POKEMON HEART SOUL ADVENTURES
Welcome back, everyone! Once again, I hope you didn't have to wait too long between updates!
Last chapter, we've left Ash, Pikachu, Brock and Dawn at the Pewter City Gym, for a nice reunion with Brock's family... and now, we keep travelling down Memory Lane, as this chapter will feature a surprise reunion, and a moment many of you were certainly waiting for! Of course, Team Rocket will once again try to cause trouble, but I guess it wouldn't be a Pokemon story without those lovable buffoons!
Anyway, not all is sunshine and games, and in fact Zoey and her friends will have to deal with the disaster that befell Snowpoint City... that will be a somewhat darker part, so know what to expect.
And... didn't anyone recognize that Damien guy who is working under J? Really? ^_^
Oh, well... anyway, it's time for the new chapter! I hope you'll enjoy it... and please, feel free to review to your heart's content! I may not be a review freak, but I'd like to know whether my work is good or not.
oooooooooo
Chapter 10 - Spreading Wings
"Oh, for crying out loud, what on Earth is going on here? I've been waiting for this stupid ship to Hoenn for the longgest time!" Ursula exclaimed, truly at her wits' end. She had already bought the ticket, prepared her luggage and gotten ready for the journey, and for the third time in a row, she got no other answer other than the fact that the ship wouldn't have departed because of weather conditions. Just what was going on, and why was nobody finding asolution to this?
The agent Ursula was talking with shrugged, sincerely sorry about not being able to help the young peach-haired girl in a more significant way. "We're sorry, miss..." he said, recognizing one of the Sinnoh Grand Festival finalists. "There are still there strange perturbations, and a storm could happen any moment... even a ship as large as the one we're using would be in danger now. I'm sorry, but travelling to Hoenn by ship is a no-no, at the moment."
Ursula felt herself shivering in rage, but she understood that there was nothing she could do other than seethe about it. "Ugh... okay, guess I'll have to live with that... though it's a real shame to have spent money on a ticket I'm not even going to use... darn..." she murmured. "And while I'm twiddling my thumbs here, Dawn and Zoey must be out there, training like crazy... I can't fall behind! I want to show them who the best Coordinator is... but where can I get my Pokemon some decent training? Rats... well, let's see what the departure table says..."
As she got away from the crowd, murmuring in anger under her breath, Ursula looked up to the electric departure table, upon which the times for the confirmed ships were showing up. She was once again annoyed that the only remaining ships available were those going to Johto, Kanto, Reborn and Orre. For a moment, she shivered at the idea that someone could actually be insane enough to want to go to those hellholes called Reborn and Orre...
"Ugh... I wouldn't go there if you paid me..." she muttered with a comically disgusted face, an angry vein popping up on her forehead. "Well, guess I have no choice but to go to either Johto or Kanto... where nobody has probably even heard of coordinating contests! Meh, it can't be helped. After all, I need a place where I can train my Pokemon... but I guess I'd better ask them first."
The peach-haired girl stepped out of the ticket office and sat on a bench outside, calling out her Pokemon one by one. "Okay, guys... come out for a second, I need to ask you something!" Ursula said. Beams of red light cascaded out of her Pokeballs, revealing a very varied Pokemon team: a Gabite, the first evolved form of Gible and Garchomp's pre-evolution, other than Ursula's strongest Pokemon; a Plusle and a Minun; a Jigglypuff... and finally, the latest two additions in Ursula's team, a Flareon and a Vaporeon. They all stood to attention before their trainer, who stroked each one of them on the head affectionately before asking her question.
"Alright, everyone... I guess we can forget about Hoenn." she bitterly stated, feeling somewhat guilty for giving her Pokemon such disappointing news. "There seem to be weather problems... and nobody is doing anything to find a solution! Hmph... Still, if you'd like, there is an alternative..."
"Jigglypuff?" the singing Pokemon asked, blinking hopefully.
"Well, we could go to Kanto or Johto, for example... there are ships for Orre, too, but you wouldn't catch me dead in that pit of tigers!" Ursula answered. "Anyway, what do you say about it? Not that there are Coordinating contests there, but at least we can train and refine our technique. You get to choose, do we stay here in Sinnoh, or do we go somewhere else?"
"Gabite!" Gabite roared, pointing at the port. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what the landshark meant... and even the two Eevee evolutions gave an affirmative answer. Plusle and Minun waved their arms up and down, themselves agreeing with their companions' choice... and finally, Jigglypuff winked at her trainer, who just grinned in assent.
"Perfect, then we're all set on this! I will exchange my ticket for a ticket to Kanto, and we'll begin our training there. It won't be as effective as the one we would be doing in Hoenn, but at least we'll be able to see a few new things. And we can always reach Hoenn from there, anyway. Well, for now you should return. We'll probably depart tomorrow, and you need to be well-rested! This is our first journey abroad, after all..."
