POKEMON HEART SOUL ADVENTURES
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Chapter 45 - Welcome back, Butterfree!
Paul had never liked to waste time. He had always believed that, if one had an objective, the best way to achieve it was to give it all one had in order to make it come true, without using shortcuts or taking the easy way out. And if someone was going to be in his way, well, he was certainly not going to stop for that one.
Which is why, nw that he was on his way back to Viridian City after having his Pokemon rest at Mt. Silver's Pokemon Center, he was annoyed at the trainer who was standing a few feet in front of him, determined to challenge him. And, as if this wasn't annoying enough, Paul had the impression that this guy had something personal against him.
"What do you want with me?" Paul asked coldly, a Pokeball in his hand. The young man in front of him seemed to be about one or two years older than him, with red hair and a freckled face, dressed in a short-sleeved green shirt, red shorts, whte sneakers and a baseball cap on his head. There was something about him that annoyed Paul, and at the same time something familiar, though the purple-haired trainer couldn't exactly say what was it. Still, the fact remained that this guy seemed to have something against him.
"You really don't remember me, Paul?" the red-haired trainer asked, grabbing one of his Pokeballs. "Hmph... I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised, after all. Your opponents have never been anything but stepping stones to you, right? Well, in that case, let me give you a reminder! Do you remember last year's Johto Conference? The one before you went back to Sinnoh to show your dear brother how strong you had become?"
"What does that have to do with anything? Quit talking in riddles and go straight to the point." Paul answered annoyedly. If this guy's goal was to get on his nerves, he was doing quite a good job of it.
His opponent shrugged in disgust. "As you wish. We met at the preliminary rounds in that particular competition! I had put all of myself into training my Pokemon, in order to compete before the champions of the Johto Pokemon League and make a name for myself! I always tried to strenghten my Pokemon and learn as much as I could in order to become an elite Pokemon trainer... then, I met you and you destroyed my dream! No matter how much I tried, you were too much for me to handle, and none of my strategies could do anything to your Pokemon! You humiliated me in front of all those people... and not satisfied with this, you even had the gall to tell me that I was one of the weakest trainers you had ever faced, and that I should stop being a softie to my Pokemon and give up competing!"
Paul was completely unfazed. "I tell it like it is." he said simply. "If you couldn't defeat me, the fault lies withyou and yor weakness. Train Pokemon with care and attention? Be attentive to what they want? Ridiculous. That's the best way to spoil them and make them weak. Only a harsh discipline can yield results. Had you done that, you would have had a chance to defeat me."
"Is tht so?" the redheaded boy shot back. "Because I seem to remember that the boy from Kanto who defeated you in the Lily of the Valley Conference didn't use such barbaric methods. And he still defeated you, right?"
Paul frowned. "True, I'll give you that much. I took Ash Ketchum for granted, and so I lost. But that will not happen a second time. My way of training Pokemon is the right one, without a doubt. Now, if you want to fight, enough talk, and show me what you've got. Or else, quit wasting my time."
"I am here to fight, and to show you just how strong I am!" his opponent exclaimed. "And I've become this strong without giving up my friendship with my Pokemon! Come, Dugtrio! It is time to show this guy what we can do!"
A strange Ground-type Pokemon, consisting of three small light brown creatures with black eyes similar to coffee seeds and an overlarge red nose, whose lower half was hidden into the ground, appeared in front of the unimpressed purple-headed young man... and the three creatures frantically jumped up and down, repeating their name in an happy-go-lucky tone! "Dugtrio, trio, trio!"
For the first time, the red-haired youngster knelt down and smiled, stroking his Pokemon on the head. "Thank you, Dugtrio. I know you always do your best for all of us! Now... try to take down that guy! I have a score to settle with him, and I will settle it!"
"TRIO!" the Ground-type Pokemon answered, aggressively turning to Paul, who didn't seem to be taking the whole thing too seriously.
"Hmph. If you were trying to intimidate me, you'll need to do much better." the purple-haired trainer stated as he threw his first Pokeball. "Drapion, stand by for battle."
The Dark / Poison type Pokemon Paul had captured on Mt. Silver, an enormous Drapion with a steel-hard armor, razor-sharp claws and two horrifically keen stingers on its tail, appeared in front of Dugtrio with an unnerving ticking sound! The enormous scorpion squatted low on the ground and raised its claws in front of its face, getting ready to face Dugtrio. Paul's opponent seemed to falter somewhat... this was a Pokemon he was unfamiliar with, and even though he was expecting Paul's team to be different from last time he had faced him, the Pokemon he had sent out looked formidable indeed! However, he had not come this far just to get cold feet just now! He had to face that despicable guy, and show that his training methods were wrong!
"Alright... I'm ready! I will defeat you this time, Paul, and I will have my revenge!" the red-haired boy exclaimed bitterly. "I know those guys who I went to told me that they will take care of Paul in any event... but I will not let them rob me of my revenge! I want to see this scoundrel on his knees!"
"Try me." Paul cut the discussion short. Dugtrio crawled threateningly towards Drapion, who raised its lethal stinger and stood ready! The battle was about to begin, and several Pokemon living nearby were emerging from their lairs in order to take a look at that interesting battle...
