AN: Just to explain the moves a bit more. I don't have TM's in this story. Any TM that a pokemon would have been able to learn, that have to train with a pokemon who can learn the move by leveling up. Like learning Ice Beam from Lapras. It seems more reasonable for this story.
SORRY ABOUT TAKING SO LONG! I had to double check some of the medical treatment and injuries for this chapter
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or any of the characters. Just the random plot bunnies that my mind creates.
Chapter Warnings: Language, blood, injuries
Pairing: Ash x Gary
Chapter 21 - Reunion
Brown orbs widen in horror as they notice the dangling brunet pulling his KaBar from its sheath. No! That Dragonite will kill you if you try anything you idiot!
His body freezes when the Rider before him begins to turn around to see what is causing the panic and dread to rise on Ash's face. Gary releases the knife. It flips almost in slow motion. End over end. The black blade flashing in the sun. The Rider lets out a low grunt as the weapon buries itself in his back.
The dragon chucks his helpless partner into the rock wall as if he is a rag doll. A strangled noise leaves Ash's throat as the air catches in his lungs. The brunet's body makes a sickening crunch on impact. Ash watches completely frozen as his partner, his best friend, tumbles a few feet down the rocks before stopping on a small ledge. Still over ten feet in the air.
Gary lies on his back, shoulder blades and head hanging over the edge of the rocky platform. His arm twisting at an odd angle. Blood steadily dripping from his left side. Dusty brown hair slowly turning crimson from the liquid dripping down his face. It plops into a small puddle already forming at the base of the cliff.
Ash can only watch as pokemon rush towards their trainers. Nidoking sprinting through the electrified water to scale the cliff. Dragonite darting to the Rider's side. Fearow is on the ground next to Dodrio and Wartortle stuck on the ground by the still sparking water and an injured wing.
With a pained scowl, the Rider pulls the blade from his shoulder. It drops onto the boulder with a clang. The dragon immediately picks up his trainer and gently places him on his back. The man glances between Ash and the unmoving brunet.
"I will see you soon, Ash Ketchum. Make sure the Oak boy doesn't die. It's not his fate to depart from this world just yet."
The Rider departs without another word. The fast flyer is gone from sight in seconds. Ash stares at the spot where the Rider just occupied for several moments.
How does he know our names?
Hearing a loud growl from the poison pokemon, Ash jolts from his thoughts. Gary!
Ash turns and jumps back onto Pidgeot's back. They rush towards the injured soldier's side. Nidoking has already picked Gary up and is carefully making its way back down the slope to get to even ground. The raven steers the drill pokemon to a flat, dry section of rock a short distance away.
The poison type removes the pack and lowers his trainer down to the ground gently. Leaping down, Ash runs to his partner's side and drops down to his knees. Pressing two fingers to his neck, he holds his breath as he prays for signs of life. Feeling a light pulse beneath the pale skin, Ash releases a breathy sigh. He's alive.
Brown orbs run down his partner's body in search of injuries. Gary's face is slightly singed from the Hyper Beam and Flamethrower that nearly hit him. I can't tell with all these damn black clothes if he is bleeding anywhere else.
He swiftly removes his pack and pulls out his first aid kit. Carefully cleaning the blood from Gary's unconscious face, the gruesome head wound is revealed. A large cut extending across his temple and into his hairline. Deep enough that it will most likely scar once healed.
Pressing a compression pad to the largest part of the wound, he wraps gauze around the brunet's head to hold it in place. He glances down at the twisted arm. I can't do anything for that.
"I'm so sorry Gary. I couldn't protect you." Ash whispers brokenly. He blinks away tears as he takes a deep breath to calm himself down. Or at least attempt to.
Standing slowly, he walks a short distance away. Pulling out his comms set, he makes contact with the approaching soldiers. Reporting the events of the past half hour, he sighs in relief learning that a medic is part of the group and they will arrive shortly.
He ends the communication and turns at a soft keening sound. All of Gary's pokemon stand around his prone form in a circle of protection. Watching silently for their trainer to wake back up. Eevee is curled into his uninjured side. She nudges his arm with her nose and cries out once more. How did they get out?
Ash gets his answer seeing the electric mouse standing next to a small pile of open pokeballs. He picks up his sad starter and holds him close.
"Don't worry buddy. He is going to be fine. Nothing will stop Gary from pushing forward. Especially just a few injuries."
The group maintains the silent vigil as they wait for reinforcements.
xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx
Wide brown eyes.
Pain.
Falling.
Darkness.
Pain.
Freezing cold.
Chimes of a bell.
Soothing warmth.
The warmth grows until his whole body fills with the comforting heat. Feeling a pressure on his hand, he flexes his fingers. The pressure increases, almost painfully. Letting out a grunt of pain, he tries to pull away from the object but freezes at the choked sound of Ash's voice.
"Gary?"
