Pokémon Type: BUG
Shipping: LedybaShipping

One-Shot 10: LadyBugged

Ash, Misty and Brock, as well as their Pokémon friends continued through the Johto Region. Everything seemed peaceful when something tapped Misty in the back. She saw Ash lead, concluding Brock wanted to scare her. "Brock, this isn't about me denying you love, is it?" she guessed. Brock looked to find something on Misty's back.

"That's a Bug Pokémon, not me," he corrected. She didn't want to believe the Pokémon Breeder but a buzzing to her back stopped her. She felt a bug and screamed. This startled the boys and the Pokémon, including the one crawling on her back.

"Get it off!" she repeatedly shouted. She collapsed, still holding Togepi in her arms. Ash and Pikachu looked to Misty and found a Ledyba flying overhead.

"Okay, Misty!" he tried to ease. "Ledyba's off." Misty looked up to find the Five Star Pokémon above her.

"This is why Bug Pokémon bug me!" The Ledyba sensed something and flew ahead. Before anyone could begin to wonder where it flew off.

"Come back, Ledyba!" a familiar young woman's voice called out. The group turned to find a girl with a small swarm of Ledyba.

"It's Arielle!" recognized Brock. Arielle tripped while chasing that lone Ledyba but caught herself before landing on her face.

"Ledyba, get back here!" she yelled. The Ledyba ignored Arielle and flew ahead. The other Ledyba buzzed but to no avail. Ash counted the Ledyba and realized a key note.

"You got another Ledyba?" he asked. Arielle nodded, confirming Ash's guess.

"That one joined after it liked my food and wanted to join my group. It learned quickly what we do and I couldn't be more happy to have more help. Then recently, it started disobeying my orders and followed something, I don't know what." This concerned Ash, Brock and the Pokémon.

"We should follow that Ledyba," Brock suggested.

"You're right," Ash agreed before grabbing a Pokéball. "Noctowl, I choose you!" The ball opened and out came Ash's shiny Noctowl. Ash looked ready to give his command. "Noctowl, go after that Ledyba but don't battle it." Pikachu jumped on Noctowl to aid in understanding.

("I'm going ahead to verify!") it squeaked. Ash trusted his partner, allowing him to go on. Noctowl flew ahead. Ash didn't want to be left behind.

"Let's go!" Everyone joined the chase, even Misty begrudgingly. The Ledyba never bothered to see its pursuers. It continued to fly ahead of everyone.

"What about the whistle?!" suggested Misty. "Didn't you try that?" Arielle gawked at the reminder of a tool she used to control her swarm. When Ash and his friends met Arielle, she blew on the whistle for the Ledyba to perform tasks but after Team Rocket snatched it, along with the swarm, she lost confidence. Ash reminded her that the Ledyba were her Pokémon, not Team Rocket's. She used her voice to gain control back from Jessie, James and Meowth and reclaim her whistle.

"That could work!" she believed. Arielle pulled out her whistle and blew, hoping to call the Ledyba back. Ledyba didn't respond to the whistle, staying its course. She tried again and again.

"It's not working!" gawked Brock. Ash had a guess to why.

"Remember, she put the whistle away after controlling the Ledyba by commands!" he recalled. "That Ledyba's not as experienced with the whistle like the rest of the swarm!" Arielle felt as if she began to run out of options.

"So now what?" she pleaded.

"The only thing we can do at this time: stay with Ledyba until we know what it's after." Even Misty had to acknowledge the option presented. The chase resumed for sometime. After a while, the Ledyba's flight came to an end. When the group arrived as well, they saw Ledyba with its evolved form.

"Isn't that a Ledian?" pointed Misty. Everyone wondered to the discovery of Ledyba's Pokémon.

"Let me double-check with Dexter." Ash brought out his PokéDex to verify. Ledian's picture popped up on the screen.

"Ledian, The Five Star Pokémon," it computed. "Ledian is the evolved form of Ledyba. The star pattern varies to the amount of stars in the sky." The entry didn't offer much help.

"So now what?" asked Arielle.

