they do," Misty responded. "All except Goldeen."
"Then your task is to perform a complete lap while dodging your Pokémon's Water Gun attacks, and Goldeen's Horn Attack," Gohan ordered. "If you get hit by one, you have to start all over again."
"Sure!" Misty replied with a cute wink that somehow pierced through Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 intensity, making him blush. "You got it!"
And she walked off towards the lake, still struggling under the tons and tons of weights she wore under her normal clothes.
"Ash, what moves do your Pokémon know?" Gohan asked him.
"Oh, well, er, Pikachu knows Thundershock and Thunderbolt," Ash explained. "Pidgeotto knows Gust and Wing Attack, and I think Quick Attack too... oh and Sand-Attack and Whirlwind. Butterfree knows Sleep Powder and Stun Spore."
"Then I want you to try to outrace Pidgeotto's Quick Attack in the hundred-yard dash," Gohan said. "While you're doing that, you can practice dodging Pikachu's Electric attacks and Butterfree's Sleep Powder, and Pidgeotto's Sand-Attack too."
"Geez, that sounds severe!" Ash complained. "Why did you give Misty all the easy work and dump all the hard stuff on me?"
"I did not dump all of the hard stuff on you," Gohan retorted with a rather ferocious scowl while the sparks around his body snapped and crackled threateningly, causing Ash to jump in fright. "I told you — you're gonna have to do some pretty heavy training to get anywhere near as powerful as I am, and if you keep questioning my methods, then I won't train you anymore, is that understood?"
Ash nodded weakly, looking intimidated.
Gohan took a couple trembling breaths, calming the inherent hyper-tightened emotional strain of the Super Saiyan 2 transformation down to more bearable levels and then he nodded once in Ash's direction.
"Well, you know what to do," Gohan said. "Now go do it."
Grumbling darkly under his breath, Ash dragged himself over to the side to commence his training. Once they were all gone, Gohan looked back at the cowed Pokémon keeping its distance a few meters away, and he felt his heart splinter in two.
"Mew, are you ever going to come near me again?" he asked it.
"Mew," the Legendary Cat whimpered, looking very uncertain. "Mew..."
Gohan sighed. I should have expected this. I have to do something about it.
"Mew, please," Gohan said softly. "Please, come here."
"Mew?" the little creature said warily, looking terrified of its Trainer.
"Please," Gohan implored it. "I promise I'm not gonna hurt you."
Hesitantly, the Legendary Pokémon floated closer to Gohan, worried that he was going to unleash all that raw, dark, and wild power it could feel emanating from his soul onto it, but to its total surprise, when it came close enough to him, it saw faint tears shining in his eyes.
"Mew?" it inquired, inching closer out of sheer curiosity.
"Mew, please, I promise I'm not going to hurt you," Gohan promised. "All that darkness you feel coming from me... well, it's not me, it's this transformation. I... I need to stay in this form to master it — can you understand that?"
"Mew?" Mew chirped, tilting its head.
"Please, Mew... please trust me when I say I don't enjoy feeling this way, but I have to bear through it so all the darkness won't overpower me when I really need to use it in order to protect you and all of my friends," Gohan said. "Please... will you trust me on that, Mew?"
Mew just stared at Gohan for a moment, sensing the emotions coming from its heart, and after a moment, it smiled.
"Mew!" it squealed, nuzzling closer to the hybrid Trainer.
And for the very first time since transforming, a genuine smile lit up Gohan's face, only partially tinged by the inherent super-aggression of the Super Saiyan 2 form. "Oh, Mew, thank you!" Gohan said, feeling very touched.
Mew smiled, and there weren't any need for words between them.
Meanwhile, at the very same time only a few dozen yards away...
"Man... you're... strong... Geodude," Brock grunted, sweat dropping down his brow as he locked fists with the Mineral Pokémon and shoved and pushed and strained with all his might to try and overpower the Rock-type.
"Dude! Geodude!" Geodude confirmed.
"Grrawrgh!" Onix roared as suddenly, it whipped its tail down towards Brock.
Sensing the blow coming at the very last minute, Brock slowly jerked like a drunk Slowpoke to the side in an attempt to avoid the strike, but even with senses augmented by adrenaline, the weights dragged him down and pretty soon, Onix's tail slammed across his stomach.
"Ooof!" Brock grunted as the Rock Snake Pokémon sent him flying across the tufted grass meadow, where he landed unceremoniously in a heap of tangled limbs several dozen meters away from his Onix.
