POKEMON HEART SOUL ADVENTURES
Welcome back to my story! I can see this fanfic is already quite popular around here, and last chapter has received an healthy number of views and reviews! I need to thank all those who have read this story... especially those who have given me constructive criticism like MoonyMonster, and I hope you will continue to do so!
This chapter marks the moment in which the story goes off on a totally different way than the anime - with Takuto not existing, Ash winning the Sinnoh tournament, and Paul still eager to defeat Ash, even our heroes will come to different decisions. So, now, erase any and all notion of the new Best Wishes series, and get ready to embark on a brand new adventure! Already in this chapter, we will see something quite different from the canon series, and as for the next...
Well, I'm not going to spoil it for ya, now am I? Let's just sit back and enjoy this chapter! I hope you'll have fun with it and, like always, please review!
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Chapter 5 - The ravenous Gible
The echo of the celebrations of the last day's evening had gradually died down, and as the sun was rising upon the large city in which the final battle of the Sinnoh conference had taken place. Now, it looked like one day like all others... except that the enthusiasm and the adrenaline of yesterday's battle could still be felt in the air
This was especially true for the trio of friends who, at the moment, after letting their Pokemon rest at the Center and having eaten a good breakfast, were now back on their way to new destinations. Ash, Pikachu, Brock and Dawn were looking at the big city from a small, verdant hilltop, with the pride of those who had just achieved a great victory. And, in truth, Ash winning his first Pokemon League was a huge result... but now that the time had come to leave the country, all of them felt a strange feeling of both joy and uncertainty, mixed with an understandable nostalgia.
"And so ends our adventure in Sinnoh..." Brock said with a small sigh, his ever-squinted eyes affixed on the metropolis who had seen Ash's first victorious championship duel. "It surely was a great journey, and we've seen a lot of incredible things... well, Ash, what do you think you and Pikachu will be doing now?"
The newly-crowned champion stretched a little, then adjusted his cap on his head and looked at Pikachu, perched on his shoulder with his ears up in enthusiasm. "I was thinking it wouldn't be a bad idea to go back home for a while... don't ya think so too, Pikachu? We've been away for so long, and we've trained so much... and now I guess we deserve some rest, I guess..."
"Pikachu!" the electric mouse agreed with an energetic nod.
Nearby, Dawn lowered her eyes a little, ruffling the dew-covered grass with the tip of her boot. So, they were going to return home, to the Kanto continent... well, not like she could blame them, of course. They had been away from their home for so long, that it was only natural that they wated to go back to their loved ones. Still, she couldn't help but feel a bit sad about this... those two boys and their Pikachu had pretty much been her teachers on her way to become a full-fledged coordinator, and had it not been for them and for people like Zoey and Kenny, she would never have gotten as far as she had...
"So, you really are gooing back to Kanto..." the blue-haired girl murmured, trying to seem upbeat, and not quite managing to do so. "Well, what can I say... I'm gonna miss you, guys, and I hope I'll see you again, sooner or later..."
Ash and Pikachu looked quizzically at the blue-haired coordinator. "Well... actually, if you wanna come too, you can! Really, I think you'd like Kanto!" the young boy answered.
"Ash is right... and after all, for a Pokemon coordinator, it could be a good chance to see new Pokemon, and new trainers as well!" Brock added. "It would be a good occasion to learn something more, don't you think so?"
Dawn's eyes widened a bit in a mixture of surprise and happiness at that invitation. In fact, Brock was right... seeing a new continent and a new Pokemon league would have been very interesting, and would have given her a chance to learn something more. However, she didn't want to be a burden on her friends...
"Well... actually, I really like the idea! Seeing the country you twocmefrom sounds really neat, but... won't it be a problem for you?" she asked.
"Hahahaaa! Don't worry, it's no biggie!" Ash laughed good-naturedly. "Mom would be happy to know another one of my friends, instead! She always likes that!"
"Well..." the blue-haired girl answered, thinking about it. Finally, Dawn convinced herself and clenched her fist in front of her. "Then, I agree! Thanks, Ash, Brock, I owe you one!"
"No prob, really!" Sinnoh's newly-crowned champion answered. "It's all a pleasure for us!"
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed with a bright smile!
Brock nodded, satisfied at how things had turned out, and motioned for his two young friends to get going. "Well, in that case... I guess we'd better start! With a little luck, we'll be arriving in Canalave City in a few days... and we'll take the ship to Kanto from there! How does that sound like to you?"
"Excellent, idea, Brock!" the two younger group members answered in unison, with Pikachu echoing after them with one of his trademark high-pitched calls. They were about to walk away, but they held back as they heard a familiar female voice calling out to them.
