The Pokemon Preserve
Episode 11
Recap on the last episode...
"I wish Brock could have come with us." Ash said, looking over at Aria.
She nodded. "Same."
"Brock?" May said confused.
"Who's Brock?" Max asked.
"A friend we were traveling with before." Ash explains. "Knows lots about pokemon."
"But he really really knows how to cook well too." Aria added.
"Hey guys, look." Max pulls out a small box out of his bag.
"Isn't chocolate!" Cried Ash.
"We can split it so we all can get one." May said.
"Great, let's do it!"
But before Max, could, something flew in and snatched it out of his hand, leaving everyone dumbfounded. They looked up in the air to see a pokemon flying away from them, but they couldn't tell if it was holding something.
"That pokemon stole our chocolate!" May exclaimed.
She got up and started to run after it, including with her younger brother.
"Guys! It's just―!"
"We can't get separated from them. Lets go!"
...
"Oh no, this is bad." Ash said.
"They almost look like their about to attack." Max pointed out.
"They got their fruit back so what's the problem?" May asked.
"We must be in their territory. They're probably mad because we were going to eat some of their fruit." Aria said, holding a poke ball in her hands. "We're going to have to battle our way out of this one. Electrike, come on out!" She commanded, throwing the poke ball out of her hand as it appeared next to Pikachu.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt." Ash commanded.
"And use Spark Electrike!" Aria commanded hers.
The two electric pokemon obeyed and launched their attack at the flock of Taillow. The attack managed to do a lot of damage to them that they all fell to the ground.
"Alright!" Ash said happily.
"Flying types are weak to electric types like Pikachu and Electrike." Max explains.
"That will hold them off for a while." Aria added.
But what shocked them was that they were getting right back up.
"Maybe not!" Ash exclaimed.
"But how could they have recovered so quickly!?" Max questioned.
"Electrike Discharge!" Aria commanded.
Electrike nodded, launching the far range attack everywhere and hits the flock of Taillow again, but they only shook it off and kept consciousness.
Electrike looked dumbfounded as its attack did nothing to the flock.
Only more Taillow started to show up which made it now impossible for them to escape.
"Forretress explosion!"
Ash and Aria instantly remember that voice as if they heard it before. They then noticed a pokemon stand right in front of them before it glowed and blew up right in front of them, causing a large explosion to happen.
When the smoke cleared, they saw someone standing in front of them.
"BROCK!" Ash and Aria exclaimed.
...
"So, Brock, what are you doing here? I thought you were going home." Ash asked.
"I did go home." Brock said, getting up. "Everything is fine, so I decided to come back out. And then Professor Birch told me that you and Aria were heading to Rustboro City. So I decided to come out here and see if I could find you."
"Does that mean we're going to travel together again?" Aria asked, a smile appeared on her face.
"Yeah, if you don't mind."
"That's the best news we heard all day." Ash said.
"Let me introduce you to our new friends, this is May and her young brother Max. They're from Petalburg City" He said. "And this is our friend Brock, he's training to become the world's best Pokemon Breeder."
"Hi there." May greeted.
"It was so cool being a breeder huh?" Max asked.
"Yeah, I still got a lot to learn though. But, hi." Brock said.
"When we met Brock he was the gym leader in Pewter City." Aria explains.
"Wow you were?" Max said shocked.
"Our dad is a gym leader too." May said. "Isn't it true what Aria told us that you were a good cook?" She asked.
Brock looks over at her.
"It's true, you still practicing?" He asked.
"Of course! How could I forget how to cook from a great teacher?" She said.
...
"Oh no! It's that same Taillow that ate the chocolate!" Aria heard Ash exclaim.
She turns around and saw it land on a rock right in front of Pikachu.
Taillow started to talk to Pikachu trying to tell it something.
"Can you tell what it's saying?" Max asked.
"That Taillow came back here to fight." Ash said.
"How come?" May asked.
"Because Pikachu and Electrike had such powerful attacks that it wanted Taillow to battle it." Aria explains.
"Alright, we accept!" Ash said grinning.
May looked at Ash blankly. "I don't get it, what's the point?"
"I guess Taillow wants to prove which pokemon is the best." Brock said. "A strong opponent always makes Tailllow want to battle. I'm guessing it wants a clear winner to decide it in a battle with Pikachu."
...
"Ash, you have to catch Taillow." Aria said.
"What, why?" He asked.
