Pokémon Tails: A Journey to the East
DISCLAIMER: I don't own DBZ or Pokémon.
CHAPTER 7: The Tunnels of Mt. Moon
Gohan, Misty, Ash, and Brock were walking along the path which would lead them to Mt. Moon, though their progress was slowed by how sluggish the three humans were walking due to all the extra weight.
"It's been a week, Gohan," Ash whined while he struggled in vain to quicken the pace. "How long do we have to wear these?"
"Until your bodies become used to it all," Gohan informed them in a calm but hard tone. "It's similar to what I'm doing now with my Super Saiyan 2 transformation. You can't get any stronger without testing your own limits."
"If... you... say... so," Misty grunted through the exertion of moving her own legs.
"Even on days we're not training, you should wear those weights, and I need to stay powered up," Gohan explained coolly.
"You know, I think I am getting kinda used to it," Brock said. "Well, sorta."
"Good, that's good!" Gohan said with a very steely smile. "Like I said, it gets easier. You just gotta keep with it."
"Speak for yourself!" Ash complained. "This is the hardest I've ever had to work in my entire life!"
"Well, coming from you, somehow that doesn't surprise me," the red-haired girl said lewdly.
Ash just sighed as he worked even harder to keep on moving. As they walked, Misty glanced at Gohan's aura, tilting her head.
"Is it just my imagination or does that aura seem a little... smoother than it usually does?" she asked.
Gohan held up his hands, clenching and unclenching them.
"Yeah, it's weird, but just by practicing my meditation exercises and slowing my breathing down, I've learned I can temper my emotions in my Super Saiyan 2 form," Gohan admitted. "I'm still a long way from being calm and at peace, but now, it feels like that edge is gone. I can think more clearly, and it helps me maintain Super Saiyan 2 longer."
"Oh Gohan, I'm proud of you," Misty said with a flattering smile.
"That's awesome!" Brock said. "Now you won't be any different than normal."
"Yes, but I think I better power down for now," Gohan said simply. "I've been transformed for two days and it's wearing on me."
And just like that, the aura dissipated and faded away into nothing while his hair turned back to its ordinary black and fell down into the typical messy style which Gohan usually preferred his hair to be in, modeled, of course, after his father's.
"I swear, I'm never gonna get used to that," Ash sighed.
"Pika Pika, Pikachu," Pikachu ventured feelingly. "Pika Pikachu?"
"I gotta say, I like you better this way," Misty commented. "You look so hard and intense when you're a Super Saiyan 2."
"Pika Pika," Pikachu put forth, nodding its head in agreement.
"Mew, Mew!" Mew added with an adorable head shake.
Gohan sighed as the last few elements of Saiyan intensity drained away from him, then he cracked a sincere smile.
"Thanks!" he said. "It's a full-body experience, physical and emotional, when you're training to master the Super Saiyan 2 form."
"Well, I'm glad I'll never have to go through that," Ash shared. "No offense, but it sounds really painful."
"You have no idea, Ash," Gohan said wryly. "Be thankful you're not a Saiyan."
And just like that, Mew flew over and jumped in his arms with excited squeaks. "Mew! Mew, Mew! Mew! Mew!"
Gohan laughed in response. "Aw, thanks, Mew! I always like it much better when I feel like I'm the one who's in control."
"Mew!" Mew giggled happily. "Mew, Mew!"
The others just watched the emotional display with smiles.
"It still must sense the good heart you have buried inside you," Misty remarked.
"That proves it," Brock said. "You're still a good person, Gohan."
"Yeah," Ash agreed. "Remember that when you're like that and you'll be okay."
Gohan nodded once and the three resumed their trek up the path. Finally, they arrived at the entrance to a giant mountain.
"Hey, we finally reached the entrance to Mt. Moon," Brock said.
"Mt. Moon," Misty sighed. "Doesn't the name sound so romantic?"
"Not really," Gohan said, thinking of his experiences with the moon.
"People say that a huge meteor crashed into the mountain back in prehistoric times," Brock explained.
"Wow, a meteor?" Gohan said.
"Is it really true?" Misty asked the older boy.
"The meteor's called the Moon Stone," Brock elaborated.
"Now that's romantic!" the green-eyed girl giggled.
Gohan shrugged. "Sure, if you say so."
Misty sent him a smile, and they walked inside the cavern beneath the baleful gaze of the slowly emerging full moon above...