"Please, wait! I dare hope you would not go away so soon." said an attractive long-haired blond woman dressed in black as she approached the small team. Ash and his friends immediately recognized Cynthia, the current Champion of Sinnoh League's Elite Four, a supremely skilled trainer that had helped them more than once during their journey and their struggle against the evil Team Galactic. She kept her usual gentle, calm expression as she slowly paced towards them and greeted them with an elegant bow.
"Miss Cynthia! What a surprise, seeing you here!" Ash greeted her. "We're very glad to see you!"
"As I was glad to see your performance in yesterday evening's competition, Ash. You truly gave proof of your superior trainer skills." Cynthia answered gently. "Not only was the audience treated to a very high-level competition, but you also showed them how a real trainer should behave in order to gain absolute devotion and respect from his Pokemon. You have truly given a splendid performance, and for that I have to congratulate you."
"Hehehee... c'mon, Miss Cynthia, you're kinda embarassing me!" Ash replied with a nervous chuckle... but Cynthia shook her head, talking in all honesty.
"I actually mean what I'm saying, Ash." the young female Champion said. "To get the congratulations of Sinnoh's current Champion is not something that happens every day, therefore... be proud of your accomplishment! Even my fellow Elite Four were impressed by your battling."
"Well... if that's so..." Ash answered, already sounding somewhat more uppity. "We... we thank you with all our hearts! Me, Pikachu and all my friends! Without them, I would never have gotten this far... so I guess this victory is theirs as well!"
"PI-KA-CHU!" Pikachu exclaimed, his exhaustion ftom his battles against Electivire and Ursaring already gone away.
Cynthia nodded in satisfaction, before addressing the whole group. "Well... so, now that Ash has won this tournament, what are your next goals for the immediate future? Do you already have an idea of what you'll do from this moment on?" she asked. "I ask this simply out of curiosity, that's all..."
"We really haven't decided up to that point..." Brock answered. "Still, we thought it would be a good idea to go back to our home country, Kanto, for a while. Ash deserves some rest after this victory, after all... I'd like to go back home for a while myself... and as for Dawn, we invited her to Kanto too. We thought it would be a great chance for her to see a new country and learn more things."
"Yeah... Ash and Brock convinced me to follow them to Kanto... let's say, it's a bit of a study vacation, and a chance to think of what I'd like to do later on. Also, to telll the truth, I'm curious to see where Ash and Brock come from!"
Cynthia smiled slightly in understanding. "It is only fair that you take a little time off, and I trust your new experiences will be as exciting and fulfilling as those you have had in this country. Well, then... I can only wish you the best of luck, and I hope to see you again, later on!" she concluded. "You were great friends, and you helped me defeat Team Galactic and save our world. You deserve all my respect."
"Thanks, miss Cynthia! We'll always remember you!" Ash answered gently. "And... well, I don't think I, Pikachu and Brock will ever forget about Sinnoh! It was one of our greatest adventures!"
"Indeed, Ash... indeed!" Brock answered, before turning to the rising sun. "Well... I guess we really have to go now. It will take a few days before reaching Canalave Town, and the sooner we start our journey, the better. Still... we were pleased to know you, miss Cynthia... and we hope to see you soon."
"Thank you, everyone. See you soon... and best wishes!" Cynthia said as the four friends began their journey back to Canalave. Each of the four kept turning back to wave at Cynthia and to take a last look at the stadium in which Ash had won his second, and his greatest, championship. They kept doing so, turning back and waving Cynthia goodbye, until they were nothing but four dots in the distance.
Cynthia stayed for a moment, observing the place where her new friends had disappeared... then, she sighed nostalgically and turned back to the stadium. "Well, I guess that's that." she thought aloud to herself. "Even if Team Galactic is no more, what happened with Cyrus and the Distortion World will definitely have consequences, later on... and as the Sinnoh Champion and Elite Four, it is our duty to look into that as well. Anyway, Ash, I was glad to have met an aspiring Pokemon Master such as you... and I knew you would have reached this far. You can be proud of yourself, few would have managed what you did in such little time."
With a slight smile on her young face, the Sinnoh League champion began walking back to the coliseum, who still seemed to be resonating with the previous evening's applauses and cheering, and mentally prepared herself for whatever new problems she and her friends would have had to face. Knowing that the future of Pokemon trainers was also in the hands of people like Ash, Dawn and Brock had left her to think that, despite all difficulties, things could only get better in the future...