"I guess it's like they say," Brock muttered with little Xs swirling in his eyes. "No pain... no gain..."
Slowly regaining his wits, Brock noticed a dark shape blotting out the sun, and instantly connecting the pieces, he deftly rolled aside as over 400 pounds of granite and cobbled-together boulders smashed down into the spot he had been, narrowly missing Onix's Slam.
"Whoa! That was definitely a close shave!" Brock panted, wiping sweat off his forehead. "Okay, no more slacking off! Time to get serious!"
Working his way up to his feet, Brock prepared to go at it again.
Out in the sunlit waters Misty desperately paddled with all her might across the sparkling waves in a mad zeal to get to the other side while jets of water streams shot towards her from all angles, getting closer and closer to her as the red-headed tomboy pushed her faltering body for all that it was worth despite the extra tons strapped to her limbs.
"Must... not... give up..." she groaned as her muscles twitched and jerked violently in protest of her actions. "No, Gohan is... counting on me to be as good as him... and I want to get as powerful as he is!"
Suddenly aware of a water jet heading at her from the right, Misty dove underwater to avoid the Water Gun, but a second later she was jumping out of the lake screaming and clutching her behind with a gaping fish Pokémon surfacing underneath Misty in her wake.
"Goldeen, Goldeen, Goldeen Goldeen, Goldeen Goldeen Goldeen," the Goldfish Pokémon chanted nonchalantly.
"GOLDEEN!" Misty shouted, now thoroughly fed up with it. "DO YOU HAVE TO STING SO HARD?!"
"Goldeen Goldeen, Goldeen, Goldeen Goldeen Goldeen," Goldeen said in response.
"At this rate, I'm gonna be stuck out here in this lake all day," she whimpered as she swam back to shore to try again.
Ash wheezed and gasped for breath, tongue lolling out of his parched mouth, as he struggled in vain to catch up with his Pidgeotto, who was currently beating him by leaps and bounds in the hundred-yard dash.
"Wait... up... Pidgeotto..." Ash rasped.
"CHU!" Pikachu exclaimed, and a second later, a wave of coruscating electrical tendrils surged over Ash's body.
Determined not to get defeated again, Ash limped forward on weak, shaking knees, moving at a Slowpoke's pace while the world spun and twisted around him as he tried to regain control of his senses, when suddenly, a furious wind blew out towards him!
"Whoa!" Ash cried as the wind caught beneath him and soon he was lifted off the ground and thrown a dozen feet back.
Flailing helplessly in the air, Ash was violently reacquainted with the ground a second later, the added weight sending him crashing down to the solid earth below with an extremely agonizing, facefirst collision.
Ash rose into a sitting position, a big, red welt visible on his face.
"Oh, Pikachu, tell me the truth..." Ash said dazedly. "Am I hurt bad?"
Pikachu nodded truthfully. "Pika Pika, Pikachu, Pi Pika Pikachu."
"Oh, that's it, I give up!" Ash complained. "This kind of training's for the Pokémon, not the Trainers!"
An angry frown crossed Pikachu's visage and not a second later it was hurling a Thunderbolt attack at its Trainer.
"Pikachu!" Ash complained, and the attack cut off as Ash dropped to his knees, panting tiredly. "Why did you do that?"
"Pika Pika," Pikachu said quickly and passionately, waving its arms wildly about in the air to emphasize its words. "Pika Pika, Pikachu, Pi Pika, Pika Pika, Pika! Chu! Pika Pi Pikachu Chu, Pikachu, Pika Pika!"
Ash had watched the entire thing with rapt attention, and now his eyes began shimmering.
"Oh, Pikachu," Ash said, his voice now heavy with emotion, and he nodded, a determined gleam rising in his eyes. "I understand. I can't just give up every time the going gets rough; I've gotta stick with it, keep going no matter what, and meet all the challenges in my way! A true Pokémon Master wouldn't quit because things were getting a little bit tough for him, and I, Ash from Pallet Town, won't do that either!"
Now reinvigorated with willpower, Ash pumped a fist in the air.
"Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, let's do it!" he shouted passionately.
And his Pokémon cried out with them as they set about to resume their training schedule...
Gohan stood just outside the capsule house, eyes shut as he bathed in the fiery aura of his Super Saiyan 2 powers.