He struggles to open his eyes. Why do they feel so heavy? The cold is back. It's taking over the warmth leftover from his partner's hand. He falls into its depth once more.
So tired.
xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx
Ash sits on his pack at Gary's side with Pikachu. He was forced to recall their pokemon in case they wouldn't let the strangers near their injured trainer. Reinforcements arrived about an hour later led by the colorful Beta Team, Jessie Rochester and James Morgan. The raven watches in surprise as the redhead calls out a Chansey and immediately went to his partner's side. They quickly and efficiently lift his body up onto a flat boulder for easier access to his wounds.
Standing next to the blue haired man, he watches as the Chansey glows pink and projects a wave of light over his partner. Again and again, the light is cast. Sometimes changing to a white or green color. Ash fidgets from one foot to another, wanting to help but not knowing what he can do. A soft chime rings out from the pink pokemon.
"What is Chansey doing?" He finally asks the man next to him, no longer able to remain silent at the sight before him. The bluenet crosses his arms as he observes his partner and her patient.
"Chansey is casting various healing moves on your partner. She usually casts Calm Mind first to relax the patient and keep them asleep. Then Heal Bell to get rid of any burns or other status ailments. It then uses small bursts of Heal Pulse to slowly knit together any damaged muscle, bone, tissue and skin." James explains quietly.
Ash blinks in surprise at the complicated healing process. That is really well thought out. We never learned any of this in class. How did they come up with this?
"Wow. That's an impressive system. Did she catch it in the Safari Zone?"
The blue haired man nods once and falls silent. At the pointed look his way from the Colonel who led the party, Ash reluctantly walks away to show him the battle ground. Ash spends the next half hour leading the officer through the battle. However, he doesn't mention anything the Rider said. I need to think on that more before I share my theories.
The redhead joins them several minutes later to deliver her medical report.
"He sustained a skull fracture, concussion and a large laceration to his temple. His right arm was broken in several places. These are also multiple large contusions throughout his body. We were able to heal everything but the concussion. Brain injuries are tricky. He should be monitored for the concussion and his arm will not be back to full strength for a week or so. I recommend he wear a sling."
Upon receiving the care instructions, Ash returns to his partner's side. He keeps vigil as the remaining soldiers leave to follow the dragon back west while the Beta Team stays behind with him to do a final check up once Gary wakes up. Ash takes the brunet's hand in his. Subconsciously placing his fingertips on the pulse point, he waits for his partner to wake up.
xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx
Green eyes open slowly. They gradually focus on the cloudy orange sky above him. Sunset? I've been out for that long? His body tenses as he recalls the events that led to him being knocked out. Gary immediately sits up and looks around frantically.
Where is the Rider?!
Feeling a hand on his chest, he looks down at the appendage and follows it back to his partner. The raven is sitting on his pack next to the boulder he is laying on. Brown eyes full of worry and concern.
"He's not here anymore Gary." Ash says softly.
Gary glares at the ground next to the raven. This is all my fault. I can't believe I fucking missed. I had one of the highest accuracy scores at knife throwing and none of that fucking mattered in the field when I needed it.
Seeing movement to his left, green orbs quickly dart to the side. They widen once they land on the colorful duo that they haven't seen since that helicopter ride two months ago.
"What the hell are they doing here?" Gary mumbles quietly. Loud enough for only Ash to hear.
Ash sighs softly before pushing him to lay back down. Feeling the tightness throughout his body and slight pain, he doesn't resist.
"You have been in and out of consciousness the last five hours Gary. Rochester and her Chansey healed you and stuck around to make sure you are ok. You sustained some serious damage."
Gary could clearly hear Ash's tone shift from concern to anger. As Ash took a deep breath, Gary braces himself.
"Really Gary? What the hell were you thinking pulling a stunt like that? You almost died! You are so freaking lucky that Dragonite didn't throw you any harder and you landed on a ledge instead of falling that high into the electrified water."
No longer able to hold the fierce brown eyes glaring at him, he glances down to asses his injuries. He is surprised to see the sling. A brief wiggle of his fingers assures that everything is in working order even if it is a bit tender. Besides the minor headache and just overall soreness, he feels relatively ok. It's either a miracle, or I'm dead.
"Status." Hearing the stern feminine voice, he looks up towards the redhead towering above him. A pink Chansey stands at her side, ready to help if needed.
He takes a few seconds to catalogue the various aches and pains throughout his body. Honestly, it doesn't feel like I almost died. Is that because of Chansey?
"I feel fine." He reports. "A little headache and it feels like I worked out all day. I guess I have you to thank for that, huh?"
He directs the question towards the egg pokemon with a small smile. It bounces in place with a happy chime.
He stiffens as the redhead rummages through one of the packs at her waist. She hands a small vial to Ash containing a green liquid.