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But as the heroes were getting back to their long journey, eager to reach the Canalave port, dark shadows were moving in the night, ready to hound their every step and strike whenever Ash and his friends would be more vulnerable...
"You're in for trouble..." a girl's voice said in a vain, self-assured tone.
"Make it double." someone else went on, with a strange voice that sounded like how a cat would have talked had it been able to imitate human voice...
"Such big trouble!" This time, the speaker was a boy, whose tone immediately denounced him as naive and silly, rather than evil...
The cat-like voice repeated the previous words. "Make it double..." Then, like actors in a play, three figures shrouded in darkness came out of the deep underwood and presented themselves, reciting some sort of war cry whose intention was to make them appear formidable... but actually only managed to make them look ridiculous!
"Prepare for trouble, we won't delay!" the female on the left proudly called out, her arms folded on her chest and her nose raised up.
"And make it double, we're here to stay!" the figure on the right answered, revealing himself to be a boy with shoulder-long hair, slightly taller than his female companion, elegantly holding a red rose in front of himself.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
Right then, a reflector's light came down from pretty much nowhere and illuminated the figure on the left: a tall, slender girl of about twenty years of age wearing her trademark midriff-baring Team Rocket uniform, with tall black boots and white skirt and top, the latter bearing the criminal organization's trademark red R. She had crimson red hair, long to the point where, if it had been let down instead of going horizontally, it would have probably reached her knees!
"I am Jessie!" she exclaimed, as if talking to an imaginary audience.
Another light bore down and shone on the boy... a slightly feminine-looking guy with light blue hair and a white male Team Rocket uniform. "And I am James." he calmly said, his eyes closed in an attempt to look charming...
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" Jessie finally stated, her index finer pointed to a place in front of her.
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" James concluded, his arm majestly sweeping the air in front of him and spreading a few rose petals in the air.
And, to top everything off, a Meowth popped up from behind the two youngsters, somersaulted through the air, and landed on his feet in front of them, his front paws raised in the air as if he was about to pounce on his prey!
"Meowth! That's right!" he concluded.
For a little while, the three remained standing in their place, as if frozen in their final poses and waiting for an applause... then, the two humans turned to each other and burst out laughing, completely spoiling the dramatic tension!
"Heheheee... returning to our old motto sure was a terrific idea, Jessie, don'cha think so?" James asked, his red rose still held in his hand.
"You can say that again, James!" Jessie answered, smiling radiantly. "You don't know how nostalgic I felt! It made me think of the first times we were trying to capture the twerp's Pikachu... ah, such sweet memories!"
"Yeah, back when there was also the redhead twerp... who knows where she's now, it's been so long since we last saw her... I even kinda forgot what she looks like!" Meowth commented. "Well, anyway... looks like the twerps are back in Kanto... where it all started!"
"Very good! Then, that's where we'll finally accomplish our mission to capture Pikachu and bring him to the boss!" Jessie exclaimed. "Heheee... dunno about you guys, but I feel like we're gonna win this!"
"Yeah, me too!" Meowth agreed. "I'm sure this time it all will go according to plan, and I'll be the boss' favourite once again! Start packing, you stupid Persian, 'cuz Meowth is back in da house!"
In his mind, Meowth was already visualizing himself sitting in Giovanni's lap, purring contentedly as the Team Rocket boss petted him, and Persian lied on the ground with spiralling eyes and a huge lump on his head!
"Finally, it's time for Team Rocket to get their moment of glory!" James proclaimed, his fistsraised in the air, and stars shining comically all around him! "Prepare yourselves, twerps, 'cause we're really gonna show you what we're made of! Your Pikachu won't escape us!"
The goofy criminal trio burst in triumphant laughter, thinking that this was the moment for them to vindicate all their previous defeats... and at the same time, drawing the attention of a lot of flabbergasted wild Pokemon, including a small swarm of Beedrill who was happily buzzing about their own businesses! The giant hornets looked at the trio with a nonplussed expression on their insectile faces... and, when a worker hornet turned to one of her colleagues, as if asking what was going on, the latter shook her head and tapped her temple with her sting-paw.
"Beeeeedrill..." she buzzed, as if saying that there were many crazy people out there...
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Ash, Pikachu, Dawn and Brock had been walking for some time now, and the youngest members of the team were more than happy to hear Brock proposing to stop to rest and eat something. After the younger kids had let their backpacks off their shoulders, Brock placed a few rocks in a circle on the ground, putting a few logs inside of it, and produced some cooking tools and canned food he had bought before the start of the journey.
"I had no idea how long the journey back would have been, and I wasn't sure whether there would have been two of us or all three, so I bought some extra food." the dark-skinned boy explained. "Alright, guys... now, just relax, I'll take care of the rest here!"