The trick isn't in my ki flow — it's in the rate of ki consumption, the half-Saiyan thought as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead and his muscles shivered slightly under the enormous burden of holding the transformation for more than twenty-four hours.
I need to learn to conserve the rate of ki I'm using up in this form, Gohan thought. To do that, I need better emotional control. But this state is so taxing on mind and body... I-I don't know if I can do it.
Gohan shook his head stubbornly. No, stop thinking that, Gohan — if you could master the first Super Saiyan transformation... then you can certainly master the second. You're a descendant of the Saiyans just like Vegeta and Father. You can do it.
Gohan took in several deep, calming breaths, slowing his breathing in tune with the ki radiating off his body.
Focus your mind... he instructed himself. Clear away all unnecessary thoughts. Make your mind a complete blank, a still crystal underwater. Empty out all the worries and the shame and the petty attachments. Concentrate... be still... calm... controlled... relax... relax...
For a very brief second, Gohan's aura seemed to tighten around him, as though it were flowing more easily around his body than it normally did, a sign that with enough training, he could learn to master Super Saiyan 2...
And then without warning, a sharp pain shot through his tail.
Gohan's whole body jerked upright, as though he had stuck his finger in an electric socket, and he glanced back behind him.
There was Misty, sopping wet and looking utterly exhausted but with a light smirk on her face as she held his tail.
"Surprise!" she said. "Bet you didn't see that one coming, did you?"
Then Misty laughed, sounding immensely pleased with herself.
"I completed the lap," she helpfully told the young hybrid.
"But... Misty... you... my..." Gohan groaned as he felt strength rapidly leave his arms and legs.
A second later, he was collapsing facefirst to the grass as his Super Saiyan aura vanished and he reverted to his normal state.
"Hey, Gohan, what's wrong?" Misty wondered, noticing the change in his hairstyle.
"Mew?" the little kitty squeaked, moving closer to him. "Mew?"
"T-Tail..." Gohan whimpered. "Tail!"
"Hm?" Misty repeated, blinking her eyes rather quickly.
"Tail..." Gohan moaned. "Please... let go... it hurts whenever someone grabs my tail..."
And instantly Misty let go, hands flying to her cheeks in total shock.
"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry!" Misty muttered guiltily. "I didn't know!"
"No, of course not, how could you?" Gohan said as he made his way upright, rubbing the back of his head. "Just don't do it again."
"I promise," Misty said.
"Mew?" the Legendary Cat chirped, rubbing its head against Gohan's torso. "Mew, Mew!"
Gohan glanced at the little Pokémon and smiled. "I'm okay, Mew. Really. Just a little stunned is all."
"MEW!" Mew squealed, now looking considerably happier. "MEW!"
Gohan chuckled and wrapped his arms around the Mew, hugging his Pokémon.
"Aww, I like you too, Mew!" he said, pressing his head into its soft body.
"Mew..." it purred contentedly. "Mew... Mew..."
Misty just watched with a tender expression written on her face.
Nearby, Team Rocket slinked back into the woods, all of them wearing identical evil grins.
"So the little brat does have a weakness, after all!" James declared.
"And here I was beginning to think he was invincible!" Jessie smirked.
"Meowth! Now is da perfect opportunity for Team Rocket to strike!" Meowth said grandly.
"With that brat incapacitated, he won't even know what hit him," the red-haired women grinned.
"And with him out of the action, Team Rocket can do what Team Rocket does best," James ended with a big smile. "Pilfer the twerp's Mew and that rare one-of-a-kind Pikachu along for the ride too!"
"Don't forget," Meowth said. "Da Boss also wants dat boy brought in for research."
Jessie and James nodded. "And now, it's time to set the plan into motion. Come with me, boys."
And the two followed Jessie into the underbrush of the dimly shaded forest...
Misty, Brock, and Ash were gathered around Gohan, all of them looking supremely exhausted. Their limbs hung loosely by their sides like limp rags while their bodies appeared to be trembling from head to foot with weary fatigue from all the dodging, swimming, and running they had been doing.
"Gohan, please tell us we can take a break now," Ash pleaded, covered in various bruises and tiny cuts.
"Nope, sorry, Ash," Gohan replied, now back in his Super Saiyan 2 state. "There isn't any point in doing this if you keep taking breaks in between training. But believe me, it will get easier. Your body just isn't used to putting in so much effort now — give yourselves some time."
