I'm sorry that I've been away for so long, but now that I'm back, let's get this new chapter started. Feeling the need for a new perspective, today's new chapter focuses more on the Pokemon themselves instead of the trainers. I hope you all enjoy it and let's pray that I can keep the good chapters coming while I'm on vacation.
Chapter 6
While Georgia was still inside helping Iris's mom, both Ash and Iris were out in the grassy field behind the green-roofed house once again, continuing their training from where they left off. Feeling the need to do last-minute preparations, Iris had decided to use Axew, who was already locked in battle against the short, snake-like Pokémon named Snivy that stood opposite of him and in front of Ash. As both Pokémon's moves clashed with one another, both Oshawott, who couldn't help but feel nervous right now, and a certain pouty Emolga could be seen sitting together, watching the battle from a safe distance along with Pikachu and Deino, who sat nearby.
"I can't believe that they're making me do something so ridiculous." Emolga muttered, still wearing her pouty expression. Hearing her complaints, Both Pikachu and Oshawott averted their attention from the battle and towards Emolga.
"Well, it was the best that our trainers and Cilan could come up with, so why don't we try to make the most out of it for now?" Pikachu suggested in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"That's easy for you to say," Emolga commented. "It's not like you have to worry about losing your best move forever this time."
"Believe me when I say that I didn't want things to go this way either," Oshawott responded with a slight frown as he continued to look at Emolga. "I still wanted it to happen, though, just not this way."
"Let's just get this over with," Emolga sighed under her breath before turning her head towards Oshawott to speak. "So, what do you want to talk about?" Oshawott thought deeply for a moment about what she had just asked, but soon gave a nervous laugh before finally answering.
"To be honest, I didn't think that we would be doing this so soon, so I never gave it much thought," Oshawott said with a sheepish grin. Emolga could only give him a look of disappointment before he glanced back at the battle, desperate to find a way to keep the tension from getting any worse. An idea soon reached him when he noticed the flurry of leaves that was summoned by Snivy collided with the stream of blue fire that rushed out of Axew's gaping mouth. "But, there is something that's been bothering me for a while now. Why do you hate Snivy so much?" Upon hearing this question, Deino's attention slowly shifted away from the battle in front of her and towards Oshawott and Emolga, who remained unaware of her eavesdropping. Curious about what they were talking about, Deino continued to listen.
"Isn't there anything else that you want to talk about?" Emolga groaned.
"I can't really think of anything else to talk about right now. We might as well start with this." Oshawott responded.
"Fine," Emolga said reluctantly after a short pause. "It's not like I have anything personal against her, but she reminds me so much of my older sister that I just can't help myself."
"You have a sister?" Oshawott said with a look of surprise. Pikachu only continued to listen in silence as the conversation continued, making sure not to get caught.
"I do," Emolga said, irritation showing more on her face as she continued. "And you wouldn't believe how hard it was to deal with her arrogant attitude. My sister would always make me battle, even when I didn't want to, and would always say that her excuse for doing this was because I had more 'potential', but I didn't really care about battles. All I wanted to do was relax in the forest and eat apples."
"Oh," Oshawott said after hearing her explanation, but instantly, another thought came into his head. "Wait a minute. Is that why you joined Iris in the first place?"
"I guess you can say that," Emolga said with a sheepish grin that mimicked Oshawott's previous expression. "But I guess after being around her for so long, it's not so bad anymore. I still don't like to battle that often, but it's nice to hear the praise that comes afterward."
"It sounds like you really like the positive attention." Oshawott said with a warm smile.
"I guess I do," Emolga responded with a warm smile as well. For a moment, there was an awkward silence between the two as they continued to stare at each other, but the silence was quickly broken when they heard a familiar voice that shocked both of them.
"It sounds like you're both having fun here." They heard before turning their heads to see the same snake-like Pokémon that had been battling before. She had green skin that covered almost the entire upper part of her body while her bottom half was a sort of cream color. Although both her arms and legs were stubby like Oshawott's, her nose was long and pointy, just like the two structures that stretched and curved from her shoulders, giving the impression that she was wearing a collar. She also had a thin, yellow stripe that stretched down her back and stopped at the base of the maple leaf-shaped edge of her tail and large, brown eyes that were partially covered by her yellow eyelids.
"Wh- What are you doing here, Snivy?" Emolga said, still startled by Snivy's sudden interjection.
"Taking a break from battling," Snivy replied coolly. "Right now, Ash is battling Georgia with another Pokémon while your trainer, Iris, went inside with Axew to help her mother with dinner, but you probably didn't notice because of your conversation. What were you two talking about anyway?"
"Nothing that you need to know about." Emolga coldly responded.
"Oh really? You don't seem to mind that this kid is listening to your conversation." Snivy quickly retorted as she gave a glance towards Deino. Feeling a bit puzzled at first by what Snivy had said, both Oshawott and Emolga looked to their left and noticed Deino, still looking towards them.
"You were eavesdropping on us?" Oshawott demanded angrily.
"No," Deino quickly lied. "I was just uh…Err…Okay, you caught me. I was eavesdropping." Emolga and Oshawott could only give Deino a look of annoyance before Snivy asked another question.
"Why are you still here anyway? Didn't Nurse Joy already say that you were at full health?"
"She did," Deino responded. "But it's so lush, green, and exciting here compared to where I normally live. Why would I leave this place now when I just got here? Besides, I don't want to risk running into that nasty Deino hunter again."
"Deino hunter?" The rest of the Pokémon gasped with puzzled looks on their faces, but before either one could ask any more questions, they suddenly heard someone's voice calling from the house nearby that grasped everyone's attention. It was Iris's mother.