"Thanks, Brock! Sometimes I ask myself where we would be without you!" Ash commented as he lay down on the grass, letting out a sigh of relief as he enjoyed the feel of the fresh grass. Pikachu laid down beside him with a satisfied squeak, as the young boy looked to the clear blue sky, dotted with a few white clouds. He still could scarcely believe it... he had won the Sinnoh conference! He had gained first place in his second Pokemon League, alongside the Orange Island League, and better yet, he had managed to finally defeat one of his most bitter rivals, although he was sure he hadn't seen the last of him. And beyond that, he had met a lot of interesting, funny and strong Pokemon, who had given him a lot of satisfactions... especially Infernape. To top it off, he had guided his new friend, Dawn, in her beginning journey, and had seen her become a great coordinator and the winner of the Grand Festival! All in all, Ash and Pikachu were very satisfied about the outcome of their new journey, and could not wait to go back home and speak about their adventures to their friends in Pallet Town...
"Pika pi?" Pikachu, sitting at his side, called out to him, and Ash turned in the direction of his best friend, smiling gently to him.
"What about you, Pikachu? You liked our stay in Sinoh as well, huh?" Ash asked, to which the electric mouse gave a thumbs-up. "Hehee... you're right, I guess Mom and Prof. Oak will be quite impressed when we tell them about it. Actually, I think I'm gonna miss this country... it was such a nice journey, too..."
"Say, Ash..." Dawn asked out of simple curiosity. "Could you tell me a little more about Kanto, the place you come from? I heard about some of its cities, but other than that, I know little about it. Especially your town, Pallet Town... what kind of place is it?"
"Hehehee... I know it sound ironic, but it's very similar to your own town, Twinleaf!" Ash answered. "It's a simple country city immersed in nature, with ground-floor houses and an unpaved road... though I heard that recently they've started working to modernize it. Still, I think you'd like it... and anyway, don't worry! I'm sure you'll get to see it very soon!"
"Really? I'm very glad to know that! And to tell you the truth, I'm kinda excited over going to another country for the first time..." Dawn answered, once again realizing just how much more independent she had become thanks to her journey. And the two kids and Pikachu kept chatting amicably among each other, Brock looked at them and allowed himself a smile. It was always nice to see those two bonding with each other like this...
Then, his mind going back to the lunch he was about to prepare, the young Rock Pokemon expert placed the wood properly and filled a small pan with water to put it on the fire... when he reallized that something was mising. He was sure he had taken some canned meat out of his backpack and had put it somewhere nearby... but if that was the case, why had they now vanished? He looked around himself, in case he had placed them somewhere else and didn't remember... and he was surprised by what he saw: the cans were, in fact, a little farther from where he had placed them, and they were in the hands of a Pokemon he and his friends had never seen before!
"Huh? Where... does this Pokemon come from? Which species is it?" Brock asked himself aloud, drawing even Ash, Dawn and Pikachu's attention. It was one of the most comical-looking Pokemon any of them had ever seen - a short, plump body seemingly devoid of a neck, whose head was for the most part occupied by an overlarge mouth filled with rows of tiny, sharp triangular teeth. A pair of short clawed arms jutted out of his sides, just a little below the corners of his mouth. His body was a bluish-gray all over, with a red belly, and a pair of horns on the sides of his head, each looking like a plane's rotor. On his head there was a small crest looking like a shark's dorsal fin... but most important of all at the moment, the strange Pokemon had their cans of food in his hands and was busy eating them one by one, tin and everything!
"Brock, what's up? Is there..." Ash began, only to notice the Pokemon that had stealthily approached them. "What... what kind of Pokemon is that?"
The equally-surprised Dawn opened her Pokedex and took a good look at it... and one second later, the small electronic device lit up and gave data for the strange little creature. "Gible. The Land Shark Pokemon. Dragon / Ground Type. Pre-evolved form of Gabite. These Pokemon once lived in tropical regions, but have migrated away in recent years. To avoid cold, they lived in sunny places or warm caves. They are very ravenous and will eat anything deemed edible."
"Well, we can sort of see that by ourselves..." Dawn chuckled as she saw the eagerness with which the barely two-foot-tall Pokemon was gulping down entire cans of food like popcorn. "The problem is, it's our lunch he's eating... Go, Piplup!"
The blue-haired girl sent her inseparable friend out, and Piplup appeared in front of her and spread his small wings in preparation for the fight. Immediately, he got Gible's attention, and the small land shark dropped the stolen cans of food and stood on guard.