"Okay," Misty sighed, rubbing her sore butt from all the hits Goldeen had inflicted on her. "Ouch, it stings."
"Now what do we do?" Brock said inquisitively.
"Now it's time for you to move on to your afternoon training," Gohan informed them all. He glanced at their Pokémon, thinking hard on their next exercise. "Hm... hm... what to do now... oh, I know! Ash, Misty, Brock, please stand several feet apart."
Sharing exasperated glances, the three sighed and moved to do as they had been ordered.
"Excellent," Gohan said. "Now, this next exercise will be designed to improve your coordination and your reflexes."
He glanced at the assembled Pokémon.
"Geodude, Onix, Pikachu, Butterfree, Pidgeotto, Starmie, Staryu, I want you to start throwing rocks at your Trainers," he told them and turned back to face the three humans. "Your job will be to catch every rock that's thrown at you and we're not gonna quit until you learn to catch every single one."
Exchanging looks, the Pokémon all nodded their consent.
"Thank heavens," Ash sighed, sounding relieved. "Something easy to do now."
"Yeah, that sounds simple enough," Brock agreed, gasping for air.
"You think so?" Gohan smirked. "Well, you'll soon see."
The Pokémon all took their places.
"On your marks, get set, GO!" Gohan hollered.
And like that, the Pokémon picked up rocks off the ground and started throwing them at their Pokémon Trainers as fast as they could.
"Chu!" Pikachu cried.
"Dude, Dude!" Geodude shared. "Geodude!"
"Fweeweeweeweewee!" Butterfree said.
"Whoa, this seems — whoa! — easy enough!" Ash said, catching one rock after the other, although only barely.
"Hiyah!" Staryu intoned as it kept chucking rocks.
"Grawwrgh!" Onix bellowed in agreement.
"Yeah, what's so — whoa! — hard about — whoa! — this?" the dark-skinned teen added, and then, a rock managed to bypass his defenses and slam into him, directly in his forehead. "Ow! Man, that smarts!"
And then a bunch of rocks started getting past him.
"I can't catch that fast!" he said, trying in vain to catch all the flying rocks. "Stop, wait, whoa! Ow!"
"Dude, Geodude!" the Mineral Pokémon said.
"Oh!" Misty said, snatching one out of the air. "Wait! Oh! Whoa! There's one! Stop! Hold on! Ow!"
Now encumbered by their added weight and already worn out from their previous workout session, Ash, Misty, and Brock began fumbling, losing their balance, and staggering around like drunken Miltank as more and more rocks started smashing into them.
"Wait! Ow! Stop! Ow! Ow! Whoa! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Ash cried, shielding his body from all the incoming projectiles.
Misty screamed, covering her head like a scared little girl.
"Don't just stand there!" Gohan said. "Catch them! You're letting too many of them get past you!"
"Is he for real?!" Brock demanded as the rocks continued pelting against his body.
And so they could be found an hour later, standing there with many big bumps and black and blue marks dotted across their skin.
"Okay, so that didn't work so well," Gohan stated with sweatdrop.
"Didn't work so well?" Misty repeated, sounding furious. "Didn't work so well?! It was a total disaster!"
And she stomped forward angrily, coming face-to-face with Gohan, and despite the awesome power granted to him by his Super Saiyan 2 transformation, he still cowered under the might of the Loud Angry Girl.
"How is this supposed to make us any stronger, Mr. Big-Shot Super Saiyan?" she yelled. "All we're doing is getting creamed out there and you tell us to keep going! Are you trying to kill us because it seems like that's what you're doing!"
"I'm... I'm sorry, Misty," Gohan said, feeling slightly guilty that he might have been neglecting his friends' welfare. "I told you this was going to be very hard. I know it's tough, but it really will make you stronger, I promise it will. It's just gonna take a little time, that's all. But you don't have to do this if you don't want to. I'm not forcing you to do this. If you don't think you're up to it then you can stop now."
Misty sighed and folded her arms. Why is it so hard to stay mad at you? she mused. Curse your boyish good looks.
"Well, I suppose you've got a point," the tomboy grumbled.
"What... do we do... next?" Ash asked, sounding like he was literally seconds away from keeling over.
"Pika Pika," Pikachu added.
Gohan appraised the three Trainers carefully. I don't want to push them too hard; they are normal kids, after all.
"I think we'll do just one more exercise today," Gohan said.