Not ten minutes after entering the dimly lit tunnels of Mt. Moon, a series of high-pitched squeals assaulted their eardrums.
"Ahh, what is that?" Brock demanded.
"I don't know!" Ash complained in response.
"Pika Pi!" Pikachu added, just as irritated.
"Mew!" Mew agreed. "Mew, Mew!"
Gohan, however, had clamped both hands over his ears, his hyper-sensitive Saiyan hearing affecting him more than them.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Misty asked, noticing Gohan's discomfort.
"I have better hearing than you!" Gohan moaned. "That noise... it penetrates my brain!"
And a bunch of winged Pokémon rounded the corner, wings flapping as they changed course directly for our heroes.
"It's a whole flock of Zubat!" Brock observed knowledgeably.
"Mew?" the little being asked, tilting its head to the side, confused.
In a flash, Ash whipped out his Pokédex and aimed it at them.
"Zubat," Dexter said. "Flying Pokémon with supersonic powers. Zubat live in caves and hate to fly outside in daylight."
"Wow, I've never seen Pokémon like that before," Ash remarked.
"I guess they're the kind of Pokémon you'd expect to see in a cave," Brock pointed out.
"Who cares what they are?!" Misty said. "They're heading right for us!"
"I know what to do!" Ash said with a determined grin. "Let's catch them!"
"Right!" Brock replied with a nod.
The two whipped out their Poké Balls and threw them with loud cries of:
"Go, Butterfree!"
From Ash, and from Brock:
"Come out, Geodude!"
Their Pokémon materialized before the incoming swarm.
"Fweeweeweewee!" Butterfree sang joyfully.
"Dude, Geodude!" Geodude added.
"Geodude, use Rock Throw!" Brock ordered.
"Butterfree, use Tackle!" Ash ventured.
With furious cries of, "Fweeweeweeweewee!" Butterfree dove headlong into the flock of Zubat and smashed into three of them.
At the same time, Geodude began ripping rocks from the cave floor and tossing them at the Zubat.
With half the swarm now completely knocked out by Rock Throw and Tackle, the remaining Zubat opened their mouths and started emitting a horrible ear-piercing Screech which sent Brock, Misty, Ash, Gohan, Mew, and Pikachu falling to the ground in agony.
"Ahhh!" Brock said. "It's Zubat's Screech!"
"MEW!" Mew squealed very loudly at the offending noise.
"It sounds like a Banshee screaming for its mother!" Misty noted.
"Make it stop!" Ash yelled. "Please, someone make it stop!"
"I think my eardrums are going to explode!" Gohan whimpered as red blood trickled through his fingers.
"Pi... Pika... PIKACHU!" the yellow rat cried, unable to cope with the sound any longer.
And just like that, Pikachu unleashed a massive Thundershock on the Zubat flock... and Ash, Gohan, Mew, Misty, and Brock too!
"Pikachu, cut it out!" Ash gritted through the arcs now soaring over his body.
"What a shocking experience!" Brock moaned as his body jerked and twitched.
"Is it normal to be seeing stars?" Misty wondered.
After nearly a solid minute of frying everything within ten meters, Pikachu finally ceased its Electric attack, and the Zubat swarm, now deciding it had had enough, flew off in search of prey somewhere other than near Pikachu.
Pikachu just stood there, looking surprised to see its friends now laid out on the floor, and it grinned sheepishly. "Pika... cha..."
Mew shook its body a few times, then glanced around the tunnel as though it had not been affected in the slightest by the powerful Electric attack which had given a whole swarm of bloodthirsty Zubat pause.
"Mew?" it chirped, flying above the others as it checked them all out. "Mew? Mew! Mew, Mew!"
Gohan was the first to recover, and like his Pokémon, the attack didn't seem to have fazed him in the slightest.
"Wow, what an awful noise," he commented, blinking the lingering pain out of his system.
"Mew!" Mew declared, floating closer as it flew into Gohan's arms, and then it gazed up at him those huge, inquisitive eyes. "Mew?"
"Hey... it's okay, Mew," he told the Legendary Pokémon, cuddling it closer as he patted its head. "I'm just disoriented."
"MEW!" Mew squeaked cheerfully as it snuggled tightly against Gohan. "Mew, Mew! MEW!"
For a few seconds Gohan just smiled at his partner, then he looked over at Brock, Misty, and Ash.
"Hey, guys, are you okay?" he asked, now worried about them.