All her Pokemon agreed enthusiastically, and the young girl recalled them in their respective Pokeballs before standing up and walking to a public phone. Before exchanging her ticket and jumping on the ship to Kanto, she still needed to warn her parents of this sudden change of plans...
oooooooooo
"Aaaah, Viridian Forest! This was where I caught my very first Pokemon!" Ash exclaimed as he stretched happily, filling his lungs with the fresh, scented air of the forest as he and his travelling companions made their way through the tall grass, admiring the sights around them. Dawn, in particular, seemed enthralled by the woods' simple beauty, and by the plentiful flowers and diverse Bug Pokemon running around them. Other than common Caterpie or Weedle, it was possible to glimpse some Spinarak or Ledyba, who had recently migrated there from Johto.
"Really, Ash? I didn't know that!" the young girl said, her curiosity piqued. "Do you still remember how it happened? And which Pokemon was it?"
"Well... it was a common Caterpie, in fact..." the young boy admitted, looking at a group of far away bushes and reminiscing with nostalgia. Had four years really gone by since he and Misty had passed through those woods? He still remembered how much he had teased her for her fear of Bug Pokemon... "Yeah, it was still the beginning of my journey, when I and Pikachu still didn't quite get along... and shortly after, my Caterpie evolved into a Metapod, and finally into a Butterfree! It was a really exciting moment... and who knows where my Butterfree is now. I set him free when thereproductive season started and now... well, I hope he's happy with his beloved!"
"I guess so..." Dawn answered sadly, as she admired a small group of Pidgey fluttering among the branches. Ash and Brock looked that way as well, and Pikachu, remembering who Ash's second Pokemon had been, raised one of his short paws as if asking for permission to speak.
"Pika pi! Pika ka pikachu pika pikachu?" he exclaimed in his apparently gibberish language. Ash remained surprised for a moment... then, he rubbed the back of his head with a goofy laugh!
"Hehehee... right, Pikachu, you've got a point here! This is also where I caught my second Pokemon, a Pidgeotto..." Ash remembered. "It wasn't exactly a roaring success at first, since I used Caterpie to try and catch him... I didn't remember birds eat caterpillars!"
"Gee, so that's true... we are all kinda clumsy when we start out as trainers!" Dawn joked. A distant buzz belonging to a roaming Beedrill scared her for a second, and the blue-haired girl stopped for a second before continuing her speech. "Er... anyway, where is your Pidgeotto now? Did you set him free as well?"
"Yeah... in fact, just before I departed for the Orange Islands, Pidgeotto had evolved into a Pidgeot... he had wanted to stay with a group of Pidgey and Pidgeotto to protect them from a flock of Spearow. I... had promised him that I would have been back to see him again, but... with all that happened, I always managed to forget about it... I know, I know, that's no excuse, but still..."
"Well, since we're going back to Pallet Town, you're still in time to make good on that promise!" Brock, always the voice of reason, stated. "I think that, if you go to him and apologize, Pidgeot will understand and forgive you. After all, you have nothing to lose by doing so, right?"
"You're right, Brock... this time, I am going to remember that!" Ash affirmed, somewhat more convinced. "I will use these days to go back to the place where I last saw Pidgeot and his flock, and..."
Pikachu suddenly raised his ears, his demeanor turning dead serious. "Pika?" he squeaked, raising a hand and telling his companions to stop right there. Surprised, Ash, Dawn and Brock stopped right then and there, a slight rustling sound coming from the ground as they halted...
And a split second later, the trap was sprung! The grass, which had seemed perfectly normal until then, raised half an inch in the air to reveal a net of entwined ropes that quickly closed in on the three friends, coiling tightly around them and raising them in the air among short screams of surprise, before leaving them to dangle helplessly from the branches of a huge tree! Pikachu squeaked in alarm, as Ash and his friends tried to struggle against the trap...
"Pika pi! Pika ka, pika chu!" the electric mouse exclaimed... until a glass dome fell on him, cutting him off in mid-sentence!
"Oh no... Pikachu!" Ash tried struggling harder to detangle himself from both the net and his friends' bodies, in the attempt to reach a Pokeball... but the space was just too crammed, and even Dawn and Brock were struggling to get free, which only made things harder for the young boy. "Ugh... hey, guys, would you kindly move? I... tch... must reach my Pokeballs..."
"We'd gladly do it, Ash..." Brock answered, remarkably keeping his cool. "But... we don't have much room here... we can't move much ourselves!"
"Who on Earth might have placed such a trap?" Dawn asked herself, before abruptly stopping. "No, wait. I... think I can answer that one for myself!"
Of course, the answer took the form of a triumphant laugh, and a huge hot air balloon saped like a Meowth's head soaring above the treetops, dragging the glass dome Pikachu was trapped in along with itself - isolating dome, Ash could bet on that. "Hohohohooo! Welcome home, twerp!" Jessie exclaimed as she, James and Meowth triumphantly dropped in. "Still, we're playing in our home turf as well, as you can plainly see! And if you don't mind, we'll now be taking your Pikachu and bringing him to our boss!"