"Take care, Dawn, that's a Dragon / Ground Pokemon... Water attacks do not have the effect they normally would." Ash warned, remembering the fight between Paul's Torterra and Cynthia's Garchomp. Only a Frenzy Plant attack had managed to even put a scratch on the mighty dragon, and even that, just barely.
"No need to worry, Ash! I think I already got it under control! After all, Ursula has this Pokemon's evolved version, so I have an idea what it's capable of. Piplup, attack with Ice Beam, now!" the girl answered. The blue penguin chirped his own name nd created a glowing azure-white sphere of energy on the tip of his beak, spreading a freezing aura all around itself. The ravenous Gible frowned in alarm as he recognized that the attack could really do some damage to him, ad only a fast sideways dodge allowed him to dodge the freezing beam that erupted out of Piplup's mouth a second later! The small dragon still felt a chill as the Ice Beam went dangerously close to him, and then fell uncerimoniously on the ground. Encouraged by this initial victory, Piplup tried to attack again in the same way... but Gible climbed to his feet and, for just a split second, Ash and his friends could see a strange orange light burning in the bottom of the small Pokemon's throat. Then, Gible fired a small sphere of energy upwards, which Piplup followed... only to widen his eyes in surprise and fear as the projectile burst into countless, smaller others who rained down on him!
"Piplup, take care!" Dawn exclaimed. Unfortunately, Piplup was in such a position that he just couldn't avoid all those projectiles, and two of them struck him head-on, sending him to the ground in a cloud of smoke! Ash, Pikachu and their friend stepped backwards, as Gible took advantage of the confusion, picked up a couple cans and ran away towards the forest!
"Ugh... what kind of attack was that? Darn, guys, that Gible is running away!" Ash exclaimed as he tried to wave the smoke away. Dawn looked around in worry, fearing that her Piplup might have gotten hurt... but luckily, the penguin Pokemon steped out of the smoke, although with a dazed expression and obviously dismayed at having been caught off guard like that.
"Pip-lup..." he chirped, shrugging his short wings as if in apology, but Dawn was more worried about her starter's condition than anything else. Luckily, as she approached Piplup, she could see that the attack had not really been taken head on, and the damage amounted to a few blackened feathers and a bruised pride.
"Piplup, you okay?" Dawn asked. When the small penguin nodded, his trainer sighed in relief and turned in the direction through which Gible was escaping. The little landshark was fast, but not to the point where they couldn't reach him , if they ran... "Alright, guys, we need to catch up with that Pokemon! He's running away with our lunch!"
"He's gotten a bit of a head start on us, but we can catch up." Brock answered, and the three of them, joined by Pikachu and Piplup, began running after the naughty little dragon. With a slight snapping noise, Gible dove into a bush and into the forest, but Ash's group had caught up with him to some degree, and was able to follow him, dodging a few branches and leaves as they ran. Pikachu was about to charge his cheeks pouches and unleash a Thunderbolt attack on the thief, but he immediately thought better of it, remembering that Gible was partially a Ground type Pokemon. Oh well, no matter, there were other ways to stop him...
Just then, Gible stopped in front of a bifurcation of the road, with both ways running deeper into the forest, and he seemed to be undecided where to go. The voracious little dragon turned his head in both directions as he tried to decide quickly... but Pikachu, thanks to his superior speed, was upon him in a moment and tackled him to the ground with a spectacular Slam attack. Gible shrieked in surprise before falling prone on the ground, dropping the stolen cans of food as he did, while the rest of the team reached the bifurcation.
"Well done, Pikachu! You caught him..." Ash started...
...before the ground under them gave way all of a sudden, revealing a well-hidden trap consisting of a wide and rather deep hole, covered with a large blanket kept sustained by a bunch of fragile wooden sticks, disposed in such a way that anything over a certain weight stepping upon it would have caused the whole thing to collapse. The trap had been covered with dirt and leaves, so that it was impossible to distinguish it from the safe ground. In a moment, Ash, Pikachu, Dawn, Piplup, Brock and Gible found themselves at the bottom of the hole, covered in dust but unharmed!
"Ouch... Boy, that was quuite the surprise..." Dawn murmured, rubbing her back in not too elegant a manner. "For crying out loud, what's this trap doing here?"
"I already have half a mind who it could have been... right, Pikachu?" Ash answered as he climbed to his feet and dusted himself off. The small electrical mouse, who had already seen such tricks in the past, sighed in irritation and looked upwards, just in time to hear a triumphant noblewoman's laugh and see a telltale Meowth hot air balloon rising up above the trees!