"Remind me never to get on Pikachu's bad side," Misty groaned as she sat upright rubbing at her backside.
"Yeah, that's for sure," Brock added, also sitting up alongside Misty.
"Ugh, my ears won't stop tingling," Ash whined like a little kid while he followed his friends into an upright position.
"Pika Pika," Pikachu muttered, embarrassed over its loss of control.
"Oh, that's all right, buddy," Ash said reassuringly. "Don't worry about it."
"Cha!" Pikachu cried, now looking considerably more cheerful than it had a moment ago.
And then Misty noticed something strange about Gohan...
"Oh... oh, my goodness!" she cried. "Gohan... your ears are bleeding!"
Ash and Brock seemed to catch sight of it too, and they gasped in concern.
"Oh no, that doesn't look good," Brock said.
"Do you think we need to call Nurse Joy?" Ash inquired.
And then Misty whacked him over the head again.
"Will you cut that out?!" Ash demanded.
"Ash, Nurse Joy takes care of Pokémon!" she shouted at him. "What's she gonna do for Gohan?"
"Oh, true, heh heh heh," Ash laughed awkwardly, causing Misty to shake her head.
"Pika Pi," Pikachu groaned with an exasperated sigh. "Cha..."
"It's okay, guys," Gohan said. "Just give me a few minutes and I'll be fine."
He glanced over to the side, where two Zubat still lay prone on the ground.
"Um, I know I'm still knew to this whole training thing, but shouldn't you guys be trying to catch them now?" he nodded to them.
"Oh yeah, you're right!" Ash said. "I completely forgot!"
Misty tossed him a shrewd look and shrugged. "Well, what else is new?"
Ignoring her completely, Ash turned his hat to the side and whipped out a Poké Ball for capture.
"Poké Ball, go!" he shouted as he threw it at one of the Zubat.
"Go!" Brock said in agreement as he threw another Poké Ball at the second unconscious Zubat.
The two balls smacked into those fainted Pokémon and sucked both inside the spheres with two red beams of light. The balls just lay there for a few moments, shaking as the Pokémon within struggled to get out until, finally, with a soft "Ding!" sound, the shaking ceased.
"Oh yeah!" Brock said happily. "I got Zubat!"
"We did it," Ash said, looking stunned. "We did it! YAY! My fourth Pokémon!"
"Pikachu!" the Electric Rodent agreed, flashing a peace sign.
Ash moved up into Misty's face, twirling the Poké Ball around his finger.
"See?" he said with a smirk. "Who's the novice now, Misty?"
Without hesitation, Misty harrumphed and placed both hands on her hips. "You're still the reigning champ, Ash!"
And Ash hung his head, now very exasperated at how things were turning out.
"Pika Pika, Pikachu!" the Electric-type Pokémon piped up.
Rubbing his ears to confirm he was okay, the half-Saiyan sighed. "I hope we don't run into any more of those Zubat in here..."
Hours later, as Ash, Misty, Gohan, and Brock traversed the depths of Mt. Moon, one thing immediately became apparent.
There were a lot more Zubat. Lots and lots.
"I can't believe it!" Misty moaned after the group took down yet another swarm of the stubborn Pokémon. "That makes the twelfth flock we've run into today. When are they gonna stop coming?"
"Pika, Pikachu," Pikachu panted wearily.
Ash leaned forward and patted it on the head. "Hey, you did great, Pikachu. Just rest for now, okay?"
"Cha..." Pikachu said as it jumped up onto Ash's shoulder.
Brock looked over at Gohan. "If it wasn't for that Mew of yours, I think we'd have a harder time getting through Mt. Moon."
"Mew!" Mew chirped, and it was true; despite numerous battles with swarms of Zubat, Mew still looked to be in top form as it danced circles around the group with every bit of energy it had demonstrated since first showing itself to Gohan.
"I think it's hard already," Misty whimpered, sounding wiped out.
"Hmm... why are there so many Zubat here anyway?" Ash pondered philosophically.
"I know, you'd think their ecosystem wouldn't support that many of them in just one location," Gohan remarked. "Then again, there could be supporting factors we aren't aware of — maybe they don't eat as much as other Pokémon or perhaps they're like normal bats and they fly outside to hunt. Or maybe this is their seasonal nesting grounds and they don't really live here, or maybe..."
"NEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRD!" Misty interrupted loudly.
"Wait, what?" Gohan asked, blinking rapidly as he stared at Misty.