"And I wouldn't try to wriggle my way free, if I were you!" James added. "At this point, I don't think it would do you any good... that net is pretty tight, and you won't be able to reach your Pokeballs! Let it never be said that Team Rocket does not account for everything! Heheheee..."
Meowth nodded in satisfaction. "You see how our traps work better when we spring them before saying our motto? And now... come on, do your thing!"
"With pleasure, Meowth!" James answered as he produced a red rose right out of nowhere! Then, taking advantage of the fact that their captive audience - in every sense of the word - was not going anywhere, the two clumsy criminals began to recite their trademark motto.
"Prepare for trouble, that's our moment of glory!"
"And make it double, it's a whole new story!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people in our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our power to the starts above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!"
"Wobbuffet!" the ever-present Wobbuffet exclaimed in his usual salute!
"There... I knew it... now that Team Rocket has gone back to their old motto, they're not stopping anytime soon..." Ash commented to himself... then, he tried to shake the net holding him and his friends, in a rather vain attempt to break or at least loosen the ropes. "Anyway... you two! What are you thinking? Give Pikachu back, or else..."
Jessie's laughter echoed out again. "Hohohohoooo! Or else what, twerp? You're gonna yell at me? Now you're all tied up to a branch, and you can't even send your Pokemon out, so... very sorry about that,but this time we get to win! Without even sending our Pokemon out, I might add!"
"So... we say goodbye to you, and we'll make sure to send your regards to the boss as well! See ya, and be safe!" James concluded. Before Ash's powerless eyes, the hot air balloon took altitude and dragged the - electric-proof, as Ash had suspected - glass dome Pikachu was trapped in along with it. The electric mouse was shooting one thunderbolt after the other in a vain attempt to get free.
"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed, futilely calling for his friend.
"Darn..." Dawn tried to get free from the net and reach for her Pokeballs, but it was so cramped in there that she had no chance. "If only I could get Togekiss out, then we'd be set!"
"Hehee... sorry 'bout that, kids, but we won this time!" Meowth taunted them. "Well, to make you feel better, since you've been winning for so many episodes now, you can be content with what you've got! See ya!"
A warlike scream, similar to the keening of a bird of prey, interrupted the criminal trio... and Jessie, James and Meowth looked around in amazement, asking themselves where that came from. Thanks to his particularly keen sight, Meowth was the first to notice something flying in the hot air balloon's direction... and judging from the colours, number and size, it couldn't be anything else than a smallflock of Pidgeys! What alarmed the feline Pokemon, though, was the fact that the leader of the flock was a large, majestic Pidgeot, whose colourful plumage seemed to shine in the light of the sun as it soared towards the Meowth balloon...
"Huh? Guys, I dunno about you, but I have the uneasy feeling those Pidgeys have a grudge against us..." Meowth commented. "And look at that Pidgeot leading them!"
Jessie and James turned in the direction Meowth was pointing in... and they both frowned as they glimpsed the flock of Flying Pokemon executing a spectacular maneuver, like a squadron of fighter jets, as they followed the Pidgeot leader along two perfect lines. The Team Rocket members didn't much like how the pigeon Pokemon seemed to be readying an attack en masse against them...
"I don't like those birds at all..." Jessie commented, extracting a Pokeball. "We need a hand here, Yanmega! Come out!"
"Carnivine!" James exclaimed. "I choose you!"
The enormous dragonfly appeared in front of the hot air balloon and immediately took to the air, while the carnivorous plant wrapped his vines around James in a show of affection as soon as it appeared! The blue-haired young man immediately tried to wriggle free of that suffocating embrace, with little success. "Ugh... Carnivine, glad to see you're so loving and all, but this isn't the moment! Please, help us out with those Pidgeys!"
"Carnivine!" the carnivorous plant answered before turning his attention on the incoming Pidgeys. Their Pidgeot leader was flying circles around Team Rocket's balloon, like some sort of flying shark circling its prey.
Meanwhile, even if trapped inside the glass dome, Pikachu was able to glance upwards, curious to see his mysterious rescuer. There was something familiar about that Pokemon, though Pikachu couldn't quite put his finger on it... it was a reminescence of a few years earlier...
Waitaminute!
Pikachu's ears perked up in surprise... and he also felt some shame for not remembering things right away! Of course! How could such a thing slip from his mind? There was no doubt, that Pidgeot leading his smaller brethren against Team Rocket was no one else than...
"Quick, Carnivine! Shoot down those Pidgeys with Bullet Seed!" James ordered his Grass Pokemon, who quickly took aim and began shooting an hail of seed against the small bird Pokemons, hitting some of them and forcing the flock to disperse... but only to execute a flawless diversive maneuver and dive to attack again, their wings beating furiously in an attempt to kick up enough wind to stop the hot air balloon
"Ugh... hold on tight, guys!" Jessie exclaimed. "Those little runts are doing a mass Gust attack to topple us! Stop them, Yanmega!"