"Look at it. You can see how brave Taillow is but it's only getting hurt and wants to keep on battling! It won't last much longer if you keep it up." She said.
"Alright, if you say so." He takes out an empty poke ball. "Poke ball go!" And throws it at Taillow. The poke ball lands on the ground, flashing a bit and shaking. The others waited silently wondering if he caught Taillow or not. But when it stopped shaking and the flashing stopped, a smiles appeared on Ash's face.
"Alright, I caught it!"
...
"You won't talk them out of it Taillow!"
Taillow was confused and looked down to see a three people standing behind the flock. And once again, they started their motto.
"Not you guys again!" Max exclaimed.
"Now listen up Taillow, the more you battle the more sandwiches you get." Jessie said to the flock.
"Now hold on a minute!" Brock started. "You mean sandwiches like the five here an hour ago?"
"Well well, look who it is. The biggest twerp made a comeback." Meowth said.
"Well if you came back for lunch you're a little too late." James said.
"Yes, I already know that! They were my sandwiches!" He shouted.
"So what you're trying to say is that they were 'yours'?"
"I knew it was you!"
"Give them back!" Ash demanded.
"Yeah! We're starving!" May exclaimed.
"ENOUGH! Taillow go!" Jessie commanded.
The flock started to surround Pikachu, but Taillow got in front of it and tried to tell them that Pikachu is on their side. But it was interrupted when a timer went off.
"The food is ready." Brock said.
"And I'm ready to eat it!" May said.
The flock and the others stood by the pot of food and stared down at it, while Team Rocket stood a far distance away, dumbfounded.
"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.
Pikachu nods, turning to Team Rocket and launching the attack at them.
"Sorry about that Team Rocket but this time you're the ones who are too late. Pikachu already ate Brock's pokemon food." He said.
Team Rocket then was flying high in the sky once again until you couldn't see them anymore. So the others sat down and started to eat the great food that Brock was making. And the flock got to eat some of the pokemon food too.
"Ash and Aria weren't kidding, you're an awesome cook." May said.
"You should see what Aria can make." Brock said, patting her on the back. "Her cooking is as great as mine."
"Thanks Brock." She smiles.
It's only been a couple of days since Ash and the others have been traveling to Rustboro City, and they have yet to reach it. But Ash did managed to catch another pokemon a couple of days ago which was a Treeko.
A kid from pallet town with a brand new world to see
I don't know what's ahead but it won't get the best of me
There's so much to learn and battles to be won
I've advanced so far and still there's always more to come
Take a step and I'm on my way gonna start all over again
I want to be hero (hero!)
Pokemon advance
I wanna be a hero (hero!)
Give it just one chance
And the future will decide
If there's a hero buried deep inside
I wanna be a hero!
Pokemon!
"There are so many pokemon here." Ash said, looking around at the pokemon that were climbing through the trees, and running along the woods.
"You never see this many pokemon in a forest like this. I think it's just a lucky day to see this many." Aria added, petting one of her pokemon on the head. "But, it's strange. Absol, do you think something is up?" She asked her pokemon.
Even though she couldn't understand pokemon, she always like to figure out how they felt about their surroundings, Aria's battle style, or even anything they had in common.
Absol shakes its head, looking at the pokemon.
Aria did remember that Absol was a very shy pokemon when she first met it when she first got to Professor's Birch's lab. Absol barely trusted her at all at the time, but the more time she tried to get its trust, they became friends. Absol's old trainer abandoned it because they thought Absol was a weak pokemon, but the truth is that Absol is a really powerful pokemon, and Aria didn't care at all if the pokemon was weak or strong, she's just happy to have a great friend along side her.
"It is strange." May said, looking at Absol. "It's not common to be all together like this right?" She asked.
"No, that is unless this place is a―"
They all looked up on top of a hill and heard something howl out loud. The pokemon jumps down off the hill and lands right in front of them.
"It's a Mightyena!" Max exclaimed.
Two more Mightyena appeared by the other one's side and they growled at them.
"They don't seem friendly either." Ash added.
"We can't run or they'll chase after us. Mightyena are fast pokemon, running will just get us caught." Aria said.
"Then we'll have to fight, Pikachu."
"Pika!"
Aria nods to Absol, telling it to help them out for this.
"Pikachu use Thunder Bolt!" Ash commanded.
Pikachu runs forward, then coming to a stop as it launched the attack at the first one. But it managed to dodge it with no problem and headbutt Pikachu, doing some major damage.
"Absol use Slash!" Aria said.
