Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
Chapter 5: On Top of Mt. Silver
After a long journey, the three RVs had finally reached Mount Silver, a world-renown relaxation spot with many activities available for any season. Out of each vehicle stepped the younger members first, who had been looking forward to getting out all day.
"I really need to use the bathroom!" Ash blurted to the large redwoods and assorted pine trees.
"What's wrong with the ones in the RVs, Ash?" Sabrina responded. She was partially distracted by Pikachu and Kadabra, who were currently trying to poke each other with sharpened sticks. Ash pouted in her direction. "But it stinks in there!" He whined. Sabrina rolled her eyes.
"Ever hear of an air freshener?" She questioned. Gary came up behind her, still talking on his Pokegear. "I think it's you who stinks and not the bathroom." He turned his attention back to the device. "What? No, I wasn't talking to you. I meant that Ash stinks."
Ash finally took the initiative. He began to walk into the nearby woods, only pausing long enough to throw a decent-sized rock at Gary. The rock swerved in mid-air and only nicked the side of the RV. "Now that explains why he didn't catch many pokemon. He couldn't hit the broad side of a barn."
As Ash used a tree in the woods, his mother stepped out of the RV with a jacket slung over her arm. "Where did Ash go? He needs to put on his jacket for the hike up the mountain."
The next few events were all a blur for the unsuspecting tourists. Kadabra charged after Pikachu into the middle of the parking area, just as a fourth RV veered into the lot. Kadabra teleported to safety, but Pikachu adopted the "Stantler in the headlight" look as the massive metal vehicle bared down on him.
"PIKAAAA!" Breaks squealed as Gary, Sabrina, and Mrs. Ketchum looked on in horror as the RV drove right over Pikachu, stopping just in time to narrowly miss crashing into a tree. Pikachu stood rooted to the ground in fear, eyes stuck wide open as he clutched his stick tightly. His ears had just scraped the bottom of the strangers' RV.
The new RV's door creaked open and the air was filled with shrill arguing. "Like, I swear it was the breaks"
"Sure, Lily, sure! Just blame the breaks! We all know you drive like a maniac anyway!" The red headed girl looked at the three people who watched her berate her sister. The other two continued on with calling the driver rude names. "I'm really sorry about my sister's driving. I--"
"Misty?" Mrs. Ketchum interrupted. "It's so good to see you!"
The recovering electric mouse snapped out of his shock at the sound of Misty's voice. He chose the moment to run up and leap into her arms. "Hi, Pikachu"
Misty resumed talking to Ash's mom. "Like I said, I'm glad Pikachu isn't hurt. I would gladly have driven, but I haven't got my permit."
The group looked up as Ash stumbled through the underbrush, adjusting his pants and wiping his hands with a handy wipe. He looked up at the group staring at him. "What?" Ash then noticed Misty holding his Pikachu in her arms. "Misty? What happened here? Why does Pikachu have a trail of grease on his ears?"
The group facefaulted.
"In all this excitement I almost forgot." Ash's mom made herself known. She held up the jacket, a soft pink with a cartoon bunny design on the front. "I brought your cute little bunny jacket to keep you warm on our hike." The black-haired trainer blushed as the others around him snickered at the jacket. Gary laughed the hardest, pulling out a camera and taking a picture of his once rival and the embarrassing article of clothing.
A Little While Later...
"So, why are we taking a two-day hike up the mountain?" Misty's older, blue-haired sister, Violet, asked the large group on the trek up Mt. Silver. She, like her two other sisters, was carrying a large backpack on her back.
"Hiking is very healthy and enjoyable." Sabrina's dad smiled as he carried an equal amount of stuff on his back. "It gives you a chance to get up close and personal with Mother Nature."
Misty's three sisters groaned as they stumbled along on the path. "Easy for him to say; he's not wearing high-heeled shoes." The blonde-haired Daisy muttered to the red-haired Lily. Lily nodded and replied, "and, like, I don't want to get close to Mother Nature." Misty was tired of being forced to walk behind a group of slowpokes. "Hurry it up!"