The Ogre Garner Pokemon let out a frightening buzz and her incredibly keen eyes caught Pidgeot flying around the balloon, getting closer and closer each second. Immediately, she rose up in the air and sped towards Pidgeot, unleashing an Ancient Power attack against him. A few floating rocks appeared around the dragonfly Pokemon lithe body, before being chucked telecinetically against the enemy... but Pidgeot's sight was not any less keen that Yanmega's and the Flying Pokemon quickly took notice of the danger.
Yanmega's stones were about a metre away from him when Pidgeot suddenly seemed to split in two identical versions of himself, leaving an after-image of himself which was harmlessly pierced by the Ancient Power attack. Yanmega could only gape in amazement before an heavy feather-covered wings smacked her hard, sending her towards the Team Rocket balloon. Luckily for her, Carnivine extended one of his vines and caught her by the tail, keeping her from losing too much altitude. The gigantic dragonfly flew upright again and nodded towards Carnivine in order to thank her, then turned to Pidgeot right when the giant pigeon was trying to attack again! The indignated Yanmega retaliated with a powerful Bug Buzz attack, launching a barrage of sonic waves from her wings and striking Pidgeot head-on, forcing him to fly backwards a little. Meanwhile, Carnivine was using his vines to keep the more aggressive Pidgeys away. Two of the small birds had managed to evade the carnivorous plant's attacks and were now trying to strike the hot air balloon, but they were sent away by Wobbuffet's Counter attack.
"Look, guys... that's one heck of a battle up there!" Brock commented, looking at the small flock of Flying Pokemon holding Team Rocket's balloon in place. "That Pidgeot sure knows his stuff..."
"We can see that... and he brought a nice number of Pidgey too..." Dawn answered. "But... why did they intervene like this?"
"I... have no idea..." Ash said, but in truth, he had the same strange feeling Pikachu had had earlier, and the idea was making his heart race. What if that Pidgeot was actually... his Pidgeot? The more Ash stood watching the battle, the more convinced he was...
In the skies above Viridian Forest, Yanmega and Pidgeot were entangled in battle once again, and while the giant garner had a type disadvantage, she was putting up a great fight! She and the giant pigeon were matching each other blow for blow, clashing in midair and then getting away from each other, without making much progress. Pidgeeot managed to catch Yanmega off guard for a second and smacked her with a powerful Wing Attack, but the giant dragonfly was able to recover quickly and retailated with an Air Cutter attack, striking with her razor-sharp wings. Pidgeot screeched in indignation as a few red and yellow feathers were cut off the thick plumage on top of his head, but reacted quickly by rapidly beating his wings in front of himself, launching a Whirlwind attack that forced Yanmega away from him and gave him some breathing room. Then, he called for his little brethren, who quickly disengaged Team Rocket and flew at their leader''s side... and Pidgeot quickly began summoning a group of whirlwinds around himself and his pre-evolved forms.
"Hmm... that must be a Tailwind attack..." Brock commented. "It allows a Pokemon to greatly increase both his own speed and that of his allies, for a short time. That Pidgeot must be quite well-trained for him to know this move."
Ash smiled almost involuntarily. Well, that was his Pidgeot, after all...
"Hey, guys, what are they doing?" Meowth asked, not liking how this was going. Carnivine, Yanmega and Wobbuffet tried to keep an eye on the Flying-types, but even so, they were caught unaware when the small birds sped towards the hot air balloon and the rope holding Pikachu in midair! Some of the Pidgeys struck the rope with a series of quick and powerful Wing Attacks, causing it to snap... and two more of them caught the glass dome before it could fall, saving Pikachu under Team Rocket's incredulous eyes!
"Hey! You can't take that Pikachu away from us! We stole him fair and square!" an enraged Jessie exclaimed. "Carnivine, Yanmega, what are you doing? You have to stop them, now!"
"Er, Jessie..." James murmured, faerfully pointing in front of himself. "Not to rain on your parade or anything, but... those Pidgeys are the last of our worries! Look what that guy is doing!"
Jessie and Meowth switched their attention to the gigantic, multicolored pigeon circling the balloon... just in time to see him launch a spectacular Sky Attack, his body turning into some sort of torpedo and speeding towards his target! Its sharp beak struck true, causing the balloon to explode with a deafening boom and propelling the clumsy trio and their Pokemon in the upper regions of the stratosphere!
"Aaaaargh! I can't believe this! Just when we had them beat!" Jessie screamed, uselessly flailing her arms around.
"And we had taken their Pokemon out of commission, too..." James murmured, as his Carnivine went back to hugging him affectionately!
Meowth shook his head in desolation. "What can I say, guys... looks like even in fanfiction, we're out of luck..." he murmured. Yanmega buzzed in irritation, swearing revenge against that Pidgeot... and then, Team Rocket once again became a twinkle in the sky, accompanied by Wobbuffet's call!