"Headache medicine used for Psyduck and other psychic types. One drop in a glass of water for him a few times a day. It will reduce any swelling in the brain and lessen the headaches. Take it until it's gone."
Jesse recalls her Chansey and calls out a Pidgeotto. The bluenet man follows suit. They take off without another word.
Once they are out of sight, Ash punches him in his good arm.
"OW!" Gary complains loudly as he rubs the pained area. "What the fuck are punching an injured man for?"
Green eyes lock with brown. He puts one hand up in defeat when the raven pulls back to strike again.
"For doing something stupid! If you pull a move like that again, I won't save your sorry ungrateful ass." The raven growls into his face. Chocolate eyes still blazing with anger and a tint of worry.
Rubbing his new injury, he smirks at his partner.
"I thought you liked my ass though."
Throwing his arms up in frustration, Ash storms off to begin setting up camp. The furious raven calls out his pokemon and tasks them with finding firewood. They all rush off to see who can get the most kindling the fastest.
xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx
Larvitar follows behind Ash with his Kevlar ball in his small arms. The little pokemon refuses to stay in one place and Ash is fervently trying to not accidentally step on the little guy.
After almost tripping again, he squats down to the rock skin pokemon's level.
"Hey Larvitar. How about we have a little contest? If you can hold your Harden for two wholeeee minutes, we can play a game. Sound good?"
The young pokemon nods enthusiastically. His body immediately turning into stone. Satisfied that he can finish getting their camp ready without any more interruptions, he turns back to build a small fire pit. He glances back every minute or so to check his progress.
Twenty minutes later, all the pokemon have returned and a cheerful fire was burning thanks to a little help from Charizard's tail. Laying out food for their pokemon, he was just about to go grab Larvitar when he feels a series of small sharp tugs on the bottom of his pants.
The olive green pokemon is bouncing around excitedly at his feet. With a soft smile, he reaches down to pick up the heavy pokemon.
"You finished already?!" He asks, voice thick with astonishment and pride to please the baby pokemon.
Larvitar nods quickly and holds out the little black ball. Ash chuckles as he takes the toy.
"I'm so proud of you! You just beat your record by thirty whole seconds! We can play after dinner alright?"
Sitting down gently, he places the small pokemon in his lap along with the pokemon's food as well as his own meal.
His smile grows taking in all the happy pokemon around him. I'm glad they are all so happy even after that rough battle they had just hours before.
xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx
Gary watches Ash interact with their pokemon from across the fire with a small smile on his face, his empty bowl off to the side.
They all get along with him so well. Even the temperamental ones. How does he do it?
He laughs quietly to himself as he watches his partner start the new game he came up with to hone Larvitar's senses. He would make the pokemon face him and close its eyes. The raven then chucks the ball a short distance away. Larvitar would have to point to the direction he hears the ball land, spin around 3 times and then race off to find it.
It was quite entertaining to watch since the little guy would get dizzy but it seems to love the game. Especially when Pikachu played with him. While Pikachu was more agile, Larvitar recovered faster from the spinning, probably because he spun so much slower than the yellow mouse. However, the starter always made sure the young rock pokemon won.
Ash eventually made his way back over to him after a particularly long throw. Larvitar and Pikachu race off into the darkness in search of the little black ball.
Ash sits on his rock in silence, glancing up at the stars above them. Green eyes take in the various glowing dots briefly before turning back to watch the relaxed raven. They sit it in a comfortable silence for several minutes.
A confused and slightly worried look crosses Ash's face. Looking around, he notices that Pikachu and Larvitar haven't returned back to camp yet. Just as Ash places his hands on the rock to push himself up, the two totter into view dragging a large burlap sack behind them.
Gary struggles to sit up as Ash grabs the bag and brings it closer to the fire. He gently upends the bag onto the ground in front of him. Gary can tell from the stiffening of his partner's body that the sack definitely contains something that he wasn't expecting.
"Well what's in it?" Gary asks impatiently. "That's the Rider's bag isn't it?"
Shocked chocolate eyes meet his. His partner slowly reaches forward and holds up a large yellow/orange gem. It reflects the firelight all across their camp. A Fire Stone? Green eyes roam over the various yellow, blue, green and clear stones.
"Gary...there is at least ten evolutionary stones here...and I don't know what this clear stone is, but I think this orange rock is amber. There is some kind of tiny bug pokemon trapped inside too." Ash whispers in shocked awe at the large collection of precious stones.
Gary is speechless as he glances over the pile in front of his partner. The stones make sense, they can sell those to buy weapons. But what would the Riders need with some old fossil?
xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx
AN: I am in a bit of a writer's block now. I wrote this so fast that all of the ideas I initially came up with (minus the epic ending) I have included for the most part. Soooo PM me if you have any suggestions or a topic/mission/attack or what not that you would want to see in the story. I will see if it fits where I want the story to go and may include it.
Favorite/follow/review please!
Next up: Chapter 22 - Research