In fact, as Dugtrio and Drapion were sizing each other up, several Flying-type Pokemon hovering around the place were roosting in the vicinities to take a look... and among them was one that frowned slightly before taking flight again. It looked like it was shaping up to be an interesting battle... but he neither could nor wanted to stay there and watch it. He had to do something more important at the moment... and after travelling for so long, and having gone through many experiences, both happy and sad, he was finally going to be back where everything had started...
His ex-trainer was certainly going to be overjoyed to see him, he thought as he raised his compund eyes and his long whiplike antennae to the clear sky...
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Meanwhile, in Pallet Town, the mood wasn't exactly as happy as it could have been, in spite of the sun shining in the sky. Only a couple days had passed ever since Tracey's Scyther had passed away, and his memory was still too vivid in the hearts of both Ash and his friends for them to be able to get over it.
"Alright, Ash... these are the results of the latest analysis." Professor Oak said, showing Ash, Pikachu, Delia and Misty a bunch of X-ray photos showing the condition of Ash's left arm, that seemed to be healing faster than they had predicted. "I have to say, I'm rather pleasantly surprised myself. The bone callus is forming already, and the fracture is starting to knit. You should be able to take the cast off in a couple weeks at this rate."
"Well, this is good news, professor." Delia answered, taking one of the clearer radiographies and taking a good look at it. She didn't understand much of those things, but it did look like the bone was repairing itself compared to the latest exams. "You heard that, Ash, sweetheart? You'll be able to take off that annoying cast in two weeks! Aren't you happy about it?"
"Well, I'm certainly pleased about it!" the young trainer answered, wiggling the fingers on his casted hand. The plaster was filled with writings, small drawings and get-well-soon messages from all of his friends. "But I have to admit, I'm gonna miss all these writings!"
"Pikachu!" the electric mouse squeaked, twirling a black marker in his hands as if it was a martial arts staff! With a fluid gesture, Pikachu unscrewed the tap, climbed on Ash's shoulder and drew a smiley on a still-clear point of the cast, before smiling mischievously at Ash! "Pika pi, pika pika chu!"
Ash, Delia, Misty and Oak chuckled a little, before the mood became sullen again, and Misty scratched her cheek, seemingly thinking hard before asking the question she was thinking about for some time now. "By the way, professor... how is Tracey? I... haven't seen him around..."
The Pokemon researcher sighed and turned to the window. "Well... let's just say he's trying to keep himself busy. He doesn't want to stay idle for long, or he'll start thinking of his Pokemon who just passed away..." he answered. "At the moment, he's fetching some water at the stream. Don't worry, he's not alone. Venomoth and Azumarill are with him."
"I see..." Delia answered as she placed a hand on Ash's shoulder, and Pikachu lowered his ears in melancholy. "He really loved his Pokemon, right? Well, that's not surprising, actually. I mean, seeing how they met and all..."
"I still remember that day as if it was yesterday." Misty said, thinking back of the days where she, allong with Ash, Pikachu and Tracey, travelled through the Orange Islands on the back of Ash's Lapras. "And... well, I can understand what Tracey is going through. If one of my Pokemon died, well... I don't know what I'd do!"
One of Misty's Pokeball opened up... and needless to say, Psyduck appeared, holding his head in his hands and looking at his trainer in a perplexed and, at the same time, somber way, as if he understood what had happened and wanted to give his support. The red-haired former Gym Leader was not in the mood for getting angry at her clumsy Pokemon... and in fact, she just knelt down and petted him on his head, leaving him quite surprised. He was used to Misty getting angry at him every time he popped out of his Pokeball uninvited, right?
"No worries, Psyduck... you may be a silly, clumsy duckling, but it wouldn't be the same without you around..." Misty answered.
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Meanwhile, in the woods round Pallet Town...
"Say, Venomoth... can you put this water canteen with the rest of the equipment?" Tracey tiredly asked his giant moth Pokemon, who nodded unenthusiastically and caught the canteen Tracey had just filled with water in her gaunt yet strong legs. Slowly flapping her wings, Venomoth placed the canteen close to a pile of drawing equipment the young man had placed near there, then went back to her trainer, who petted her absent-mindedly. "Thanks, Venomoth... I hope it wasn't a problem."
"Venomoth..." the giant moth shook her head no, and Tracey stood up from the bank of the river and sighed, looking away. He had started working exactly because he thought that at least, this way, he wouldn't be continuously thinking about Scyther and his demise. He needed to keep himself distracted somehow, or he felt he'd have had a breakdown... still, even so, it was hard not to think back of the moment where he had to say goodbye to his eldest Pokemon...
"I miss him, Venomoth, you know? I still have trouble believing he's gone..." he said, talking to himself just as much as he was talking to Venomoth. "I... I know I have to get over it and go forward... and that Scyther could not have stayed with me forever anyway... but I still can't just stop thinking... that it all happened so quickly. Why didn't Scyther tell me? Why did I have to find out this way? If... If only I had know, maybe I... I..."