"Gohan, are you training to become a scientist or what?" Brock inquired incredulously.
"Well, back home, Mom wanted me to become a scholar when I grew up," the Saiyan hybrid explained. "That's why I needed to get away for a few days; she was getting much too overprotective and smothering towards me."
"Sounds like you were pretty sheltered," Misty pointed out.
"Pika Pika, Pikachu," Pikachu put in, nodding its head.
"You have no idea..." Gohan said wryly. "Everything I knew of the outside world I learned from books Mom or my grandpa bought me; I never saw any of the big cities till just a couple years ago, and besides flying to nearby villages once and while while running errands for my mother, I never really left my house at the top peak of Mt. Paozu."
"That doesn't sound so bad to me!" Ash chimed in, who had grown up in a small, rural town himself.
"Well, you'd think that," Misty said, throwing a sideways look at him.
Ash settled for laughing awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.
"So... you didn't grow up training to be a great warrior?" Brock asked, now more curious about Gohan's past.
Gohan shook his head. "No. In fact, I never even knew about my powers until Garlic Jr. kidnapped me for the Dragon Balls, though I didn't really find out about that till much later on during my life."
"Garlic Jr.?" Brock said, sweatdropping. "Wow, that's a lousy name."
"Wait a minute, the dragon what?" Ash repeated, now blinking.
"Hey, are you trying to be a pervert or something?!" the fiery tomboy demanded. "That's disgusting, Gohan!"
Gohan shook his head, knowing where Misty's speculation had gone wrong.
"No, no, not... those kind of balls!" Gohan said hastily.
"Um... what do you mean, Gohan?" Ash asked him instantly.
Gohan fell over. "Never mind, just never mind, Ash."
"Pika Pika, Pikachu..." Pikachu said. "Cha..."
Gohan turned back to Misty.
"By Dragon Balls, I mean seven legendary balls with extraordinary powers," Gohan continued. "See, each one of the Dragon Balls has a specific number of stars on it. When you gather all seven together, Shenlong, the guardian who watches over the Dragon Balls, appears and grants you any one wish that that single person might desire."
The others gasped in complete and total awe.
"Wow, I had no idea something like that existed!" Misty breathed.
"How incredible!" Brock agreed, impressed by this revelation.
"So have you ever used the Dragon Balls?" Ash inquired eagerly.
"Only a few times, and even then, just to revive the people killed by our enemies," Gohan said.
"Oh, but if you collected all the Dragon Balls, you could wish for anything you wanted!" Misty exclaimed.
"I'd wish to be the best Pokémon Master who's ever lived!" Ash said enthusiastically.
"I'd wish for the cutest, strongest, most elegant Water-type Pokémon in the world!" Misty gushed.
"I'd wish for the most gorgeous girlfriend in all of history!" the dark-skinned teen burst out.
Ash and Misty both fell over as Gohan stifled a giggle. That's the same thing Bulma wanted to wish for when she met Daddy!
"Well, the Dragon Balls are not all-powerful," Gohan continued. "For example, you can't revive people who have died once before, and you can only wish back large groups that have died within a year's time. On Namek, their Dragon Balls can't even revive multiple people."
"Oh, darn it!" Misty sighed. "I thought if you had those Dragon Balls, you could wish for anything!"
Gohan laughed. "Yeah, well, for as much good as we do with them, there's a lot of people who use them for evil purposes. Garlic Jr. used the Dragon Balls to grant him immortality and it's what Vegeta and Frieza wanted them to wish for as well."
"Vegeta?" Ash said, blinking.
"And Frieza?" Misty added, also blinking too.
"Wait... you told us about them the other night!" Brock responded as the light bulb finally dawned on him. "Frieza was the overlord who took over the Saiyans and used them to conquer other worlds, wasn't he?"
Gohan nodded. "Yes, and he was a tough opponent, let me tell you."
"Well, can you tell us more about that?" Brock asked the hybrid.
"Maybe another time," Gohan answered, shying away from the rather uncomfortable subject. "It's a long story."
And then he tensed up, as though he were noticing something from very far away.
"Hey, what's that?!" he wondered, and then he took off running.
"Oh no, not this again!" Misty grumbled.
"Hey, Gohan, wait up!" Ash cried as he ran after him.
"Pika Pi!" Pikachu said as it did the same thing.
"Ash, wait, you know we can't run very fast with these weights on!" Brock called as he followed the Pallet Trainer.