Absol charges in, ready to attack the first one it sees, but instead something knocks Absol back, causing it to stop fighting. It even hit Pikachu too and it confused everyone. Then, it comes back and hits Ash in the face, and knocks Aria onto the ground.
Whatever attacked them landed right in front of the Mighteyna, standing tall and proud, but also didn't take to kindly to Ash and the others.
"It's a Poocheyna!" Max said.
"Why are you attacking us?" Ash asked.
"That's enough Poocheyna!" A voice told the small pokemon.
A young girl steps in front of the four pokemon, looking at Ash and the others. "What are you doing here? This entire area is a pokemon preserve." She demanded.
Aria mental sighs.
I figured much...
Ash and Aria stood up at the same time and frowns. "Really? We're sorry, we didn't know." Ash said.
"We're just cutting through on our way to Rustboro City." May said.
The girl looked confused. "Rustboro City?"
"Yeah, we're going there to have a gym battle." Aria explains, taking out her pokeball and returning Absol to it.
"Oh, I didn't mean to sound suspicious, but we get poachers here sometimes so I really have to be careful. I'm Katrina, I'm the ranger for this preserve." She greeted.
"Here at the preserve we care for sick and injured pokemon back to health." Katrina said.
"I can't believe how many pokemon your able to take care of Katrina." May said.
"It's my job," She said. "Pokemon out here are going to need some protection, that's why I have my pokemon with me to help me out with protecting this preserve."
"I can relate to that." Aria said. "I want to protect pokemon who can't defend themselves. That's why I wanted to become a Pokemon Trainer, so I can become friends with many different kinds of pokemon."
"I understand that." Katrina said, "Bonding with pokemon is a huge deal, and they are apart of our life."
Aria nods in response.
Aria and the others were having a bite to eat while Max was sitting in front of Poocheyna, wondering about something. Right next to Aria was her Electrike because she thought it would be nice for it to be out in the open for a while.
"Poocheyna should be evolving into Mighteyna soon right?" Max asked, looking over at the sleeping pokemon.
"I wouldn't be too sure. That Poocheyna was born at the same time as those other three, but they all evolved into Mighteyna together and that was a while ago." Katrina said.
"So this Poocheyna is way behind schedule. I wonder why."
"Well, my guess is that its habit of using tackle attack has kept it out of too many battles. But I wouldn't worry about it."
Max stood up. "Why not?" He asked.
"It's really not a problem, Max. You've see as many pokemon, you known that each one evolves at its own pace. When the time is right Poocheyna will evolve. Its also may be possible that it'll never evolve at all. And that's okay too." Katrina explains.
"Not it's not!" Max exclaimed, startling Poocheyna. "When a pokemon evolves it gets much stronger, it even has more of the advantage to take care of itself in battle! Right Poocheyna, don't you want to evolve and get stronger?" Max asked.
Poocheyna looked confused, still half asleep.
"But you can't get a pokemon to evolve if it doesn't want to." Ash said.
"Ash's right." Aria said. "Pokemon have to gain experience while battling, and it will also make you're friendship grow. All of those wins and loses will only improve their battling style. Getting to know your pokemon will also make battling more interesting and fun."
"Why hasn't Pikachu evolved yet though?" May asked.
"Yeah, shouldn't it become a Raichu a while ago?" Max said.
"Well if Pikachu hasn't evolved yet I guess neither will my Torchic." May said sadly.
"That's not it May, you can't compare Pikachu and Torchic because they both are different." Ash said.
"Right, each different pokemon has different ways of evolving." Aria added.
"Are you saying there are different kinds of evolutions?" May asked confused.
"Allow me to explain." Brock said. "When Poocheyna evolves into Mighteyna or Pineco evolves into Forrestress for both of them its all the matter of the level they reached. One such as Pikachu need a group of special stones to shape their evolution. Pikachu will only evolve into Raichu if a Thunder Stone is the one that is used."
"Wow, thank you Brock." May said.
"Yeah, I think I understand now." Max replied. "Evolving sounds even cooler! Come on May, lets do it!"
"But Max, didn't you hear what, Ash, Aria, and Brock just told us? You can't make a pokemon evolve just because you want it to." She said, shaking her head.
"Why do you always have to be like that...all we have to do is giving Poocheyna a little push and it should evolve!" He said.
Everyone blinked at what Max had just said.
"What are you talking about?" Ash asked.