"Azumarill!" the azure water rabbit exclaimed, grabbing the leg of Tracey trousers and pulling twice, as if saying that it was pointless to blame himself for something he had no power to change anyway. Tracey shook himself out of his outburst and held Azumarill in his arms, thanking him for at least trying to cheer him up.
"Thank you, Azumarill... don't worry, it's just something I will have to get over by myself..." he murmured. "And I know it won't happen today or tomorrow... but that's something I have to deal with, and I'll have to find it in myself to get over my sadness. Still, thank you for your kindness, my friend!"
"Rill..." the water bunny murmured tiedly, trying to think of what he could do to improve the situation. He did miss Scyther just as much as Tracey did anyway, so he couldn't blame his friend for feeling the way he did. It was sobering just to see his trainer in such conditions... and he was about to add something, when Venomoth's alarmed trill reached them, as the Bug / Poison type flew to them in a hurry!
"Moth, moth! Veeeenomoth!" the huge moth screeched, her wings beating frantically in an attemp to warn her friends. Immediately, the young artist jumped up in surprise and turned to Venomoth.
"Huh? What... what's up, Venomoth? Is anything the matter?" he asked. When Venomoth used one of her scaly wings to point to a nearby bush, Tracey got closed to see what she was talking about... and he was rather surprised, not to say shocked, when he saw fragments of Pokemon eggs scattered among the fallen leaves and the broken branches! Pieces of yellow eggshells, decorated with light blue lines, were scattered around some sort of crude nest made out of leaves and branches. Some kind of predator, probably a Raticate or a Sneasel, had clearly fed on the eggs... but that wasn't what Venomoth wanted to say, as Tracey immediately understood when the poisonous butterfly laid on something that looked like a stone that had somehow rolled among the bushes. However, Tracey quickly realized that it was something else...
"Venomoth, isn't that..." the young artist exclaimed, looking at the strange object and holding it in his hand. As he suspected, it was a Pokemon egg just like the ones that lay shattered around the forsaken nest... only, this one was still whole, and in fact it was warm, which meant that the Pokemon growing inside of it could still be saved! "Oh my, it's a Pokemon egg, and it's in good condiions still!" he exclaimed, carefully picking it up and examining it, before turning to his two Pokemon. "Venomoth, Azumarill... can you stay here and guard our stuff? I'll go to Professor Oak and see what can be done for this egg!"
"Azumarill!" the azure rabbit squeaked, saluting with one of his huge ears. At least, that unexpected event seemed to have shaken Tracey out of his depression some, and even Venomoth nodded in approval, a slight smile on her insectile face. The two Pokemon immediately complied and ran to hover around Tracey's stuff, while the young artist, taking extreme care not to damage the egg, began walking at a steady pace towards the lab, hoping it was not too late to save that Pokemon...
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"Things seem to be okay here..." Gary murmured to himself, after taking a good look at the room in which he and his grandfather kept the underused tools for a possible future use. At least, the recent downpour had not caused water seepages, and n othing had been damaged... but it was scant confort, after what had happened two days before.
The young researcher sighed as he closed the door behind himself and walked back outside. It just wasn't the same without Scyther... he missed the great willpower that the giant mantis Pokemon put in his everyday chores, to the point where he never complained, even as old age was beginning to catch up to him. It just wasn't the same thing...
Lost in thought, Gary almost didn't notice Dawn, Kenny and Zoey walking up to him, and looking quite pensive. The three friends from Sinnoh seemed to be taking a walk together, possibly to distract themselves a little... and they had just happened to be there at the right moment. Somewhat surprised, Gary raised his glance and greeted them. "Oh, hello, everyone... why are you here?" he said, not bothering to hide his slight melancholy.
"Hello, Gary." Dawn answered, smiling tentatively. "Actually, we weren't doing much... We were just, well, feeling a little sad, and we thought that taking a walk together would have helped with that."
"We were going to invite Ursula as well, but she decided to be on her own..." Kenny went on, looking at the Pokemon Center where he and his friends were staying.
"Okay, I see." Gary answered, combing his hair back with his hand, before looking at each one of them straight in the eyes. It wasn't hard to guess what they were thinking about. "I guess... you were thinking of Tracey and his Scyther too, right?"
Dawn closed her eyes and slowly nodded, her hands on her lap. "Yeah.. I mean, I didn't know him that well, but I can guess how strong the bond between him and Tracey was." she said, tapping her finger on one handle of her wheelchair. "And when... well... when that happened, I stopped to think about my own Pokemon, and the fact that I would feel lost if one of them died. I know... it's inevitable that it happens... and one needs to get over it... but still... death is a horrible thing! Sorry, I guess I'm just rambling now, right? This is just what I think..."
"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Dawn." Zoey answered, slightly smiling at her best friend. "You're right when you say that death is a terrible thing. But still, sorrow and sadness are appropriate responses to such a loss. One should not be afraid of these feelings, or one will end up not loving anyone any more. At least, this is my opinion."