"Yeah, just as we thought..." Brock sighed himself. And, just as the team had predicted, the familiar motto began!
At least that caught them somewhat off guard, as it was not the most recent one.
"Prepare for trouble, we won't delay!" Jessie began.
"And make it double, we're here to stay!" James went on.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"I am Jessie!"
"And I am James."
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" Jessie stated, her arms crossed on her chest in a proud, challenge-filled pose.
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" James said, holding his trademark red rose with two fingers.
Meowth popped up between the two goofy criminals and raised his forepaws, his face sporting a huge Cheshire cat grin. "Meowth! That's right!"
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet screeched, spontaneously popping out of his Pokeball with his trademark military salute.
"Yeah... saw that coming..." Ash murmured. Then, he frowned slightly as a small detail crossed his mind. "Er... let me guess, you three! You've decided to turn back to the old motto and the old little tricks?"
"Hohohohooo! Of course we did, twerp, and as you can plainly see, they worked perfectly!" Jessie laughed. "You see... we had time to think while you were busy giving that purple-haired jerk the what-for... and we've figured out that, in order to succeeed in capturing Pikachu, we needed to... let's put it this way... stop overthinking it and just go with what used to work! The old trick of the concealed hole was always the most effective!"
"That's right, Jessie! Even our motto is back to the old one, as you could plainly hear!" James went on, laughing happily. "By returning to our origins, we're back to being the fearsome Team Rocket we once were... and now your Pikachu is all ours!"
"And since we're talking old methods... well, here's one!" Meowth answered as he produced a remote control from who-knows-where and activated it. A small compartment on the bottom of the hot air balloon snapped open and released a metal claw mounted on an hydraulic arm, which sneaked its way into the pit and grabbed Pikachu, lifting him up in the air as the electric mouse squeaked and tried to free himself!
"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed. He tried to grab his friend as the hydraulic arm rose again, but he wasn't fast enough to do so.
"Pikachu!" Dawn echoed. "Ash, why don't you have Pikachu use an electric attack of sorts? He'd hit the balloon as well, from there!"
Ash shook his head, remembering how those traps worked. "I'm afraid it would be useless, Dawn... if I know Team Rocket, they've isolated the hydraulic arm in some way!"
"Heheheee... I guess you finally got it, twerp!" Meowth meowed. "Exactly! That hydraulic arm is protected with a rubber coating that makes it impervious to electricity! Let's see how you handle that now!"
"I've got other Pokemon to save Pikachu with!" Ash retorted. "C'mon, Gliscor, you turn! Gotta catch 'em all!"
Ash tossed his Pokeball in the air, where it released the playful winged scorpion. "Gliiiscor!" he screeched as he took flight, happily flying in circles around Ash and his friends!
"Hehehee... I really appreciate that, Gliscor!" Ash chuckled, mentally kicking himself for forgetting about the Ground / Flying Pokemon's playful nature. "But... maybe we could play later, okay? Right now... please, lend Pikachu a hand! Use Aerial Ace against that balloon!"
The flying scorpion nodded and glided towards Team Rocket, his claws and stinger gleaming in the early afternoon sun. However, the troublesome trio was not daunted in the least, and Wobbuffet placed himself between them and Gliscor, peeking out of the balloon just enough to see his opponent coming. The strange Psychic Pokemon was shrouded in a yellowish aura and, just as Gliscor was a few feet away from him, he found himself paralyzed in midair, and then telecinetically tossed away by his opponent's Counter! With an annoyed screech, Gliscor recovered his flying asset and tried to regain his altitude, as Ash's team, Gible included, kept looking from bellow and hoping Gliscor would do it.
"Hmm... I guess we better get involved as well, Jessie!" James advised, opening one of his Pokeballs. "Right then... Carnivine, your turn!"
"Come on, Seviper! Lend a hand!" Jessie ordered. The gigantic adder and the carnivorous plant materialized inside the balloon.. and Carnivine immediately decided to show his affection to James by huggin him with his vines and grabbing his head in his mouth, an habit he shared with every Grass-type Pokemon the hapless young man ever had!
"Uuuuugh... not me, Carnivine! Them!" James' muffled voice came from the inside of Carnivine's mouth.
"Well, we'd better do our share..." Dawn decided. "Right, Togekiss... your turn, go!"
"Sudowoodo, I choose you!" Brock exclaimed. From the blue-haired girl's Pokeball came the majestic final form of Togepi, a graceful and elegant Flying Pokemon with an egg-shaped white body with multicolored spots all over, and short angel-like wings. At the same time, Brock let his latest Rock-type Pokemon out, a strange creature who looked like a tree, but whose body actually consisted of colored stone.