"And what is it now?" Brock wheezed, looking completely terrified at the thought of whatever their half-Saiyan friend had in store for them now. "Sitting on top of a bed of spikes? Learning how to catch fire in our hands? Jumping off a cliff?"
"No, no," Gohan said, shaking his head. "I think we'll finish with a simple game of tag. You're all wearing weights; try and tag each one of your Pokémon a hundred times and we'll call it quits for today."
"Oh finally," Misty said happily. "Something easy to do."
"Easy? Maybe," Brock allowed, and then he sighed wearily. "But we haven't had a single easy thing to do yet."
"Aw, come on, Brock, cheer up!" Ash answered. "What's so hard about playing tag? Just try and think of it as a game!"
Gohan nodded, and then his conscience wouldn't leave him alone.
"Also... I'm sorry that I've been pushing you all so hard. I know it's brutal, but it's the only way you'll get stronger," Gohan said with faint tears shining in his eyes. "Like I said, you don't have to do it; I only went along with it because you said you wanted to be trained..."
His shoulders shook with suppressed emotion.
"I can't imagine what you must think of me," Gohan said. "That I'm some cold, heartless monster. Please, if any of you have reservations about my type of training, just say so, and you can stop any time."
His voice grew hoarse.
"You're my friends and I don't want to hurt you," he concluded.
Suddenly, a hand on his shoulder made him up into Misty's smiling face.
"Hey, you don't have to be sorry," she said sincerely. "I'm sure it's all in a good cause, right, guys?"
Brock nodded earnestly. "Yes, I know you wouldn't be pushing us so hard if we couldn't handle it."
"Speak for yourself," Ash mumbled. "I think I'm about to drop dead."
"Just ignore him," Misty said. "He could use a nice hard workout."
Gohan nodded, feeling much happier than he had a moment again, despite the emotional strain of the Super Saiyan 2 form.
"Thanks, guys," he said, with a fairly discernible level of cheer making its way past his cool Super Saiyan 2 tone. "You're the best!"
With their differences now patched up, Ash, Brock, and Misty went about their new training exercise.
Over in the bushes, Team Rocket emerged.
"Is now da time, Jessie?" Meowth asked as they all set their eyes on Gohan.
"Yes," the redhead smirked with a cool confident gaze. "While the others are worn out and tired, we'll nab the brat and their Pokémon too!" She cackled happily. "They'll be much too weak to stop us!"
"Jessie, you're a genius!" James praised. "This plan is foolproof! By the end of the day, we'll have the twerp and that rare Mew too!"
"Meowth could have thought of that," Meowth muttered under his breath.
BAM!
Which was how Jessie ended up whacking him over the head.
"Oh, just stop your complaining," she snarled. "We got a plan to carry out! Team Rocket, let's go!"
"Team Rocket, you rule!" they all cheered in unison. "Team Rocket, you're the best!"
Meanwhile, Gohan watched while his friends all participated in a game of Pokémon Tag.
"For the first time today, I'm actually having fun!" Misty cried. "Well, almost."
And she jumped forward, pressing her hand against Starmie.
"That's one hundred!" she said with a haughty smirk. "You're done."
"Hrrooom," Starmie agreed as it headed over to the sidelines.
At the same time, Brock was weaving in between both his Geodude and Onix in his effort to tag both of them — whenever he thought he'd cornered one, that Pokémon in question would duck to the side and evade his clumsy attempts to make contact.
"Wait, hold on, stop!" he yelled. "Slow down! Hang on! Stop! Stop!"
"Dude, Geodude," Geodude said as it floated away from his very weak grab, causing Brock to tip over and fall flat on his face.
"Ouch... you guys are much faster than you look!" Brock groaned.
"Grrooarwghh!" Onix roared, favoring Brock with a wilting look.
Off to the side, Ash finally got his hands around Pidgeotto as the Pallet Trainer lightly grazed the feathers on its pelt.
"Finally!" he complained. "Ten down... ninety more to go. Oh, and I haven't caught Pikachu and Butterfree yet, not even once!"
And he hung his head sadly, throwing a massive pity party for himself.
"Chu, Pika, Pi Pikachu," Pikachu sighed, looking embarrassed at its Trainer's antics.
"Fweeweeweewee!" Butterfree said.
Several meters away, Brock triumphantly slammed his hand against Geodude.
"I got you!" he said, sounding tired but determined. "That's fifty down!"
"Dude, Dude, Geodude!" Geodude responded impassively. "Dude!"