Dawn and Kenny couldn't help but agree with Zoey's words... once again, the redheaded coordinator had shown just how wise and kind she could be behind her sometimes harsh honesty. And even Gary agreed with her... "Well, that's something my grandfather taught me a long time ago, before I even started my trainer journey." he affirmed. "I was just a kid at the time... about nine years old or so. But I always remembered those words, and I think I can understand their meaning fully now."
"So... what do you think we should do with Tracey?" Kenny asked.
Gary rubbed the back of his head with hid left hand and smiled gently. "Actually, there isn't much we can do about him, guys... the most we can do right now is, stay close to him and give him our support. It will be up to him to get over this bad moment, and it's not something that can be done so quickly."
"Yeah, you're right about that." Zoey agreed.
The team stood in silence for a while. The conversation had suddenly deraied on a dead end, each one of the four struggling to find the right words to go on... at least until Gary cleared his voice and made his own proposal. "Well, guys, since I don't have much to do right now, it's okay if I join you for a while, isn't it? I just needed some company."
"Well... no problem for us." Kenny stated, looking at both Zoey and Dawn to see if they agreed. Both girls seemed to be okay with that, and the young man grinned and gave Gary a thumbs-up. "See? I was sure Dee-Dee wouldn't have minded!"
"Oh, come on, Kenny! How long will I have to hear that nickname still?" the blue-haired girl murmured jokingly, rubbing her forehead while Zoey chuckled to herself. "Okay, okay, guess I should have expected it by now... but I still think it's embarassing!"
A shrt laugh escaped Kenny's throat. "Hehehee... hey, Dee-Dee, not my fault if you are dragging that nickname behind you after that Plusle and Minun accident!"
Dawn became beet red in the face, and began frantically moving her hands in front of herself, trying to tell her childhood friend that there was no need to say anything else! "Argh! Hey! Hey, Kenny, hold on a sec, say nothing more! You know it embarasses me! And last time someone found that out, Ursula almost got the better of me in our contest!"
"But you still defeated Ursula, right?" Zoey answered jokingly.
"Seriously, Zoey, whose side are you on?" Dawn answered, with a comically exasperated expression on her face. "And that was not the point anyway!"
Seeing the three friends from Sinnoh jokingly bickering with each other seemed to lighten up the mood, and Gary smiled slightly to himself. At least, that was a good way to chase away any depressive thought... and hopefully, this was going to be a better day than yesterday, he thought as he began to follow them...
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Ursula sighed as she sat down on a tree stump to relax her legs a little. She had been walking ever since morning, looking fora place where she could have trained her Pokemon and chase away all negative thoughts, which had been plaguing her for a couple days now. While her pride did not allow her to display it, she was shocked by Scyther's sudden demise as well, and she hoped that spending some time with her Pokemon would allow her to chase these thoughts away. She was certainly not in the mood to spend time with Ash, Dawn, or someone else from that bunch of strange people. She just needed some time to herself along with her Pokemon.
Sadly, even though her Pokemon were certainly giving it all their own, the rich heiress could hardly concentrate, and her mind was wandering somewhere else. In the end, the frustrated girl had allowed her Pokemon to get a respite and had sat down... now, she was trying to make some orders in her thoughts and concentrate better.
"What *is* the matter with me today?" she muttered to herself, toying with one of her spiralling pigtails. "Fine, so I saw a Pokemon die before my eyes... but what the heck, I barely knew him! Why am I so upset about it? Ugh, I'd better not think about it..."
The girl's Flareon reached her and cuddled on her like an affectionate kitten, and Ursula absent-mindedly petted him on the head. In fact, she had to admit that she wasn't that surprised about being upset... she didn't really care that much about Tracey, but she could understand his pain - she would be just as heartbroken, if not more, if one ofher own Pokemon had died. And it was an inevitable problem... maybe that was what disturbed Ursula so much. She realized that, sooner or later, she would go through this painful separation...
She shook her head once again. What was the matter with her now? It just wasn't like her to think like that... when she had a competition against Dawn to think of! She was not going to feel satisfied until she defeated her rival...
"Okay, Flareon... I will try and be more careful now, everyone!" Ursula stated, standing up and wiping her skirt. "We need to redo this exhibition... it didn't go very well until now!"
The other Pokemon, Gabite first and foremost, got ready to continue with the exercise... but before Ursula could give a new order, something flew in front of the Ground / Dragon type, obscuring hersight and causing her to stumble backwards in surprise! Ursula herself was caught off guard and turned to the source of the disturbance...
...and both she and Gabite were almost disappointed when they saw that it was nothing but a common and apparently harmlessButterfree, who was fluttering near Ursula, looking at her with a pair of curious compound eyes. The young girl looked numbly at the cute Bug / Flying Pokemon for a few moments, as if disbelieving thatshe could be startled by such an innocuous creature.
"Ugh... darn it, what was the big idea of flying right in my fac, you dimwit? My Pokemon and I were training here!" she said angrily. "So, whatt do you want? Were you looking for something? I don't have all day to listen to you, you know..."
"Free..." the butterfly-like Pokemon murmured. It was only then that Ursula noticed that it was a fully adult specimen - not old, for sure, but not young either. It was probably around five years old, which was a little less than half a Butterfree's usual lifespan. For a few moments more, the giant butterfly kept observing Ursula, inspecting her from all sides as if wanting to make sure of something... and in the end, not seeing anything familiar in her, Butterfree shrugged and flew away, leaving a rather perplexed and annoyed Ursula behind.