"Hey, don't leave me behind!" Misty objected as she gave chase.
"Mew!" Mew squeaked as it joined them. "Mew, Mew!"
Up ahead, Gohan ducked down tunnels and into side passages until finally, he reached his destination in a small grotto, where he caught sight of something sprawled out in the chamber and he gasped in a combination of shock and horror.
Ash, Misty, and Brock came barreling into the room a moment later, trailed closely by their two Pokémon.
"Gohan, will you stop taking off like that?!" Misty said angrily.
"Why did you run off so suddenly anyway?" Brock asked.
"Look, guys," Gohan said, pointing to the side. "Over there."
Following the half-Saiyan's gaze, Ash, Brock, and Misty turned their heads and, to their great surprise, they saw a Pokémon, whimpering in pain as it huddled there in the corner, beneath a rocky outcropping.
"Oh, what is it?" Brock asked.
"It's a Pokémon!" Misty burst out worriedly.
As Gohan walked towards it, Ash aimed his Pokédex at it.
"Clefairy," Dexter intoned mechanically as it told them all about the Pokémon. "This impish Pokémon is friendly and peaceful. It is believed to live in Mt. Moon, and very few have ever been seen by humans."
"Oh, it's so cute!" Misty squealed in girlish delight.
As Gohan stepped closer to the Clefairy, the injured Fairy Pokémon looked up in alarm.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you," Gohan told it. He stooped down closer to it. "I promise, Clefairy."
"Mew!" Mew chirped as it sped over to them, twirling in the air above. "Mew! Mew!"
The Clefairy just blinked at Gohan for a couple of minutes, glancing between the tailed boy and the Legendary Mew pirouetting gracefully over their heads, as though trying to confirm that, yes, there was a Mew with this boy.
Slowly, trying not to scare the tiny Moon Pokémon, Gohan extended his hand toward it in a gesture of goodwill.
"Don't you trust me?" he said with a big, carefree, happy grin.
"Mew!" Mew added with an elegant spin. "Mew, Mew?"
And that seemed to clinch it for the Normal-type Pokémon as it now leaped forward and clutched at his leg.
"Fairy, Fairy," it whimpered. "Clefairy, Fairy..."
"Hey, it's okay," Gohan soothed it. "You don't have to be scared anymore."
"Fairy, Fairy," Clefairy said.
"Mew!" Mew giggled with a happy loop. "Mew!"
The others watched this with amazement.
"Unbelievable," Brock mused. "I've never known anyone who could befriend Pokémon so easily as Gohan does."
"Is it because he's part Saiyan?" Misty wondered curiously.
"Who cares?" Ash grumbled, now green with envy. "It's not like he's actually working to earn their trust."
Misty threw Ash a questioning look, but said nothing further.
Now that the emotional confrontation appeared to be over, Gohan leaned over to examine the injured Pokémon more thoroughly as he suddenly spotted a very nasty bloodied scrape across its right leg.
"Oh wow, you're hurt bad, aren't you?" Gohan mumbled. "And I don't even have any Senzu beans with me."
"Fairy, Fairy, Clefairy!" it shared, trembling within Gohan's grasp.
"Mew." Mew drooped, looking very down. "Mew, Mew..."
The Saiyan hybrid turned back to the group.
"Hey, guys, you don't know if there's any Pokémon Centers nearby, do you?" he asked them.
"Not for miles and miles," Brock informed him.
"Oh, if we had a Super Potion then this problem could be solved real easy!" Misty complained.
"Super Potion?" Gohan repeated. "Is that like a Senzu bean?"
"Um... what's a Senzu bean?" Ash inquired.
"Pika Pika?" the yellow rat added.
"A Super Potion heals any injuries," Brock explained. "It's very useful for Trainers on long journeys."
"Great!" Gohan replied, standing back up. "Where can I find one?"
"You can buy some at your local Poké Mart," Brock went on. "But the closest one is also miles and miles away!"
"Oh, wanna bet?" Gohan said with a wink. He looked at the Psychic Pokémon above him. "Hey, Mew, buddy?"
"Mew?" it said, snapping to complete attention.
"Can you look after Clefairy while I'm gone?" he asked it.
"Mew, Mew!" Mew averred with a big grin and a spinning midair dance. "Mew! MEW!"
Gohan laughed. "Good, thank you, Mew. You're a great friend."
"Mew!" Mew squeaked. "Mew, Mew!"