"Team Rocket... IS BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"
"Wobbuffet!"
Meanwhile, the remaining Pidgeys were trying to get Ash, Dawn and Brock free from Team Rocket's trap, using their beaks to sever the ropes, and finally causing the three friends to drop to the ground in a none-too-elegant manner and with their faces in the dust! Ash stood up first and dusted his trousers as he looked at the small bird Pokemon fluttering around him and his friends.
"Owww... thanks, guys! Maybe the landing wasn't perfect, but I can live with it! Dawn, Brock... you alright?" asked Ash as his travelling companions stood up.
"Yeah, none the worse for wear!" Dawn quickly assured him as she dusted her skirt and placed her hat back on her head. "What about Pikachu? Is he alright?"
"Yes, fortunately..." Ash said with a relieved sigh, as he watched a copule Pidgeys gently drop down the glass cage Team Rocket had placed Pikachu in. The electric mouse shook off the glass dome and ran to his trainer, jumping in his arms. "Pikachu! You okay, right? That Pidgeot that helped us... did you manage to see him well enough?"
"Pika!" Pikachu nodded. "Pika pi, pika pika chu!"
Ash's expression of wonder soon turned into a joyous smile: then, it really was true... "Is... is that so, Pikachu? The Pidgeot that saved us was actually... He... really came for us?" When Dawn looked quizzically at him, Ash cleared his throat and explained. "About that Pidgeotto I spoke of... He's the one who's come to help us now! Pikachu recognized him... though I did feel like I knew that Pidgeot from somewhere! Yes, that's him... my Pidgeot!"
"What? Are... are you serious?" Dawn exclaimed, both surprised and happy for her friend. "I... I'm happy about it... but why did you feel like you already knew him?"
"That... I can't say, Dawn..." Ash answered as the Pidgeys roosted all around them, as if they wanted to create an improvised audience for their leader, who was descending wings akimbo, his feathers majestically waving in the wind. Pikachu and his friends protected their eyes from the dust Pidgeot was kicking up, while Ash stepped forward enthusiastically to speak with his old companion. Brock and Dawn stood apart, knowing that it was a very important moment for Ash, and not wishing to disturb him, and Pidgeot landed and spread his wings once again, his eyes bearing some - in Ash's opinion, perfectly understandable - resentment...
Much to his chagrin, Ash found himself at a loss for words. What can you say to a friend you haven't seen in four years, and to whom you've made a promise you never kept? Which words would be right to express your regret? Ash and Pikachu did not know how to start... and Pidgeot's cold, scolding attitude didn't help matter any...
"Er..." Ash tried to buy himself a little time. "Pidgeot... first of all... well... I... need to thank you for bailing us out... and for chasing Team Rocket away. You... did us all a great favor and..."
The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Pidgeot and the other Pidgeys stood in silence, not moving a feather, and kept staring at Ash and Pikachu, as if expecting something from them. The boy and his Pokemon looked around them, and Ash briefly looked at Brock as if he could give him a quick tip on how to get out of that sticky situation. Finally, after clearing his throat, Ash stepped forward and bowed his head a little. "And... I wanted to say that I'm sorry, Pidgeot. You've got every right to be angry at me... true, I did promise to come visit you, four years ago, and yet I never came. I... was too excited to see the world, challenge more leagues and become a Pokemon Master... and I never made time for you... that's all my fault. I know nothing of what I'm saying justifies me, but... please, believe me, I'm sorry for not keeping my promise, and know that, if you don't want to be my friend anymore... I can understand."
Pidgeot seemed to frown at that and, with a brief chirp and a nod of his head, motioned for Ash to come closer. The young champion and Pikachu were somewhat dumbfound, but they did as they were asked, while Dawn and Brock kept asking themselves how the giant pigeon would have reacted...
"What's going to happen now?" Dawn asked in a somewhat worried tone. "That Pidgeot looks quite angry... not that I can blame him, of course..."
"Let's just wait and see..." Brock answered. Ash and Pikachu were now in front of Pidgeot, who kept staring at them for a while...
Finally, Pidgeot reared a wing back... and used it to slap Ash across the face, to the point where Ash lost his footing and dropped to the ground with a pained grunt! Dawn grit her teeth and winced - the sound of the impact was heard all the way where she and Brock were standing!
"Owww... bet that stung..." the blue-haired girl commented. "Well, not that Ash didn't do anything to deserve it..."
Ash slowly picked himself up, rubbing his bruised cheek... and, as Pikachu was looking at him worriedly, he smiled and nodded his head to Pidgeot. "Guess I had that one coming, huh?" he asked with a brief chuckle, before Pidgeot - who had seemed angry and aloof until then - smiled himself, letting out some melodic calls resembling a real pigeon's.