"We watch," Brock suggested. Ledyba buzzed around as Ledian watched. Seeing Ledyba's behavior grabbed Brock's curiosity. "Arielle, what was Ledyba like when you first met it?" Arielle thought back to when it met her.

"Come to think of it, Ledyba found us and acted lethargic. I brought it to Mr. Douglas who fed it and made sure it was okay. Once it recovered, the other Ledyba helped it with pollinating and flight patterns. Somehow, I sensed it had a purpose, like it wanted to prove something." This led to a theory for Misty.

"Sounds like Ledyba's trying to prove its worth to Ledian," she guessed. That when Ledyba started to dance around Ledian. Nostalgia irked Ash and Brock to recognize Ledyba's moves.

"That looks… familiar," Ash pointed out.

"It's the Courtship Dance!" briefed Brock. "Remember, your Butterfree did it for that pink one!" Ledian watched, rather entranced to Ledyba's movements. The Ledian flew to Ledyba and both buzzed a conversation. Ledian turned to Arielle for a moment. It now flew to meet Arielle and buzzed something out of curiosity. Pikachu jumped to Arielle's shoulder and offered an explanation.

"What do you think they talking about?" wondered Misty. Ledian's eyes found Arielle's other Ledyba and squeaked to the owner about them.

"Those Ledyba are my friends," she explained. "We've helped each other. In fact, my Ledyba helped the one who wanted to see you." The Ledian sensed Arielle's honesty and actually hugged her. To Arielle, Ledian understood her. "Thank you, Ledian." Arielle's other Ledyba joined in the jubilation.

"I see!" noted Brock. "Ledian's thanking Arielle for helping its friend in gaining its strength and confidence back." That's when more Ledian showed up. Misty awed the sight of more of the Five Star Pokémon.

"To think, these Bug Pokémon don't bug me as much as Caterpie or Spinarak," she smiled. That's when Pikachu spotted something that actually would: Team Rocket's balloon. His squeak alerted everyone else.

"Now those three bug me more," Ash growled. All turned to find Team Rocket entering the scene.

"Prepare for trouble, the bug Pokémon stop here," Jessie started.

"Make it double, we're the Five Star of fear," James continued.

"Last I checked, you're only half a star!" corrected Misty, irking the Rockets.

"Hey!" they shouted together. "Not fair!" Arielle didn't want her Ledyba taken like before.

"I know what your scheme is!" she shouted. "You're after my whistle again! Well, I don't need that tool to beat you!" Jessie wasn't as amused.

"Then thank goodness we aren't here for the whistle when we can easily take your Ledyba by force!" she proclaimed.

"And those Ledian can join us, of course!" prompted James. Now Ash felt the need to protect Arielle's Pokémon and the Ledian.

"You won't lay a finger on the Ledyba and Ledian!" he growled.

"Oh, shut your trap!" snapped Jessie. The Ledian realized the danger the Ledyba swarm were under. They flew to defend their new friends. They surrounded the balloon from every possible angle.

"I dink dese Ledian are serious about us capturing dem," stuttered Meowth. Noctowl also joined in the group. The leading Ledian and Noctowl bobbed nods, a team in formation. Team Rocket, Ash and his friends could only wonder what they had planned. That's when each Ledian swarmed in and pummeled Team Rocket with an onslaught of punches. Brock knew the attack.

"The Ledian are using Comet Punch!" he pointed out. Wobbuffett emerged before it summoned Counter. Suddenly, the Comet Punch attacks came back at them. All the Ledian staggered somewhat but soon recovered. "Comet Punch is a Fighting move, but the Ledian are also Flying Pokémon so it doesn't affect them as much!" Turning to Arielle, Ash wanted to work together with the Ledian to stop Team Rocket.

"Ledyba, Supersonic!" she commanded. The Ledyba buzzed their wings and shot sound waves, tagging all in the balloon massively.

"Stop it!" yelled Jessie. "I can't hear myself think!" The disorienting Supersonic attack allowed Ash to finish the struggle.