"Carnivine, attack with Bullet Seed! Now!" James explained. The carnivorous plant started shooting a quick, lethally accurate volley of seeds, targetting the more vulnerable Sudowoodo, who had to defend himself as well as possible.
"Sudowoodo, use Mimic and give him a taste of his own medicine!" Brock countered. Immediately, the stone tree raised his head and attacked Carnivine with the very same move that had been used against him, striking his opponent in the head! Carnivine flinched and fell on his own trainer, and this time, it was definitely not his intention to do so!
Meanwhile, Jessie's Seviper was fighting against Dawn's Togekiss, without making too much progress! The Flying Pokemon, Princess Salvia's gift to the young coordinator, was quick enough to avoid the snake's attacks with relative ease, and the impatient Jessie was getting quite frustrated with that. "Ugh... come on, Seviper, what are you doing?" she exclaimed, a cross-shaped vein popping up on her head. "Stop that stupid flying egg with Glare! Now!"
"Togekiss, protect yourself! Use Safeguard!" Dawn ordered. A paralyzing attack would have been too dangerous for Togekiss at the moment...
The saber-toothed adder's eyes lit up, and Dawn's latest Pokemon felt herself grow dangerously numb, and her wings become heavy... but before the Glare attack could take full effect, an iridescent barrier appeared in front of Togekiss and nullified the attack. Dawn nodded in approval, before giving out another order. "Good, Togekiss! Now... hit Seviper with Air Cutter!"
"Togekiss!" the cute winged Pokemon answered, diving towards the viper at high speed... but Seviper raised her bladed tail and blocked the hit with Poison Tail. Togekiss separated herself from her opponent and flew around the hot air balloon, waiting for an opening...
Gliscor was still dealing with Wobbuffet and, having seen that it was dangerous to make the first move against the passive Pokemon, he decided to play it safe and stay at a reasonable distance. Wobbuffet was following him as well as he could with his always-serrated eyes...
And Ash, looking at that from the ground, wrinkled his nose. The battle was getting nowhere fast, and becoming too long for his tastes. He decided that it would be a good idea to let out Staraptor and send him to help the flying scorpion... when Gible, all of a sudden, stood up and shook the dust off himself before glancing up, glaring at Team Rocket's balloon with resolve! It looked like he had decided to get involved himself, and Ash, Dawn, Brock and Pikachu all looked at him, wondering what he was going to do...
"Guys, we'd better hightail it out of here and take Pikachu with us!" Meowth exclaimed as he saw Ash's Pokemon starting to pressure theirs. "I'm gonna get us some altitude here..."
"Hold on! What's going on there?" James asked after getting free from the tangle of the stunned Carnivine's vines. He had seen a strange orange light coming from the pit they had dug...
"I guess he wants to use the same attack as before..." Brock commented.
Gible proved him right a split second later. Once again, an orange energy bullet was formed in the strange drake's jaws and sailed at high speed towards Team Rocket's hot air balloon! The clumsy criminals and their Pokemon widened their eyes in dismay when they realized what was going on, but it was too late to do anything.
"Aaaaargh! No way! I can't believe this!" Jessie screamed in fear and frustration.
...
...
KAAAA-BOOOOOOOOM!
Team Rocket's hot air balloon was struck by the land shark's powerful attack and blew up in a deafening explosion, sending the hapless criminals and their Pokemon high in the air as usual, and allowing Pikachu to wriggle free of the claw's grip and jump in his expecting trainer's arms!
"I can't believe this! We had planned this in all particulars, and that runt comes and ruins our day! That's not fair!" Jessie ranted.
"I was kinda expecting it to end like this, though..." James murmured dejectedly, only to be glared at by his female companion!
"And you, don't be a bad luck charm, okay?" she screamed. "I've already had enough for today!"
"Seviperrrrr..." the adder Pokemon hissed in indignation, as if agreeing with her master's mood.
"Well then... let's hear the punchline..." Meowth sighed.
"Team Rocket, blasting off agaaaaaaain..."
"WOBBUFFEEEEEEET..."
And for the umpteenth time, the unfortunate trio became nothing more than a twinkle in the sky...
"Phew... and once again, guys, it ends just as expected... right, Pikachu?" Ash asked, as Pikachu nodded and sprayed a few sparkles from his cheeks. Togekiss, Gliscor and Sudowoodo rushed to the hole, to see if everyone was alright, and the tree-like Pokemon extended his arms so that his trainer and his friends could hold to those and climb up. However, Ash stopped for a moment to take a look at Gible. The small dragon Pokemon was now standing tall - well, as tall as he was - and looking proud of his accomplishment. "Whoa, this little guy sure packs a punch! He blew away Team Rocket with that strange move... by the way, which move was that? Anybody know?"