"Pidgeot, pidgeot... pidgeot!" the Flying-type exclaimed as he extended a wing to his former trainer! Pikachu, after a brief moment of surprised, chuckled himself and translated with a series of high-pitched squeaks.
"Oh... really? Well, glad to know that! Heheheee..." Ash exclaimed with a goofy laugh, before turning to Dawn and Brock. "Well... Pidgeot said that Wing Attack he slapped me with forgives me! He just told me... never to do that again!"
Dawn chuckled and rolled her eyes. So the situation wasn't really as serious as it looked! In turn, Brock shook his head with an amused smile and placed the index and middle fingers of his right hand on his temple, while Ash and Pikachu joyfully clung to Pidgeot's wing... and the Pidgey, pleased that the matter had been resolved in the best way, began to coo and chirp merrily.
"Anyway ... I'm glad to see you again, Pidgeot!" Ash replied to his first Flying Pokemon. "And again... I regret not having kept my promise. I will try to be more responsible from now on... I learned a lot in my travels around the world, but I see that for some things, I still have a long way to go..."
"Pidgeot ..." said the giant pigeon, with a shrug - as if to say there was no need to think that much. Then, intrigued by the reason why Ash and his companions had returned to Kanto, raised his head and chirped again, which Pikachu translated for everyone...
"Pidgeot wants to know why, after having been away for so long, we decided to come back ..." Ash said. "Well, Pidgeot, let's just say that... the fact is, I wanted to see my friends and my mom in Kanto, and furthermore, Professor Oak... you remember him, right... spoke of a problem for which he needs my help. So... I and my friends... by the way, this is Dawn, a Pokemon Coordinator from Sinnoh..." At these words, Dawn took a step forward and greeted Pidgeot with a wave of her hand. "...as I was saying, my friends and I were the people whom Prof. Oak could trust better... So here we are! We arrived in Pewter City last night, and now we were going through the Viridian Forest to go back to Pallet Town... even though I think we will still have a couple of days of travelling ahead of us..."
The giant pigeon frowned... then, with a stern gesture of his beak, he pointed to his back and spread his wings. "Pidgeot!" he exclaimed, making it very clear what his intentions were...
"What? Pidgeot says... that he can give us a lift?" Brock asked. "Pidgeot, we really appreciate your offer, but are you sure you can carry three people... with all their baggages? The way to Pallet is still quite long, and there's also the group of Pidgey and Pidgeotto you look after... "
"Pidgeot, Pidgeot!" said the giant pigeon, moving a wing in front of himself... then, he crouched low on the ground, opened both wings, and then motioned again for Ash and his friends to climb on him!
"Pika pika!" Pikachu answered, leaping on Pidgeot's back. And this time, there was no need for a translator to understand what he was saying!
"Hehe ... I think he said, 'Well, gentlemen, all aboard!'" Dawn commented with a small laugh, while everyone was busy taking his seat on Pidgeot's back...
oooooooooo
"Phew... and with that, I'd say we're done for today ..." Maylene sighed, feeling terribly tired and exhausted. She and her Pokemon, of which Machoke and Lucario were still out of their Pokeballs and close to her, had spent the whole day trying to help the people of Snowpoint City in taking out the piles of snow and rubble that littered the streets. Fortunately, the disaster was not as bad as she had feared ... but this did not mean that the city had gotten off lightly. Unfortunately, during the recue operations, three people were found dead, and two were still missing ...
Zoey and Candice, both of whom were sitting on an armchair in Snowpoint City's Pokemon Center, didn't feel much better than their friend... and the red-haired girl, with a sigh, stood with her back against the wall and stretched. "Yeah, for today... but there's still a lot of work to do... and some people are still missing. Unfortunately... " She said, looking with sadness at the Pokeball containing her faithful Gallade. The Psychic / Fighting Pokemon had worked hard that day, and had been able to rescue two boys from what was left of a house, but now it was so exhausted that Zoey didn't think he would be able to get out of his Pokeball the next day. They could only do so much in a single day...
Candice, in the meanwhile, remained sullenly silent, looking out the window and towards the snowflakes that slowly and solemnly rained down from the night sky. The atmosphere was strange, almost eerie... the silence seemed to palpable, and the fact that Candice, normally a cheerful and outgoing girl, had closed herself in that withdrawn silence, did not help. It was obvious that Candice was very upset by what had happened to her city, and both Zoey and Maylene wanted to do something to comfort her... or at least, to let her mind be more at ease..
"Three people have died in this disaster ..." Candice finally said, her dreary voice alone breaking the silence of the Pokemon Center room. "Two were mere teens, another one was a wife and a mother who left a husband and children... I can't believe all this happened... Since Snowpoint City was founded, more than three hundred years ago... the mountain has always been our friend! "
"Candice..." Maylene murmured. The Ice Pokemon expert hugged her knees, bowing her head, and continued to speak, as if not even noticing her two friends.