"Ugh... what a pain... I just had to run into a busybody of a Butterfree! Well, back to training. We already wasted too much time..." she muttered to herself, going back to her training. Butterfree, for his part, had taken altitude once again and was now fling towards Pallet Town, carefully inspecting it in order to see that familiar face he was looking for. He had never been there, but he knew this was the place where he lived, and he could never forget that face anyway, even in those four-five years since last time...
The lone Butterfree began to descend, seeing the houses underneath himself...
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"Alright, let's see about putting some things in their place. Now, where did I put those samples? Good grief, this place is such a mess..." Professor Oak said to himself, looking for a few samples he needed for future experiments. "I always have to have so many things handy... oh, well, if I keep searching, I will find them for sure..."
"Professor Oak! Professor Oak!"
The famous scientist jumped up in surprise when Tracey arrived in a hurry, holding a football-sized yellow egg with blue stripes! Recovering from his slight surprise, Oak turned to his assistant, wondering what was the matter... "Tracey! My boy, you startled me! What's going on? I told you, my boy, if you don't feel good, you can take a few days off. I won't force you to work if you're not alright."
"Don''t worry about that, professor... at the moment, working is good for me!" Tracey answered, before turning his attention on the egg he was holding. "Professor, don't you happen to have a place where we can place this egg? This is all that is left of a nest that was destroyed by some predator, and I'd like to save this one at least..."
"What? A Pokemon egg?" Oak exclaimed, taking a look at the precious object. "Well, this changes everything, my boy! Come, we need a warm and damp place to keep it in. It was lucky you found it when you did! Had you seen it just a few minutes later, this one would have been lost as well!"
"I can believe that..." Tracey answered as he followed Prof. Oak in another room, where the famous scientist quickly walked to a machine that looked like some sort of germicidal lamp: looking not unlike a microwave oven, with two long lamps hanging on its upper part, and large enough to store six eggs the size of the one Tracey had found. Oak wasted no time getting the egg from Tracey and placing it inside the machine, before closing the hatch, doing all the regulations he thought were needed, and start it up. A tenuous blue light flickered on and irradiated the egg, accompanied by a faint whirr of engines getting started up.
"In the nick of time. This egg is going to hatch." Oak sighed in relief. Tracey felt some sort of confort at the news - having lost Scyther only a couple days before, he was hoping not to see another Pokemon die before his very eyes anytime soon. "You did a great job, Tracey! You were just in the right place, at the right time."
"Well... I don't deserve all these thanks, professor." Tracey answered with a tentative smile. "I... was near the banks of the river, and I was still thinking of Scyther... it was my Venomoth who warned me of the egg... in fact, now that I think of it, I left Venomoth and Azumarill to wait for me there, near the river. I need to go fetch them and do the rest of the job! Can you... take care of that egg until I return, professor Oak?"
"Of course, Tracey. That goes without saying." the wise scientist nodded. "Just try not to overdo it, okay, Tracey? Do not force yourself to do what you don't feel like doing."
"Of course, professor." came the young man's answer. "I'm okay, really..."
Oak nodded, accepting Tracey's answer. He was afraid Tracey would feel like Oak was pitying him, and he was not going to further upset the young man while he was still recovering from Scyther's demise. "Alright, Tracey, I'll trust your judgement. I'll stay here and make sure the egg comes to term. You go fetch your Pokemon... and thanks again!"
"Thanks to you, professor!" Tracey answered, waving slightly at him and closing the lab's door behind himself. Now that he had saved that egg, he was feeling a little better... but now, he had to think of the Pokemon that were left behind, Venomoth and Azumarill... he hurried to the river, hoping that nothing had happened to them while he was away... and he was relieved to see the giant moth and the water rabbit standing close to his stuff near the river bank, patiently waiting for him to come back.
"Venomoth, Azumarill!" Tracey greeted them back. "Everything is okay! I... managed to give the egg to Professor Oak, and he placed it where it can hatch without any trouble! We can rest easy!"
"Azu..." the blue rabbit squeaked in relief.
"It's alright, guys, everything is alright... but now, we should quickly finish our job and get back to the lab to see how our egg is doing, okay?" Tracey asked. Venomoth and Azumarill agreed, and began following their trainer as he picked up the equipment and went back to his duty...
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"So, Brock... Tracey has just saved a Pokemon egg?" Misty asked, holding her Azurill in her arms. "And he brought it to the lab so it could hatch without risks?"
"So it seems..." the dark-skinned young man answered. "From what I could gather, he and his Pokemon found that egg in the forest while they were running an errand for Professor Oak. It was the last egg remaining of a nest that was destryed by some predators, and he decided to take it to the lab, where Professor Oak put it in an incubating machine. Still, we don't know what kind of Pokemon it will be, but it's still a good thing to see that he's doing something to get out of his depression."
"You're right... it was hard to see him like that..." Ash answered, looking at his Pikachu in understanding. "At the very least, this will allow him to think of something else..."