And now, adopting a determined frown, Gohan placed two fingers to his forehead as he looked to be focusing intently.
"Wait a moment," Brock said, now looking highly confused. "What are you going to...?"
And before their very eyes Gohan disappeared in a surge of energy.
"AHHHH!" Brock cried. "Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What was that?!"
"Pika Pika Pi, Pi Pikachu," Pikachu sighed.
"Oh yeah, you weren't here when Gohan first used it, were you?" Ash observed.
"Well, what did he do?" Brock wondered, scratching his own head.
"Instant Transmission," Misty answered cheerfully. "He said his father taught him. He can teleport anywhere with it."
"Really?!" Brock exclaimed, sounding totally flabbergasted. "That's amazing!"
Misty laughed. "That's Gohan!"
Down on the floor, the yellow rat sped over to the Mew nestled close to the Clefairy.
"Pika Pika, Pikachu?" Pikachu inquired.
"Clefairy?" Clefairy said, sounding surprised at their actions.
"MEW!" Mew twittered as it grabbed its mouth and started giggling, kicking its legs back and forth. "Mew!"
"Pika Pika, Pika Pi, Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed, nodding its head.
"Clefairy, Fairy Fairy," Clefairy said, pointing to itself. "Fairy?"
"Pika Pi, Pikachu!" Pikachu declared as it began dancing in place.
In response, Mew soared above and circled high above in a weaving dance of energy. "Mew, Mew! Mew! MEW!"
"Clefairy!" the Fairy Pokémon said, looking a bit happier. "Fairy, Fairy!"
"Mew! Mew!" Mew replied as it continued its cute sky dance.
"Pika Pika, Pikachu," Pikachu said, as it ceased dancing and nodded again with a happy look.
"What do you think they're saying?" Misty asked.
"I doubt we'll ever know," Brock chuckled.
"I know!" Ash announced, suddenly crossing his arms and nodding with the air of a confident, completely self-assured boy. "Pikachu was saying Mew wanted a mushroom and Pikachu said it prefers tacos!"
Misty, Brock, and Pikachu faceplanted as Mew went soaring through the air.
"I wish I could be that confident," Misty remarked with a big sweatdrop as she got back up.
"At least he doesn't sound that dumb to himself," Brock pointed out.
And just then, Gohan reappeared within the cave, now carrying a bunch of items in his arms.
"Gohan, you're back!" Brock said.
"Did you get the Super Potion?" Ash inquired.
Gohan laughed jovially. "You bet I did!"
And with the Super Potion in hand, he knelt down next to Clefairy.
"Fairy?" it responded, now looking up at the hybrid Trainer.
"Clefairy, I won't lie, this is probably going to sting a little bit," the half-Saiyan told it bluntly. "But it's meant to make you feel better and we gotta get that wound treated. Please... will you trust me now?"
After staring into Gohan's earnest face for a few minutes, Clefairy nodded its head once.
"Clefairy!" it chirped as it braced itself for the pain.
Gohan grinned. "Thank you, Clefairy!"
And pointing the nozzle on the Super Potion directly at the bloodied area, Gohan lightly spritzed the healing mist onto it. Clefairy moaned a bit as it shook slightly from the effort of keeping itself totally still, but, as Gohan sprayed, the bloody wound seemed to be knitting and fading back into the Fairy Pokémon's skin, and within seconds the gash was completely gone.
"Fairy?" Clefairy said, blinking twice as it stood up. And now sensing the wound was gone, it jumped up and down.
"Fairy, Clefairy, Fairy, Clefairy, Fairy, Clefairy," it sang happily.
"Aw, look at it!" Misty said with a smile.
"Guess that Super Potion did the trick," Brock noted.
"Clefairy looks like a million bucks!" Ash added.
"Pika Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu cried excitedly while it hopped back and forth along with the Clefairy.
"Mew!" Mew agreed, adding a bunch of twirls and spins in the air above them. "Mew, Mew! Mew!"
And suddenly a determined smirk appeared on Ash's face.
"Now that Clefairy's all better, I'm going to catch it!" he proclaimed, taking out one of his Poké Balls.
And Clefairy moved up to Gohan and wrapped its tiny arms around his left leg in a gentle hug, causing Ash to jerk in shock.
"Hey, what gives?" he demanded, now looking thoroughly annoyed.
"Clefairy..." Clefairy grinned as it hugged Gohan's leg. "Fairy, Fairy..."