"And while all this was happening, I was away..." she said. "If only I had been there, maybe we could have avoided all this... maybe I could help out more with the rescue operations, and those people would still be alive ... I feel like it's my fault for not being able to be here before..."
"But... how could you know? I don't think anyone could predict that, all of a sudden, an avalanche would have come down and struck, could they?" Zoey asked, placing a hand on Candice's shoulder. The black-haired girl looked up... and before she could answer, Zoey kept speaking. "Nobody could predict that... and it's useless to think how things might have gone. None of us can predict the future, right? And... well... look at things from this point of view... maybe if you had stayed here, you'd been involved too. And now there might be four victims instead of three. I know it sounds cold, but... well... it's true! So... do not blame yourself for that. Believe me, it's not healthy..."
"Zoey is right, who could have predicted all of this?" Maylene went on. "There was nothing we could have done anyway..."
It was true, and Candice knew as much... but the idea that his city had been struck by such a disaster was difficult to cope with. After a moment of silence, the Ice trainer rubbed the sole of her shoe on the wooden floor, and gave her answer. "That's... well, you're right, girls, I understand this... but... but still, I can't wrap my head around this! What could have happened to trigger an avalanche so suddenly, like this? I... I have a feeling that it was not natural causes... don't ask me why, but I feel like this..."
Maylene rubbed her forehead and got up from her chair, walking to the window on the other side of the room and looking towards the mountain that stood over the entire city. For a moment, the little karate master stood there, looking out of the window and making her friends wonder what she was thinking... Then, Maylene nodded, gripped her hand into a fist, and turned towards her companions!
'Well, why don't we go find out for ourselves, girls?" she asked, receiving two surprised looks in return. "No, I'm not kidding! After all, me and Candice are two Sinnoh League Gym Leaders, and Zoey is a very good coordinator... I am sure we can face such a journey... and maybe discover what's behind all of this! If that's the case... we will find the ones responsible, and we will make sure they can cause no more harm! Don't you agree?"
"Machoke?" Maylene's Machoke answered with a surprised look. Zoey and Candice didn't look too different...
"You mean... to go up there on Mt. Coronet... and search for the cause of this avalanche?" Candice answered, getting back some of her spunk. "Are... are you serious, Maylene? And... if we do find out that there's someone behind it, what do we do?"
Zoey, however, seemed to take Maylene's idea in serious consideration. "Still... I can't say I disagree with that!" she said. "I agree, we should go take a look up there... once our Pokemon are well rested, obviously! I am curious to know how could this happen myself... and maybe, if we discover the cause, we can prevent this disaster from happening again. Don't you agree, Candice? "
"Well ..." Snowpoint City's Gym Leader stood thinking for a few seconds. In fact, her friends were right... if the cause of the avalanche was still on Mt. Coronet... they might as well go and see what it was, in order to avoid problems in the future. The town was going to take several days to rebuild what was lost ... and in the meantime, if another avalanche had fallen, there was no telling what would have happened...
Finally, Candice weakly smiled and stood up, nodding vigorously! "Okay, then! You can count on Candice, too! We'll go there, and we'll ensure that this will not happen again, you have Candice's word! Staying here and chatting won't solve anything... "
Zoey seemed happy with this decision. "I'm glad to hear you say that, Candice!" she said '. "You seem to have gotten your spunk back! All right, Maylene, I agree with this idea as well! We let our Pokemonrest ... and then, we're of to Mt. Coronet to see what's going on! "
"Excellent!" Maylene exclaimed, a fist in the air. "Okay... Machoke, Lucario... you think you can handle this? It won't be a cakewalk, this should be clear enough. But... well, it will be a great workout, and we can lend Zoey and Candice a hand! What do you think? "
"Machoke!" said the muscular Fighting Pokemon, flexing his arm to show his biceps. Lucario didn't say a word, he just crossed his arms over his chest and nodded in agreement.
"Thanks, girls... you two are the best friends I could have!" Candice answered, feeling a lot more heartened now...
oooooooooo
"Sigh... okay, so the boss would like us to blindly dig in this stone wall, to search for traces of a legendary Pokemon?" a masked agent whined, angrily watching the jagged wall that stood before him and his group. "It's a drag to explore these darn tunnels already... now we even have to act like mine slaves?"
The three men who were at that moment in front of the stone wall, in the depths of a cave carved in the depths of Mount Ember, were among the same mysterious men to whom J had given orders to track down Moltres... and now, to get to work, they had covered their faces with some sort of gas mask that, instead of making them seem more threatening, gave them a rather ridiculous look. Not to mention the fact that, in the warm and dry those mysterious tunnels, that was not exactly the most comfortable clothing...
"Quit your complaining, Damien..." one of his companions muttered. "We will d whatever we need to... after all, Lady J doesn't make us work for free! After our organization's plan are successful, we will have in our hands the most powerful Pokemon on the face of the planet! Is that not reason enough to take some inconveniences?"