"Noctowl, use Confusion on the balloon and flip it over!" he ordered. Noctowl's eyes and eyebrow began to glow before the balloon and it flipped over, sending Team Rocket into the fabric. "Now, Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt on the burner!" Pikachu shot its favorite attack, shocking the burner before it fell into the balloon. Team Rocket screamed before an explosion blew the balloon to confetti and the trio flying to the horizon.

"It bugs me how the twerps keep tearing down!" complained Jessie.

"It bugs me how our plans fall apart before it's executed!" argued James.

"It bugs me how youse two can't come up with a better comeback!" groaned Meowth.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they shouted as they flew off together. The Ledian and Ledyba swarmed Ash and Arielle together, praising them for their easy win against Team Rocket.

"That was great teamwork," Arielle complimented. Both the Five Star Pokémon swarms buzzed happily to the support. That's when all the Pokémon lifted Ash and Arielle to the sky. "Hey, what are you doing?!"

"Whoa!" The Ledian and Ledyba carried Ash and Arielle to the sky. Misty and Brock began to chase, fearing the Bug Pokémon would drop either one. Ledian led the swarm to a flower patch on the cliff of a small mountainside. Many different flowers covered the land. Ash and Arielle awed the landscape.

"Look at this! Is this where you wanted to take us?" Ledian buzzed to confirm Arielle's guess. "It's beautiful!" Ash awed the scene as Pikachu and Noctowl found the swarm and the humans. "The pollen here is rich. This could help with Mr. Douglas' orchard in big ways." Ash saw the bright colors of the flowers, agreeing to Arielle's take.

"I bet there are Grass Pokémon that could get along with the Ledian and Ledyba to be on this ridge in peace." The Ledyba played with the Ledian, including the two that came together near the start. That Ledian and Ledyba performed the Courtship Dance once more as the humans witnessed them.

"My new Ledyba's in love and look, they're dancing in the sky." No one suspected the other Bug Pokémon of a ploy. Misty and Brock reached the mountainside cliff, wondering who or what's up at the peak. Two of Arielle's Ledyba sneaked behind Ash while two Ledian moved around the girl. Both turned to find the Pokémon but they moved fast, pushing Ash and Arielle to each other. They met but neither wanted to embrace. The Ledyba buzzed to Arielle, wanting her to confess. "Is this about before when you were kidnapped by Team Rocket?" The Ledyba's nods seemed to tell their trainer.

"This is about when your whistle was wrestled away?"

"Apparently so. My Ledyba believe that you're the most helpful person that they've come across. Of course, if you didn't remind me that my Ledyba were still my Pokémon, I'd have lost them forever." To Ash, the Ledian and Ledyba took control of the situation.

"You guys think Arielle needs me?" Ledyba and Ledian buzzed circles around the two while Brock tried to climb the side.

"Careful, Brock!" warned Misty. Togepi shrilled in concern.

"I got it, Misty!" he called down. Brock continued his climb, lessons from Ash's foolish antics rubbing off him. Back on top of the mountain, Arielle nodded to Ash as she wrapped her arms around his head and pulled for a kiss. Brock saw the moment as he reached the peak. He gawked to the sight. "No, it can't be!" He released his hold on the cliff to complain but that wasn't a good idea. He began to fall but the Ledian's quick reaction save the breeder from injury. "Thanks, guys." Back on the earth, Misty pondered Brock's reaction.

"Did you see something?" Brock could tell Misty about Arielle's embraceable access to Ash… but he didn't want to upset the Cerulean sister.

"Got excited about the flower field above. It's a sight to see." To Misty, Brock didn't want her to know the ordeal.

"I was asking about Ash. Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he and Arielle are making sure the Ledyba and Ledian aren't battling." Now, Misty knew Brock saw something that would anger her. Ash saved these Pokémon from Team Rocket. Now, he'll be with this ladybug of a trainer.

END of BUG
Next: POISON
(With the poll's closed, I can announce that Poison and Electric are the last two Types this year. Thank you for voting and stay tuned for a new poll next week.)