Gohan smiled down at the innocuous-looking Pokémon. "Aw, well, I like you too, Clefairy!"
"Clefairy!" Clefairy squeaked. "Fairy, Clefairy, Fairy Fairy!"
"Mew!" Mew agreed. "Mew, Mew! Mew! MEW!"
Gohan reached down and tenderly picked up the Moon Pokémon.
"You're a good Pokémon, aren't you?" he said. "You didn't even flinch once when I was spraying that on you."
"Clefairy!" Clefairy giggled, twiddling both fingers around. "Fairy!"
"Hey, I got a great idea!" Gohan exclaimed. "Why don't you come with me on my travels?"
Without any hesitation, Clefairy leaped forward and glomped Gohan again, who chuckled at the Pokémon's antics.
"Then it's settled!" Gohan said, pumping a fist. "We both travel together!"
"MEW!" Mew squealed, flying down to nestle in between Gohan's arms, right next to the tiny Clefairy. "Mew, Mew!"
"Clefairy, Clefairy," it told the Legendary Cat, which nodded and giggled all the more.
"Aww, man, why does he catch Pokémon so much easier than I do?!" Ash whined.
"There's just something... special about him," Misty replied wistfully, with a faraway look on her face. "It's just something inside, something good and strong and noble. He's like a fairy tale prince come to life."
Brock spared her a surprised glance.
"You seem pretty taken with him yourself," he said.
"What?" Misty said, as an embarrassed blush now crept up her cheeks. "I am not!"
"But you're blushing!" Ash teased her, getting up close to her, with a big, taunting grin now written on his face as he stuck his tongue out at her. "We can all see it! What do you know? I never thought I'd really see you acting like a girl!"
WHAM!
Which was how Ash ended up getting very close and intimate with the hard rock floor.
"No, Daddy, I don't want to be a vegetable," Ash said dazedly.
"Wow, Ash, you should really know better by now!" Brock said as he learned over the semiconscious Trainer.
"Pikachu, Pika Pika, Pi Pika, Pikachu," the Electric Rat said.
With its decision now made, Gohan rummaged around in his pack for one of the Poké Balls Professor Oak had given him.
"Where did I put those...?" he wondered. "Ahh, here it is!"
He pulled out the brightly colored red-and-white ball and held it out for Clefairy to touch. It wriggled its nose up at him.
"Go ahead, don't be shy," Gohan said encouragingly. "If you want, I can let you out immediately so you won't be uncomfortable."
Still unsure, the Moon Pokémon spared a glance at Mew, which nodded its head up and down in the affirmative.
"Mew!" it prompted eagerly, its tail twitched enthusiastically. "Mew!"
"Clefairy!" Clefairy said, its mind now set, as it inched closer and closer to the Poké Ball in Gohan's hands...
However, a sudden, loud voice interrupted what they were doing.
"STOP!"
Surprised, Ash, Misty, Gohan, Brock, and their Pokémon looked off to the side...
Woo-hoo! Another chapter's done! Well, here's the main divergence from the canon timeline; they didn't run into Zubat in the entryway so they waited until they'd entered the cave before coming across them, and thus Ash also gets a Zubat! And the reason? Because Team Rocket has changed its goal from capturing Pikachu to tailing Gohan and as a result, the timeline is shifting. Expect similar changes in the future.
iamzim87/ChosenOne358: That crossover is really a fanfic I've been planning since 2010, and I never even posted it. But I do have a good chunk of the plot written down, so I know do how to write for it, I'm just waiting until I enter that point in the coming sequel to A New Beginning, Dragon Ball: The Second Chapter, because the Gohan in that crossover fanfic is a Saiyan/Diclonius hybrid, which means an added cuteness factor for Gohan with horns and a tail falling in love with what's basically a normal human girl, which I find appealing.
Jawisian: Haha, don't worry, your fears are baseless. Despite what I might have written in Altered Fates, I actually don't approve of rookie fighters training to Ginyu Force levels in six months, so even though that isn't much of a stretch in DBZ (in several years Gohan went from total weakling to star buster) I promise I'll be keeping it grounded in this fic. But also keep in mind, there are ways to raise your power level quickly, such as Guru's power-up, magical fruit, secret rooms, etc, and I'd like to try my hand at it while still keeping it realistic.
Thank you, everyone, for your reviews and kind words of support! they motivate me to update faster!
Please tell me what you think!