"I know what you mean, Ash... though..." Misty began, interrupting herself when Azurill called to her with his shrill chirping voice and pointed up. Wondering what the matter was, the redhead looked up, with Ash, Pikachu and Brock doing the same soon after.
What they saw was something none of them could expect: a Pokemon was slowly descending towards them, waving his majestic, colorful wings, and keeping hiseyes on the four of them! There was something incredibly familiar about that Pokemon... and now that he was close enough, Ash and his friends could see that it was a Butterfree, a kind of Pokemon that reawakened bittersweet memories inside him...
Waitaminute.
A strange feeling washed over Ash, as he stared in wonder at the Butterfree fluttering down towards him, using his colorful wings as a parachute. He felt as if that particular Butterfree was more than just a familiar face... and the teenager was not sure how to call this feeling... but it was something he felt quite clearly, telling him that it was a very important moment...
"Have you seen that Butterfree? He seems... to want to come with us for some reason." Brock pointed out, feeling as if he already knew that Pokemon himself. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that this one was a very special Butterfree... "Guys, I know this is really a long shot, but don't you get the feeling that he might be..."
"You mean to say that this Butterfree is...?" Misty began... just a moment before Butterfree threw all hesitation to the wind and dashed towards the flabbergasted Ash, hugging him for all he was worth, emitting a shrill call of joy and relief! The unprepared boy almost lost his balance... and after straightening himself, he looked at the butterfly-like Pokemon, the words Misty and Brock just said echoing in his mind.
"Free?" Butterfree called out, as if asking if Ash recognized him or not... and that was the final clue for Pikachu to realize who he was looking at! After stopping to reflect for a moment, the electric mouse raised his ears and widened his eyes in disbelief, his lightning-shaped tail standing on end!
"Pikaaaaa?" he exclaimed. "Pika pi! Pika pika chu, pikachu... pika pi pikachu!"
"What? I... I... can't believe this! Butterfree... is that... really you?" Ash asked, not daring to believe his own words. He was afraid this was nothing but a sweet dream, and that he would soon wake up in his own bed...
But no, Butterfree was there, back after five years... after that unforgettable day in which, after having found a mate, he had flown towards the setting sun, ready to start a new life! And now here he was, right in front of him... after Ash had been convinced for so long that he would never see him again...
"Free!" the giant butterfly exclaimed, once again throwing himself in his trainer's arms with a joyful smile painted on his face, his membranous wings flapping frantically in elation! Speechless in his joy, hugged Butterfree tightly, as best as he could with his casted arm...
"Butterfree! Butterfree, it really is you! I can't believe this! You... you came back! How... how did you get there? And... why did you decide to...? Where is that pink Butterfree you departed with? You looked like such a nice couple..." Ash exclaimed. He was so happy that he hardly cared whether the words coming out of his mouth were coherent...
The butterfly-like Pokemon's high spirits seemed to take a dive when Ash mentioned his mate... and Butterfree shook his head while slowly moving his wings. Ash and his friends were dismayed to understand what their old friend was saying, having lived through such a sad happening only a couple days before...
"Pika pikachu... pika pi pikachu pika..." Pikachu murmured, placing a hand on Butterfree's back to express his condolences.
"Yeah... I can see what you mean..." Ash answered. He then turned to Misty and Brock, explaining what was the matter. "Well... looks like Butterfree's mate passed away a few weeks ago... and for some time, Butterfree wandered around, not knowing what to do or where to go... then, he decided that he might as well return here and spend the rest of his life with his original trainer..."
"I understand..." Misty answered sadly. Ironically, it was a situation all too similar to the one Tracey had found himself in when he had accepted Scyther in his team. "Well... we are very sorry about what happened, Butterfree... and we hope you can at least spend these years to come in peace with Ash..."
"So, if you want to come back to me, I have no problem with it... in fact, I will be glad to introduce you to my other Pokemon, I'm sure they will be very glad to meet you!" Ash exclaimed, hugging the giant butterfly once again. Butterfree moved his antennae in excitement and wiped his eyes clean with one of his wings. "I'm very happy to see you again, Butterfree. I just wish it had happened in an happier moment for you..."
"Free..." Butterfree chirped, holding his trainer close. Ash stood in silence, a few tears of happiness flowing down his eyes as he favored this happy moment...
"Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed, and greeted back his old friend in the team. Misty and Brock, for their part, stood separate from them, allowing Ash, Pikachu and Butterfree to savor this moment...
"Well, I really didn't see this cominf, Brock... but I'm happy to see Butterfree as well! It's like someone up there wanted to comfort us for losing Scyther..." Misty said. The redhaired former Gym Leader and her Azurill were both very happy, and the same went for the young aspiring breeder by their side.
"Perhaps, perhaps not..." Brock answered gently. "One thing is for sure, in life there are bad things for everyone... but if we can look around ourselves and see them, we can find lots of good things as well. Like this one!"
oooooooooo
Some time later, in front of Professor Oak's laboratory...