From his position near the capsule house, Gohan had crossed his arms as he observed his friends' progress.
They're all doing very well, he thought. Another couple minutes, and they'll be done — I haven't told them yet, but they're showing definite signs of improvement. If they can stick with the training program, in only a few months they'll be ready to learn basic ki techniques.
He sighed suddenly. I never wanted to be the kind of a mentor Mr. Piccolo was for me, but I guess it's inevitable when you're training to push yourself beyond your limit. I hope they're not too mad at me when they finish. I couldn't bear it if they hated me...
He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he never saw the attack coming... not until it was too late.
In a flash, something had latched onto his tail from behind the demi-Saiyan.
Immediately, Gohan tensed up, his whole body going completely ramrod rigid.
"What is... what is... that...?" he wondered, and not a moment later, Gohan felt himself falling over on his face as he dropped Super Saiyan 2 yet again. "Oh dear... it feels like... like... my whole body is numb. What on Earth is going on...?"
Suddenly, the sound of cackling reached Misty, Brock, and Ash's ears, causing them to cease their game of Pokémon Tag.
"What's that noise?" Ash inquired.
"It sounds familiar..." Misty added suspiciously.
A cursory glance above revealed Team Rocket, standing in their balloon with what looked like a massive mechanical arm reaching down and grabbing onto Gohan's tail as it pulled him in the air.
"I knew it!" Misty groaned. "It's them again!"
"Them who?" Brock asked her with a confused expression.
"To protect the world from devastation," Jessie recited.
"To unite all peoples within our nation," James said.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" Jessie added.
"To extend our reach to the stars above!" James said.
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" Jessie continued dramatically.
"Surrender, twerps, or prepare to fight, fight, fight!" James ended.
"Meowth, dat's right!" the Cat Pokémon concluded, springing onto the scene.
"You three again?" Ash demanded. "What are you doing here? Why can't you stop following us?"
"Pijo!" Pidgeotto shared as they faced down the three villains.
"Pi Pika Pikachu!" the Electric Rodent agreed furiously.
"Silly boy," Jessie admonished. "Whatever Team Rocket wants, Team Rocket always gets! Haven't you figured it out by now?"
"Oh... I feel dizzy..." Gohan moaned. "Why is the world spinning...? Please someone make the world stop spinning..."
"Who are they?" Brock asked.
"Team Rocket," Misty growled, as fire appeared within her eyes. "They're a gang of Pokémon thieves who prey on rare and unusual Pokémon. And now, for some reason, they want Gohan as well!"
"So... tired..." Gohan whimpered. "I can't... can't... can't focus..."
"Mew!" Mew burst out, worried for its Trainer. "Mew, Mew!"
"Gohan, what are you doing?!" Ash yelled. "Take them down! You're stronger than both of them combined!"
"Pika Pi!" Pikachu put in.
"It's no good, Ash!" Misty said, gritting her teeth. "Gohan told me that he loses all his power whenever someone grabs his tail!"
Brock gasped. "Then how in the world are we going to defeat them?"
"You, defeat us?" James repeated, laughing. "You can't, young man! We're Team Rocket and this time we're gonna come out on top!"
"Now then..." Jessie said, and she whipped out two more mechanical arms that reached down and grabbed both Mew and Pikachu.
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu protested as it struggled in vain.
"Mew!" Mew cried, frightened. "Mew! Mew, Mew!"
Pulling the two Pokémon back in their balloon, they stuck them inside two clear-looking boxes.
"Pika... CHU!" the little rat shouted, shocking the cage. "Chu! Chu!"
Team Rocket laughed at the yellow rodent's futile efforts.
"Did you really think we wouldn't come prepared this time?" the red-haired vixen said with a superior grin.
"That cage is electric-proof!" James said, poking it with his finger.
"Shock it all you want, it won't make no difference!" Meowth laughed. "You belong to Team Rocket now, Pikachu!"
"Pikachu," Pikachu said, flopping down hopelessly within its prison.
"We can't let this happen!" Brock declared. "Geodude, Onix, use Rock Throw!"
"Pidgeotto, Whirlwind!" Ash ordered, pointing his finger at them.
"Starmie, Staryu, Water Gun now!" Misty added. "Don't let them get away with Gohan and our Pokémon!"
"Dude, Geodude!" Geodude called, ripping out boulders from the ground and tossing them high above.