Brock shook his head, much to Ash, Dawn and the Pokemons' surprise. "No, guys... I'm sorry but I can't help you here. I know this sounds strange, but I've never seen that move myself. And since I'm talking as an aspiring Pokemon breeder, well... guess that means we'll have to find someone who knows more than we do about it..."
"I see..." the still amazed Ash answered. "Oh, well... for now, let's just get outta here, and we'll think of the rest later! You're okay with that, too?"
Gible tilted his head in confusion as the rest of the team started climbing out of the pit, with Gliscor, Sudowoodo and Togekiss aiding them from above.
oooooooooo
A few moments later, the whole team had climbed out of the pit, and Ash was now in front of Gible, balancing a Pokeball in his hand as he attempted to capture the small Dragon pokemon. "Alright, Gible, this'll only take a sec. You just stay there, and I'll do the rest! Pokeball, go! Gotta catch 'em all!"
The red and white ball sailed through the air and towards Gible, who seemed to comply... until suddently, as soon as the ball was within range of his jaws, Gible opened his mouth and caught the sphere in it, biting on that like an apple. A metallic screech was heard, and the Pokeball bent and shattered in countless pieces of debris, which Gible happily began to munch on! Ash felt his eyes shoot out of his orbits in astonishment...
"WHA...?" the young boy exclaimed as Gible gulped down the fragments of the sphere with a satisfied smirk, and even smothered a small burp. "I can't believe this! He... he actually ate my Pokeball?"
As the others observed in disbelief, Gible looked around himself and began walking towards Brock... and when he reached him, he began rubbing on his leg like an affectionate kitten, which the Rock Pokemon experted immediately understood, letting out an amusing chuckle even as the Dragon / Ground Pokemon's immense strength was threatening to tip him over.
"Hehehee... you know what, Ash? I think this little guy just chose who he wants to be captured by!" the dark-skinned boy commented. "He must have understood that I'm the team chef... and that he's gonna get the better food from me!"
Ash sweatdropped, and Dawn placed her hand in front of her mouth to smother a giggle fit... while Pikachu simply shrugged, as if to say there was no helping it. "Ugh... I really didn't see that one coming... I didn't know Pokemon could be opportunistic too! Oh well..." the boy stated, his nose wrinkling in a funnily offended face.
Brock, on the other hand, produced a Pokeball from his own backpack. "Alright, Gible... so you want me to capture you? It's been quite some time since I last got a new Pokemon, truth be told..." the dark-skinned young man said. Gible hopped around happily, like an excited dog, and get away from Brock as much as necessary to allow him to take aim with the Pokeball. "If that's okay with you... Pokeball, go!"
This time, Gible didn't react and let the sphere touch him and absorb him inside. The Pokeball snapped close and began tilting from side to side for a little while, before stopping and giving the signal that the capture had been successful!
"Perfect!" Brock exclaimed, picking up his Pokeball and holding it in front of himself. "Welcome in our team, Gible! I'm sure you'll like it, and I'm gonna take good care of you!"
"I guess that as long as he has something to chew on, Gible will be okay with us!" Ash commented with an amused laugh... before his stomach loudly reminded him that they had not eaten yet! The young champion fell to his knees with his hand on his belly and a small stream of saliva hanging out of his mouth... "Ugh... but I guess, in all this, we've forgotten that we still haven't eaten a thing... and I'm starving!"
"Hehehee... sorry, you're right!" Brock apologized with an hand behind his head. "Okay then... we'd better get back to the camp and set up our meal! It's kinda late, after all..."
And so, the small team began heading back to the clearing in which Brock had been trying to fix lunch, their new Pokemon with them, and ready to face new adventures.
In such a setting of happiness and relaxation, they certainly had no idea something dangerous was brewing somewhere else...
Something that would soon drag them into the greatest adventure of their lives...
oooooooooo
TO BE CONTINUED...
Author's Note: And there you have it! Gible has finally joined Ash's team, although in a different way than many of you were probably expecting, and we get some foreshadowing on future events at the very end? Well, you just have to wait for next chapter... which, I can already tell you, will definitely blow you away!
Also, you'll notice that I had Jessie's Seviper be a female in my story. After all, the anime never specified Seviper's gender, right? Trust me, I know what I'm doing, and it will be important later. But saying why would be a major spoiler, so just bear with it for now, ok?
So... hope to be able to update soon, and best wishes to all of you!
Lily