"So... this Butterfree was the first Pokemon Ash had caught, back when he was still a Caterpie?" a surprised Dawn asked, as Butterfree fluttered around her in curiosity. Just two hours after the incredible reunion between Ash and his first Pokemon, after the young trainer had spent some time showing Butterfree around his hometown, the time for introductions had come... both to his mom and to the rest of the team! Although, Ash had been surprised to know that Ursula had already made her acquaintance with Butterfree a couple hours before...
"I do hope this Butterfree does not make it a habit to fly in people's face, you know!" Ursula commented, keeping some distance from the Bug / Flying Pokemon. Piplup, on the other hand, seemed to be eager to make himself known, and was at the moment carefully inspecting the butterfly-like Pokemon, looking at him from all sides.
"Free?" Butterfree chirped as he eyed the small penguin-like Pokemon. Finally, after spending a few more moments examining Butterfree all over, Piplup seemed to be satisfied and held out a small wing in a gesture of friendship.
"Piplup!" he exclaimed, and after some puzzlement, the butterfly Pokemon nodded and accepted, much to the joy of everyone around, especially Dawn.
"We are all very glad to meet you, Butterfree!" Kenny said, stroking the giant butterfly on his head while Zoey observed him from a distance of courtesy, trying not to be too invasive. Luckily, Butterfree seemed to be in the mood for making new acquaintances too, and gladly accepted. Even Professor Oak, Delia, Johanna and Tracey seemed to be glad to finally meet Ash's Butterfree, and the young man was glad to see that his Butterfree was making new friends as well.
"Hehee... well, Butterfree, there you go. These are just a few of the people I have met and befriended in my journey!" the young boy told his Bug-type Pokemon. "I'm sure... that now that you'll have more time to get to know each other, you'll become great friends in no time!"
"Welcome back, Butterfree!" Misty exclaimed joyfully.
"Free, free!" the giant butterfly exclaimed, glad to know that there were more people willing to greet him with such warmth. However, the discussion couldn't go any further before Professor Oak hear a beeping sound from his lab, and after a moment of doubt, he widened his eyes, realizing what was going on!
"What the...? Oh, goodness, it's hatching already?" he exclaimed, before tapping Tracey's shoulder to warn him. "Tracey, I didn't imagine it would happen so quickly... but the egg you brought to the lab is hatching! The incubator machine is warning us of that?"
"What? Then... we have to go there immediately!" Tracey exclaimed, as he and Gary followed Prof. Oak in the lab. The rest of the team was just as curious and worried, and waited near the entrance of the laboratory, hoping that everything had gone well...
Ash and his friends waited one minute... two minutes...
Just as the boys were seriously starting to worry that something had gone wrong, Johanna widened her eyes as she looked inside the lab, and saw Professor Oak, his grandson and Tracey walking back outside! "Hold on a second... here they are, and they look like they're satisfied too! I hope this means the egg is saved!"
"It is, miss Johanna... it is, indeed!" a relieved Oak answered, with Tracey close behind holding the egg in his hands. The precious egg seemed to have doubled in size, and the young trainer was being careful not to drop it by mistake. As the egg expanded again, reaching an height of about one and a half feet, Gary had to go help Tracey hold it, since it was getting to heavy for him to handle! The two teenagers carefully placed the egg on the ground and stepped away while its surface began to crack open...
"Then, it was true... we are about to witness the birth of a Pokemon!" Delia exclaimed, holding her breath in excitement. "I hope it all goes well..."
"I'm kinda anxious myself..." Zoey affirmed.
"Free..." Butterfree, Pikachu, Piplup and Azurill were waiting themselves...
...
And after a few tense moments, the eggshell cracked open, and the Pokemon inside of it finally saw the outside world for the first time, causing Daw to squeal in joy and surprise!
"Ah! There he is! It's born! What... what kind of Pokemon is it?" the blue-haired girl asked.
The answer came just a second later, when the newborn Pokemon wiped away the remains of the cracked eggshell and crawled in sight. It was a really odd-looking Pokemon - about the length of a man's forearm, it was a serpentine Pokémon with a primarily yellow body, blue underside, and blue-and-cream-striped back. Its head was round with a wide mouth extending under its jowls and curving up toward the middle of its face. Its chin was blue with two rounded prongs. Its eyes—round and rimmed with blue— were kept closed, revealing its cream-colored eyelids. On its upper back were two small, white, bird-like wings split into two sections each. Its body ended in a striped, drill-like tail.
Dawn blinked, having never seen that kind of Pokemon before... and quickly consulted her Pokedex.
"Dunsparce, the Land Snake Pokemon. Normal Type. It hides deep inside caves where no light ever reaches it and remains virtually motionless there. When spotted, this Pokémon escapes backward by furiously boring into the ground with its tail." the electronic encyclopaedia said. In fact, Dawn could vaguely remember seeing one of those Pokemon trapped in an Ariados' web at the beginning of her own journey, but she could swear the one she had seen was much bigger.
"A Dunsparce? Well, this isn't exactly the kind of Pokemon one sees every day, huh?" Gary commented as the newborn Pokemon looked around. Worried about their presence intimidating it, everyone stepped back some... except Tracey, who walked up to Dunsparce to confort it and help it get over its fear...