"Grrooaarwwghh!" Onix roared, doing the same thing.
In tandem, Misty's Water Pokémon shot off streams of high-powered water jets straight towards the balloon.
"Pijojojojojojo!" Pidgeotto whopped, generating a huge windstorm with nothing but its large wings.
Team Rocket found themselves being assaulted by flying rocks, water jets, and fierce winds.
"Don't these twerps know when to give up?" James inquired, rocking in their balloon.
"They're like a bad case of cramps!" Jessie agreed. "They're annoying and persistent and just won't go away!"
"Meowth, dis will solve dat problem!" Meowth said as it pulled out a remote controller and pressed the big red button.
And suddenly, Misty, Ash, Brock, and all their Pokémon now found themselves being bombarded by dozens and dozens of high-explosive bombs dropping out of the bottom of that Meowth-shaped balloon.
"Pijojojojo!" Pidgeotto whooped, diving from side to side to avoid the incoming blasts.
"Ahhh!" Misty screamed with explosions going off every few feet away. "Run! Run!"
"Dude, Geodude!" Geodude replied, seemingly indifferent to the dire situation it now found itself in.
"We're too heavy!" Brock shouted to her. "We gotta ditch the weights!"
"If we stop to take them off, then we're dead!" Misty reminded him.
"We can't let them do this!" Ash yelled. "We can't let them all escape!"
"Fweeweeweewee!" Butterfree squealed while it desperately swung between the falling bombs.
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu called out, pounding its little fists against the glass cage which held it.
Suddenly, through the debilitating weakness, Gohan feebly lifted his head, aware enough to know that he just had to something.
"M-M-Mew..." he said. "Use... use... use Psychic..."
With a mischievous grin, Mew nodded, acknowledging its Pokémon Trainer's command.
"MEW!" the Legendary Pokémon cried out, and instantly, a hellish blue lit up its eyes, which narrowed into slits.
"Eh, what's dis Mew here doing?" Meowth wondered, looking very concerned.
"I don't know, but it doesn't look too happy!" James replied, unnerved.
"What do you two wanna bet that it won't mean well for us?" Jessie pointed out.
And then they found themselves engulfed in a blue-purple aura as, beneath them, all the falling bombs were captured in the same wave of bluish-purple energy, hanging suspended in the air above them.
"Hey, all right!" Ash said, noticing the sudden decrease in explosions.
"Fweeweewee!" Butterfree said as it came to a total halt.
"Pijo!" Pidgeotto agreed, ruffling its wings.
"Incredible!" Brock said. "Mew's powering up now! I had no idea it was this powerful!"
"Go, Mew!" Misty cheered. "Give it to them good! Do it to save your Pokémon Trainer! Gohan and Pikachu are counting on you!"
"Hiyah!" Staryu added as it came up alongside her.
"Hrooom!" Starmie finished.
Up above, the balloon itself seemed to be shaking under the force from Mew's building Psychic assault as faint blue-purple energy lines surrounded the mechanical grab-arms and the glass cages; Team Rocket themselves were lifted up into the air.
"Holy bells!" James said. "We're floating in the air!"
"Dat Mew sure knows how to make a statement!" Meowth said.
"Oh, I just know this isn't gonna end well for us," Jessie said, now absolutely certain.
"Mew..." the tiny Pokémon growled angrily, a reverberating noise that echoed over the clearing like the judgment of an angry deity.
"It sounds like it's mad at us," James gulped.
"Yeah, and you wanna bet five cents on why dat is?" Meowth retorted.
"I feel a familiar running gag coming on," Jessie said nervously.
With the grab-arms and all the glass cages now shaking wildly like leaves in a violent hurricane, Mew threw out its arms, tossed back its head, and let out a furious bellowing telepathic scream of, "MEW!"
BOOM!
A bright light of blue energy exploded around them all, completely enveloping the balloon, Pikachu, and Team Rocket! A second later, the terrible trio were off shooting through the skies with burnt clothes.
"You idiots!" Jessie screamed. "Couldn't you two have come up with a more foolproof plan than this?"
"Oh, really? And just who was it that wasted two hundred dollars on hot packs and facial compresses?" James scolded.
"Are you blaming this on me?" Jessie demanded, shaking a fist at him.
"Well, I'm sure not blaming this on the Ghost of Christmas Present!" James shot back.
"Anyone else get da feeling we're not as threatening as we were made out to be?" Meowth sighed.