The agent named Damien growled unpleasantly. "Tch... well, better than with that retarded Charmander who could not even fight!" he said. "Okay, okay, let's give it a rest. So, in a nutshell... we have to do surveys for the excavation work beginning in a few days, right?"
"Exactly." the third person replied laconically. "So now we quit complaining and we get to..."
A fearful howl, like the wind blowing among the rocks, but amplified by dozens of times, echoed in the cave, and caused the three masked agents to jump up in fear... before a grinning Gengar came out of the shadows behind them, closely followed by an elegant smoky Pokemon with a necklace of red beads around his neck, and whose head was shaped somewhat like a witch's hat. His arms ended in a pair of fuzzy puffs of smoke where the hands should have been, and his eyes had cat-like pupils that regarded with a haughty disinterest the world around them.
"W... What?" Damien exclaimed. "Wh... where do these ghosts come from?"
As his companions pulled their Pokeballs out, Gengar stepped forward, grinning like a prankster who about to play a funny joke... while Migmagius remained neutral, floating eerily in the air, his eyes shining like two beacons in the night. And behind them, barely visible in the shadows, a female form was advancing calmly, almost distractedly playing with a Pokeball.
"Who are you to intrude in our business?" Barked one of the masked individuals. "What are you doing here? You're these stupid Ghost Pokemon trainer, aren't you?"
Gengar's grin turned into a frown, while Mismagius simply raised his head, as if to say those insults were so dumb that they didn't even merit getting angry about. The mysterious girl, meanwhile, tossed her Pokeball in the air and caught it on the way down, with absolute nonchalance.
"Stupid Ghost Pokemon?" she replied sarcastically. Damien could swear to have seen her smile, even in the darkness. "You better watch what you say, my little friends can be quite touchy. And... you've got some nerve calling me an intruder, considering you were the first to desecrate this place! You were trying to catch the legendary Fire Titan, Moltres, right? "
This point-blank rebuttal caused the three agents to take a step backwards. How did that girl figure things out so quickly? Who was she, really?
"As I thought. And I cannot let the power of the legendary Pokemon be used by the likes of you." She continued. "Therefore, I must kindly ask you to leave this place. Should you refuse... then, I'll just have my Ghost Pokemon be a little more convincing. Gengar, Mismagius... by all means!"
The two spectral Pokemon didn't need to hear that twice, and while the intruders let their own Pokemon out, they clasped their hands together and began creating a pair of spheres of utter darkness in front of themselves...
oooooooooo
Pidgeot's flight had lasted several hours, only being interrupted by a brief pause to allow Ash, Pikachu, Brock and Dawn to stretch their legs a little... but finally, by the time the sun was setting behind the horizon, painting the sky a romantic orange tinge, the giant bird had landed, with a skilled yet silent maneuver, on a low hilltop, near a winding road Ash and Pikachu were very familiar with...
"Pidgeot!" the giant pigeon exclaimed, crouching on the ground and motioning for the group to get down, which Ash and his friends quickly did. The boy walked to his one-time Pokemon, patting him on the head to thank him for a job well done.
"Thank you, Pidgeot, you've really been a great help!" he said. "I promise that you won't have to wait so long next time for me to show up... so, as soon as we've solved the problem we came her for, we'll meet again! Okay?"
"Pidgeot, Pidgeot..." replied the majestic winged Pokemon, watching Ash and his friends with pride. The solemn moment lasted for a few seconds, before Pikachu's shrill voice called everyone to get back on the road...
"Pika pi!" the electric rodent squeaked, stopping a few meters away from the team. Pikachu was standing up, enthusiastically pointing to the horizon, his ears upright and his cheeks crackling! Ash and Brock, knowing what the electric Pokemon wanted to say, beckoned to Dawn and Pidgeot to keepthe pace and began running towards the point where Pikachu was...
And when the trio of Pokemon trainers and the Flying Pokemon reached the top of the hill, they were rewarded with a view that, although not as stunning as some of the things they saw during their trip, was still very significant to them: the small town had changed enough since Ash had left for the last time, and now had a more modern, and more comfortable look... But there still was no mistaking it!
"Ash... that's..." Dawn asked with great anticipation. She already had a hunch about the answer.
Ash picked up Pikachu and, his eyes filled with nostalgia, took a first tentative step towards the town. "It is, Dawn. That's Pallet Town... the city where I was born!"
Finally, after months on the road, Ash and Pikachu were back home...
oooooooooo
TO BE CONTINUED...
Author's Note: Finally, our friends are back in Pallet Town, where it all started! I apologize for the rather dark Candice interlude, but in this case, I felt that it was necessary, in order for the scenery to be set and for a little foreshadowing of events to come. While I'm not exactly the biggest Zoey fangirl in the world, I admit I always liked the idea of making her, Candice and Maylene into some sort of Lovely Angels trio... though, I'll let you be the judge of whether the idea works or not!
Stay tuned for next chapter, which will feature a treat for all my fellow Pokeshippers! See you soon, and please review!