"Dunsparce?" the young artist said. "Don't be afraid, Dunsparce! Nobody wants to hurt you here..."
"Dun, dunsparce!" the snake-like Pokemon exclaimed. Out of instinct, it used its drill-shaped tail to lightly tap Tracey's leg, and the young man slowly bent down and picked up Dunsparce, lightly stroking its head. The newborn Pokemon seemed to relax, and looked at the young man in curiosity, wondering if it could trust him. "Dun?"
"It's okay, little one..." Tracey reassured it. "You're among friends now... and if you want, I will be the one to take care of you! Don't worry, everything is going to be alright! I'm just asking you to trust us... just as I trust you. You have nothing to fear, really."
For a few more moments, Tracey continued to stroke Dunsparce, trying to get it to ease up... and finally, its last fears conquered, the strange serpentine Pokemon was convinced and cuddled up against the young man, who was more than glad to accept this act of kindness and hugged Dunsparce like a parent would do. Even though he was still in shock over Scyther's demise, Tracey seemed to be ready and willing to accept this new Pokemon in his life and take care of it.
"Dunsparce!" the Pokemon murmured, rubbing itself on the young man's shirt, as his friends looked on in joy. A joy brought on both by the fact that they saved that Pokemon, and by the fact that Tracey was starting to get over his depression!
"It is true then... no matter what, life truly is an endless cycle." Professor Oak stated. "There is death... and there is birth, a continuous and endless flow. I guess this is one of the best things one can learn by studying Pokemon, right?"
"I cannot help but agree, Professor Oak!" Delia answered. Ash and Misty stood there for a while, looking at Tracey holding the newborn Dunsparce... and almost unconsciously, the redhead placed her hand on Ash's shoulder and leaned slightly on him. The boy had a slight start and quickly turned to his friend... who quickly turned her head to the other side, embarassed by her sudden temerity. Still, Ash did not seem to be upset about her gesture, and smiled at Misty, his cheeks turning a slight shade of red. Once again, that strange feeling he had when he was with Misty - and that he hadn't felt with any other girl...
Dawn and her friends from Sinnoh - including Ursula, who despite keeping herself at a distance, was secretly glad things had gone without a hitch - were looked at the scene in relief... and Kenny, who was the closest to Dawn's wheelchair, placed a hand on his childhood friend's shoulder and smiled at her, which she answered with a slight blush and a smile of her own.
But none of them was as joyous and relieved as Tracey, as he held the Pokemon he had allowed to be born, and who seemed to have accepted him as a surrogate parent! The young man hugged Dunsparce, who answered with a joyous call, and glanced up, getting somewhat misty-eyed.
"It's true after all. Even though I still feel sad and lost about Scyther's death, I now realize just how deep is the feeling that links me and my Pokemon. It's an affection so great that I don't want to give it up just because I'm afraid of separation. Thank you for showing me this, Scyther. I will always love you, as well as your comrades and this Dunsparce I was lucky enough to meet and save! Thank you, Scyther. Rest in peace."
oooooooooo
The red-haired young man fell on his knees and slammed a fist on the ground in frustration. He had fielded all three of his Pokemon, but none of them could hold a candle to Paul's Drapion, who had wiped them all out in record time. Dugtrio had been quickly defeated by the giant scorpion's Ice Fang, Haunter had fallen to a Night Slash, and Bellosson to a Poison Jab. The battle was completely one-sided to boot... and Paul, who had kept impassive during it all, nodded to Drapion, before sending a few disparaging words to his opponent.
"A rematch? Hmph, pathetic! You just wasted my time. If you lost, blame your own weakness." he stated. "Bother me no more until you have learned how to battle." He then recalled his Drapion and nodded to the Pokeball. "Not half bad."
With that, Paul walked away, not even dignifying his opponent with a glance, and leaving him to seethe in anger, his head low and his fists clenched. The purple-haired boy shook his head. Being angry was pointless... that two-bit trainer should have known that.
"Just as I always say. No matter how hard they try, the weak will always be weak." he thought to himself. "Well, at least this was a decent warmup. Next time I face Ash Ketchum, the result will be different indeed. I will pay him back for the humiliation he inflicted upon me."
As Paul walked away, the red-haired young man sighed and stood up, before walking away from that place and towards a Pokemon Center... but not before taking a comm device out of his shirt and activating it!
"Hello? Mr. Cezar... Mr. Jakov... yeah, Paul is hheading to Viridian City... of course... don't worry, I had a chance to test his prowess. He is really strong, and his Pokemon are as well! There's no place in his team for mediocre Pokemon... sure... okay! I just hope you can take him out for me as well! Thank you... see you..."
oooooooooo
TO BE CONTINUED...
Author's note: Well, looks like Tracey has got a new Pokemon. Losing Scyther was obviously a sad blow, but that Dunsprce he saved will probably be able to help him get over it. Why did I choose Dunsparce? Well, no real reason, to be honest... I just like that Pokemon.
Next chapter will deal with a few side characters that will probably surprise some of you! It will take some time before I update, but hopefully I can do it in less time! See you soon, everyone!