"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they yelled as they rocketed into the evening air, leaving a trailing star-point in their wake.
With their balloon now completely destroyed, Gohan and Pikachu both fell towards the distant ground below.
The kids below gasped.
"They're falling way too fast!" Misty said worriedly.
"They're not gonna make it if they don't slow down!" Brock confirmed.
"Oh no, Pikachu!" Ash shouted. "Gohan, do something! Gohan!"
But then, before they could slam into the ground, a bright blue aura surrounded their bodies, slowing their descent, and the half-Saiyan as well as the little Pikachu were softly deposited back onto solid earth.
"Mew..." the little Legendary said as it came hovering down next to them, and the blue energy slowly faded from its eyes. "Mew!"
Without hesitation, Ash raced forward and grabbed hold of the Electric Rat. "Pikachu, are you okay? Pikachu!"
With a smile, Pikachu reached forward and hugged its Trainer.
"Pikachu, you're all right!" Ash stated cheerfully, returning the hug.
And like that, Pikachu began sending waves of electric jolts into Ash's body, which twitched under the violent onslaught.
"Yup, you're definitely all right," Ash moaned through the pain.
Misty came up beside Gohan and knelt down besides the tailed boy.
"Hey, wake up, Gohan!" she said. "Wake up! Please, Gohan, wake up! You gotta be okay, you just gotta be!"
Slowly, Gohan's eyes fluttered open, and slowly, ever so slowly, he rose up into a sitting position, rubbing at his head.
"Ugh, wow, why the heck do I feel so tired?" he wondered.
WHAM!
Just like that, Misty whacked her fist across his head, hard. Not that it hurt him, but it was quite surprising.
"Ow!" Gohan said, more in reflex, as he turned to the offending girl. "What on Earth did you do that for, Misty?"
"You idiot!" she berated him. "Don't you know you could have been hurt? You gotta start taking better care of yourself!"
Reading between the lines, Gohan flashed her a cute smile.
"Thank you, Misty!" he said jovially. "I care a lot about you too."
Misty furiously opened her mouth to protest, but then he opened his eyes again, and those adorable charcoal eyes pinned her soul.
"Well, hm, er... yes, well, just don't do it again!" she harrumphed.
This boy has me completely in his power, she fumed inside her head. I better not let him find that out!
"Anyway, if we're done now, I think we could all use some dinner!" Brock suggested.
"Food!" Gohan exclaimed happily, warming up to his appetite.
Misty chuckled. "I guess some things never change."
"I think a nice long dinner is just what we need to put this day behind us!" Brock announced.
"What do you say, Pikachu?" Ash inquired.
"Pi Pika!" Pikachu declared eagerly, pumping up its little arm.
"Mew!" Mew squealed excitedly. "Mew, Mew! Mew!"
"Well, come on!" Brock said, waving toward the house just a few feet away. "I know just the thing! Follow me!"
And he headed towards the house.
"Hey, Brock, wait for me!" Ash insisted, taking off after his friend.
"Pi Pika, Pikachu Chu, Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed, dashing after them.
Standing up and brushing the dirt off his clothes, Gohan turned to Misty with a smile.
"Come on, Misty, let's go eat!" he said cheerfully, taking hold of her hand and running towards the house with her.
He's just like Ash, and yet so completely different at the same time, Misty noted.
As she watched him reacting to life with pure, carefree innocence and joy, a smile lit her face, and she giggled.
Aw, who cares? she thought. He's kinda cute, and it's a lot of fun being around him.
She stared up at the steadily darkening skies as the first of the night stars appeared in the endless expanse of purple indigo.
Maybe this journey won't be so bad after all.
Woo-hoo! Another chapter out! And so the training for our heroes finally begins, and Team Rocket has learned Gohan's weakness! Uh-oh! What will they do with this information? Only time will tell. ;)
I must say, iamzim87, I am shocked at the level of detail you put into your review, and trust me, it's greatly appreciated. XD
Welcome, JensenDaniels32, to my story! And thanks for following, DARK-ZERO-0000.
I notice that a lot of the fans seem to prefer the Gohan/May shipping, but trust me, while you won't be seeing that in this fic, you'll be seeing it another DBZ/Pokémon crossover I have planned in the near future.
BTW, can anyone spot the To Love-Ru reference? :P
Anyway, you know what to do! Work those fingers over that keyboard and leave an awesome review!
KoS