"Like, go on ahead of us then!" Violet snapped. So Misty did just that, and left the three trailing behind her. "Thank you, years of traveling with Ash and Brock."
Sabrina and Ash walked behind the gym leader's father, who held a guidebook in his hands. "Hmm...It looks as if there are Ursaring in these parts." He mused loudly. "We better take precautions." Misty and Gary joined Ash and Sabrina as they laughed at the three girls' screeches and yells of fear.
Team Rocket
In the nearby bushes, three sets of eyes looked out at the group with binoculars. They, much like Misty's three sisters, were hardly prepared for a two-day hike up a mountain. But they weren't stupid enough to wear high heels. "There are some more twerps we can steal from." Jessie whispered. Meowth eyed the pearls around Daisy's neck. "Those three must be loaded to wear jewelry out here!"
"Hmm...It looks as if there are Ursaring in these parts."
James looked around fearfully after hearing the comment about the Ursaring. "Ursaring? I don't want to get mauled by those things!" He whined. "Do you think it's true?"
Jessie scoffed. "Of course it's not, moron!" She stuck her fist in the air, ignoring the fact that it had collided with something. She continued on, ignoring the fearful expressions on her teammates' faces. "They're probably just saying it because they know we're around here somewhere."
She finally saw the looks of horror and then turned around, coming face to chest with a huge Ursaring. The bear pokemon had been drawn to that spot by the three Cerulean Sisters, but had then been hit by Jessie.
"Oh my--AGGGGGHHHHH!"
A While Later...
"This is pretty good!" Misty commented on Mrs. Ketchum's delicious meal, which was now being eaten out of the group's mess kits. Ash's mom smiled at the comment and the group's unanimous affirmation. "I'm glad you all enjoy it." Ash was busy sneaking second helpings of the chicken and green beans. Afterwards, he turned back to Misty.
"Doesn't this just bring back memories...Way back when it was just you, Brock, and I?" He looked up at the stars that were sparkling above their heads. "Sure, I didn't know much back then, and we kept getting lost, but we had tons of fun during it all."
The whole group had decided to remain quiet during Ash's reminiscing, and watched as Misty nodded in agreement. "I sort of miss traveling with you two." Ash then decided to ask something that was on his mind. "Do you know what he's doing this summer?"
Misty started eating again, but paused between bites to answer him. "He and his family went to the Sevii Islands for three weeks. After all, Gym Leaders get to go on a three-week vacation each summer if they want to." Ash paused for a moment. "But what about Sabrina? How come she's going for the whole summer?"
"I still have some Gym Leader responsibilities." The raven-haired gym leader interrupted. "I have to accept the challenges of any trainer who requests an official gym match, and I can hand out badges to those who win. But...I left the Gym in the care of the previous Leader, my grandpa." Sabrina looked up at them. "He hands out the badges to the trainers who go to the gym for a match. I hope he's keeping things under control..."
Meanwhile at the Saffron City Gym...
A healthy old man dances around the Gym floor, wearing his usual blue kimono. His hair is white with age, and matches the color of his beard, which is in the style of his son's. A Wobbuffet, Alakazam, Hitmonlee, Machoke, and Medicham dance around with him, each wearing a lampshade on their head. Streamers, balloons, and assorted party supplies decorate every wall and corner, and loud dance music fills the room.
Back at the campsite...
"...And when he went to open the passenger side door, he found a metal hook on the handle!" Max concluded his scary story. He was dismayed with their bored looks and inattentiveness. "Oh come on! It wasn't that bad!"
Sabrina opened one of her eyes to both check on her marshmallow, and to give the boy a good look. "It wasn't bad...We all just heard it about a thousand times each."
The group sat around the roaring campfire, making s'mores and telling scary stories. Or at least, they were trying to tell scary stories. The two pokemon had clustered on the western side of the fire; too busy licking melted chocolate and marshmallow off their face to pay much attention to such stories. Sabrina finally decided to help the group with the stories.