"Since we know this Poocheyna's friends have already evolved into Mighteyna and since all four were born at the same time, this one is obviously ready to evolve any minute now. And I don't want to miss it. We got to stay here until it happens, please?" He begged.
"We're suppose to be on our way to Rustboro." Ash said frowning.
"And remember there is no guarantee it will evolve soon, but I do have room if you want to stay here a while."
"But..."
"Ash, the gym is always open, so there's nothing to worry about. It's not like it's going to close down." Aria said, shaking her head.
"I guess..."
"Those two seem to be getting along well." Aria said, watching the two small electric pokemon play with each other.
"Yeah, Pikachu always loves to meet other electric types. Speaking of electric types, how did you get Electrike?" Ash asked.
"Oh, I got Electrike from Professor Birch when it was only an egg. Electrike is still young and is really excited to be going on a journey like this." She said.
"I can tell, Electrike has so much energy, it's like no one can stop it from doing anything." He laughs.
"Hey Ash," Max asked, entering the cabin.
He held Poocheyna in his hands, walking over to the table Aria and Ash were sitting at.
"Is it okay if I borrow Pikachu for a minute?"
"Okay...I guess." Ash said blankly.
"Don't do it Ash." May said, entering the house, holding her pokemon in her hands. "He's going to make them lose on purpose, so that Poocheyna can evolve, aren't you?"
"Max..." Aria started. "Is that what you've been doing?" She asked.
"Yeah..." He frowns. "But Aria, how else can I get Poocheyna to evolve?"
"I know this means a lot to you, but do you think this will mean anything to Poocheyna if it evolves and it doesn't feel like it accomplished anything? You don't want that." She said.
"I guess your right." Max leaves the cabin, not saying another word to any of them.
May looks over at Ash and Aria and sighs. "He's still got a lot to learn." She said.
They nod.
Aria stood up out of her chair. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Come on Electrike."
Her pokemon looks over at her before saying goodbye to Pikachu and jumping on her shoulder. They walked out of the cabin and Aria searched for Max. When she saw him sitting against the cabin, watching Poocheyna play with the three Mighteyna.
"Hey Max," She said, kneeling down beside him. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah..." He sighed. "I just want to help Poocheyna, I know I shouldn't cheat anymore but Poocheyna will get stronger if it evolves."
Aria looks at Electrike, then back at Max.
"You know, some pokemon think their strong even if they don't evolve. You've seen Ash's Pikachu, I learned more about pokemon because I saw how much he was training and getting stronger." She said.
"I guess." Max stood up. "I'm going to go hang out in the forest with Poocheyna."
Aria blinked before a smile spread on her face.
"Alright," She said, standing up. "But be careful. Actually, can I join you for a while?"
Max nodded, "Sure."
Aria looks around before looking back at Max. "I'll catch up with you in a few minutes okay?" She asked.
"Okay, come on Poocheyna." Max leaves with the pokemon before she turned to Electrike.
She sighs and shakes her head.
"What's up, Aria?"
She turns around and saw Katrina walk over to her.
"Hi Katrina, I'm just trying to help Max. What's going on at the preserve?" She asked.
"I found this in this forest." She opens her hand and shows Aria what she had found.
"Is that a net?" She asked.
"Right, so there are poachers in the forest. They're trying to capture the forest pokemon."
Aria looks back up at her. "Max went into the forest with Poocheyna, they could be in danger!" She exclaimed. "I'll go in there and get him, can you go tell the others what happened?"
Katrina nods, "Alright, but be careful, these poachers could be powerful." She warned.
Aria nods, "I will, don't worry. Come on Electrike."
The young pokemon barked in response before she started to run toward the forest to find Max. He shouldn't have gone to far, he has to be somewhere close by the cabin.
"Max? Where are you?" She called. "Max?"
"Aria! I'm over here!"
She looked around before she spotted him a few meters away. She ran over to him, kneeling down to his level, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Are you okay?" She asked concerned.
"I'm fine! But Team Rocket captured Poocheyna!" He exclaimed.
Aria eyes widen. "Where are they?"
"We're over here!" A voice sang.
Aria stood up, Electrike jumping on her shoulder once they heard that voice.
"Team Rocket!" They exclaimed in unison.
"Of course! Who else would capture the pokemon in the forest?" Jessie said sarcastically.
Aria gasped, "You were the ones who set up that net!"
"Yeah! We did, and we also caught this forest pokemon and Poocheyna!" Meowth said, gesturing to the pokemon in the net behind them, their hot air balloon attached to it.
Aria grits her teeth, trying to come up with a way to save the pokemon without getting them harmed by their attack.
We can't attack, we'll only hurt the pokemon that they have captured...what am I going to do?
Jessie then called out her pokemon and commanded it to launch its attack at them.
"Electrike, dodge it and...no, just dodge it for now!" She commanded, her face turns to anger.
Electrike obeyed, dodging her pokemon's attack. But before she could use just a simple attack like tackle, they didn't notice that the other two were attaching the net to the balloon and got inside. Before they took off, her pokemon launched a finally attack at Electrike, striking it's attack. When it landed Electrike went flying in the air, Aria gasping in fear.
"Electrike!" She exclaimed before catching her small pokemon in her arms. She then noticed how tired it must have been from all of the dodging that it wore itself out, Electrike is still just a baby and won't be able to handle such strength from certain pokemon.
Aria grits her teeth together, holding out a poke ball, "I'm sorry Electrike, you'll feel much better with some rest." She assured her pokemon before returning it to the poke ball. But before she could call out another pokemon, Team Rocket already took off to the skies.
"Team Rocket!" Aria shouted angrily at them.
"Max! Aria!"
They turn around and noticed Ash and the others running in their direction, worried looks on their face showed it all.
"Are you two alright?" Brock asked.
"Team Rocket is getting away and they captured the forest pokemon and Poocheyna!" Max exclaimed.
Ash grits his teeth, taking out a poke ball.
"Taillow, I need your help!" He called out his pokemon. "Stop that balloon!"
Taillow nods, flying towards where Team Rocket was, pecking them on their heads. When doing that, they weren't paying attention to how lower they were so the balloon was getting closer and closer to the ground. The others then chase after it, the three Mighteyna taking the lead, barking to Poocheyna.
"Poocheyna!" Max called, running a bit faster than the others, running beside the Mighteyna. "Use Bite Poocheyna to break through the net!"
Poocheyna wasn't sure, shaking its head worriedly.
"Don't be afraid! Just bite through the net! If you do you can save your friends!" Max assured the pokemon.
Poocheyna looks back at the pokemon behind it, noticing the worried looks on their face, sacred, terrified, anything that makes them very concerned about what was going to happen to them. Poocheyna shakes it head before grabbing a hold of the net with its teeth, biting it as hard as it could, at least until the net broke.
All of the pokemon fell out of the net, landing on the ground before Poocheyna ran over to Max. "Great job Poocheyna!" He praised the pokemon. Taillow flew back after the net was destroyed, landing on Ash's shoulder.
"Alright, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash told his electric pokemon.
Pikachu nods before jumping into the air, charging up all of the electricity building up in it's red cheeks. Then it released it all at once, land right at the balloon, destroying it as Team Rocket flew away like a shooting star once again.
"You did it Poocheyna." Max praised the pokemon in front of him.
Poocheyna barked a few times before Max smiled.
"Ash and Aria were right, you fine just the way you are, even if you don't evolve." He said. But before he could say more, Poocheyna glowed a bright white, everyone gasping in shock.
"What's going on? Why is it glowing like that?" May asked confused.
"It's evolving." Katrina said.
Poocheyna was getting much bigger than it originally was, its tail was longer, it was taller, its nails grew, and more fur grew on its back.
"Poocheyna is a Mighteyna. It evolved for you Max." Aria said.
Max chuckles before walking up to the tall pokemon, hugging it. "That's amazing, Poocheyna- I mean Mighteyna."
The others smile down at them, enjoying them moment till the end. May never saw a pokemon evolve before, so it was something completely new to her, and Max. But it seems like they already learned everything about evolution, it was a big mystery after all and not going through the problems doesn't making evolving fun and creative at all.
Aria learned this way before she became a pokemon trainer, because Professor Oak taught her that. But she knew that pokemon have different ways of evolving. Through stones, through certain high level friendship, and depending what level their at they evolve then. She had already witness may of her pokemon evolve before her eyes, even her first pokemon when it was just a young Bulbasaur.
Aria smiles to herself, looking over at Ash who had a smile on his face as well.
Maybe this wasn't a bad idea after all. I'm glad Ash and I got the chance again to travel through another region together. This is just the beginning though, our first gym battle is about to happen soon, I'm just so excited! I can't wait to meet so many new pokemon, I just want to become friends with all of them! But that's going to take time, besides, as long as I have my friends with me, I know that we'll be okay on our own. I just know it.