"The problem is all the stories we told are overheard or unbelievable." She said. "Not to mention, the reader has to captivate the audience so they pay attention."
Sabrina closed her eyes and then opened them. Her face was cast in shadow, making her look sinister and evil. "Once there was an average trainer, who figured that he'd give in to his wild side and explore the off limits cave near Cerulean City. The cave was filled with terribly powerful pokemon, the likes of which made Gym Leaders' pokemon seem like mere playthings, so it made sense that the cave was off limits.
"The young trainer, overconfident in his abilities, decided to only bring one pokemon with him. His trusted Blastoise, the first pokemon he'd ever gotten, was his choice. He snuck behind the guard who blocked the way, and slipped through the crevasse into the earth. The walls of the cave were lit by some unknown light source, and the boy assumed that he would be just fine in there.
"The first pokemon he ran into was a Wobbuffet; the blue pokemon was blocking his progress through the cave. The trainer thought he could just ignore the pokemon and that it would go away. But the blue blob continued to follow closely behind whenever he attempted to run away. The boy looked from the pokemon's face to his inky black tail, and almost automatically threw out his pokemon.
"The boy had his pokemon use every move at its disposal, and each time the Wobbuffet bounced the attack back with counter or mirror coat. The boy realized that his Blastoise was too exhausted to continue, but his pokemon ignored his commands to run away and instead looked at him through hypnotized eyes.
"The Wobbuffet too was on the end of its ropes, and executed a Destiny Bond that somehow, with some fluke, designated the boy as its target. The boy did not know this, only that his pokemon needed to go to the pokemon center, and ordered his pokemon to deliver the final blow."
Sabrina paused in her story. "When the guard finally decided to see what the noise in the cave was, all three were no more..."
"Wow..." Was Ash's only comment. The group was silent for a moment, until Ash decided to speak up again. "What was all of that about?"
"Shadow Tag, Ash." Professor Oak stated irritably. "Wobbuffet has the ability Shadow Tag, making the opponent unable to flee from battle until the Wobbuffet is unable to fight."
The group settled on adding their own two cents about the story as they continued to eat s'mores around the fire. Not many people liked it, but at least it killed some time before bed.
Team Rocket
"Do you guys think that..." James began, looking at Jessie and the pokeball she held away from her. All three team members were scratched and wore large bandages, all thanks to the Ursaring they encountered. But right now they were more afraid of the Wobbuffet in the pokeball Jessie held.
Meowth shrugged it off. "Nah, our Wobbuffet's too dumb to know how to be evil like that."
James looked at the pokeball again. "But it does seem to be unlucky. We haven't succeeded in catching any pokemon for the boss since it joined us." Jessie growled. "We never caught anything even before it joined our team."
Quiet snarling interrupted their little powwow, irking Jessie even more. "Can't you see we're having a meeting right now!" Her voice died out as she saw the large group of Ursaring behind her.
"Oh, crud."
Mount Silver
"We finally made it!" May cheered. "Let's go enjoy the hot springs!" Misty's sisters nodded in agreement, thinking of the blisters on their feet that threatened to burst. Never again would they hike in high heels.
The others were busy enjoying the beautiful view from the deck on the lodge. The tips of the pines made a carpet of green below, extending to the banks of a nearby crystal blue lake. The top of a ranger tower poked out among the trees. The lodge itself was built out of sturdy logs; its purpose was to serve as the warm retreat from skiing in the winter, and to house the world-famous hot springs.
The group finally pulled themselves away from the breathtaking view to head to the hot springs, the waters of which were said to heal any injury of people and pokemon alike.
As this group made themselves comfortable in their area, Team Rocket let their aches float away in the hot bubbling waters of the spring. Soothing music floated from speakers mounted on the walls. They sipped hot chocolate as the dirt washed off, and they sighed with contentment. For once this summer, things weren't so bad for them.
To Be Continued...
Chapter five has finally been written, with this being the last day of freedom before school. Once again, I can't seem to put in the dividers, but I've bolded the dividing words.