"Ash! Georgia! Dinner is almost ready, so it's time to come in!" Iris's mother shouted before returning back inside. All three soon forgot about what they were asking earlier and decided to walk back inside with the rest of their large group. As they made their way back to the house, a long vine rose from behind Snivy's right shoulder and pulled Pikachu towards her, remaining unnoticed by the people and Pokémon around her. At first, Pikachu was surprised, but his composure quickly returned when he realized who the vine came from.
"So, do you mind telling me what's going on between those two?" Snivy asked with her casual smile.
"It's just something that both Ash and Iris are forcing Oshawott and Emolga to do to solve another random problem. It's nothing you really need to worry about too much." Pikachu quickly answered.
"That's not what I was talking about," Snivy corrected. "I already heard about what's going on between Oshawott and Emolga from my Poké Ball. I was asking about what's happening between Ash and Iris. Ash didn't seem as hyped up as he normally is during training."
"Oh," Pikachu said, becoming a bit more nervous as Snivy continued to stare at him. "I honestly can't tell how things will go. Ash seems to have feelings for Iris, but you know as well as I do about how clueless he is about romance. I think the issue with Oshawott and Emolga might actually help him figure out what romance and love are, but I still don't know."
"Well, whatever is happening between them, I hope it gets resolved soon," Snivy said with a look of concern on her face. "It's already exhausting enough when I have to stay up all night to help with Axew's training, and I'm worried that he's going about all this the wrong way."
"I know that the night training is making you tired, but Axew chose to do this by himself, and it's our responsibility to help in whatever way we can," Pikachu said before giving Snivy a re-assuring smile and giving a quick pat on her shoulder. "Don't worry; it'll be over soon enough, and once again, thank you for helping him."
"For everyone's sake, I hope it does end soon before he gets hurt." Snivy said as they finally entered the house.
...
After nearly half an hour of eating, the group was, once again, relaxing in Iris's home. As the sun began its descent and crept behind the trees outside, both and Cilan and Iris made their way upstairs to prepare for the night ahead while Ash, along with the Pokémon and Georgia, stayed behind in the kitchen to help Iris's mother to clean up the remains of their hearty meal. Still in the kitchen, Axew finished what remained of his food and began to follow her into the living room. By the time he made it to the couch, he was instantly noticed and stopped by Iris before he could move any farther. At first, Axew was puzzled when he was stopped by his trainer, but before even more questions came into his head, Iris spoke.
"Axew, I'm going upstairs with Cilan to get ready for bed, so why don't you stay downstairs for now and get to know our new friend." Iris said before disappearing from Axew's sight.
"New friend?" Axew thought to himself for a moment before the answer came to him. "Oh! Does she mea-"
"Hello, Axew!" Deino shouted from directly behind Axew, easily startling him and breaking his train of thought. Still feeling frightened and clutching his chest in a futile attempt to stop his heart from racing, Axew slowly turned around to see the grinning Deino behind him.
"What was that for?" Axew gasped out, still holding onto his chest.
"I got bored in the kitchen and I noticed you leaving, so I thought I would have a little fun with you." Deino answered as she continued to smile.
"Well, can you please not do that?" Axew barked as he began to calm down and move his hands away from his aching chest. "You almost gave me a heart attack."
"Okay, okay." Deino responded. "I was just trying to have a bit of fun. How about I make it up to you right now?"
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Axew asked with a skeptical tone. Upon hearing this question, Deino began to look around the room and back at the entrance into the kitchen. Once she confirmed that no one but herself and Axew were around, she quickly jumped onto the right side of the couch and sat down on the soft cushion she was on. For a moment, she sat silently in her seat, but she quickly broke that silence when she noticed Axew staring at her in the same spot that he was standing in. "What are you waiting for? Come up here." Deino ordered.
"Oh!" Axew said before climbing up to the couch. At this point, Snivy had begun to enter the room to see how Axew and Deino were doing, but with Deino's back turned towards her and Axew more focused on Deino, Snivy went unnoticed. Once Axew climbed into the cushion next to Deino and sat down, Deino began to speak.
"Okay, right now, I'm going to tell you a story that my parents have told me numerous times. They told me not to tell any other Pokémon about this, but you seem pretty nice, so I'll tell you."
"What are they talking about over there?" Snivy thought to herself as she continued to stand at the kitchen entrance and listen to Deino.
"Deep in the heart of the Unova region, there exists a sacred place that very few know about, much less even access."
"Are you talking about that island in the center of the Unova region? If it is, then everyone already knows about that." Axew interrupted, feeling somewhat disappointed.
"That's not the exact place that I'm talking about," Deino quickly responded, making Axew even more curious. "If you go deep enough into the island, you can find a special forest that feels much different than any other forest that you or any other person has ever seen before. According to what my parents told me, this forest acts a link to a very special place known as the Dream World." As soon as she heard Deino finish this sentence, Snivy's interest in the story spiked dramatically and she became a little nervous, a feeling that she had not experienced for a while.
"Wow!" Axew said for lack of a better word to describe how enthralled he was by Deino's story.
"Don't get excited yet; I haven't even gotten to the good parts." Deino said, getting a bit excited by the story as well, but still keeping her composure. "From what I heard, the Dream World itself is a peaceful place that's abundant with life, and the dirt there is so fertile that even the weakest sapling can grow into a bountiful harvest within a matter of days."
"Where did she learn all of this from?" Snivy thought to herself as she continued to listen, becoming more nervous as the story went on.
"That's so cool." Axew said as his eyes began to shine widen with interest. "Is there anything else about the Dream World that you can tell me about?"
"Well, there is one other thing," Deino said before moving her face to the right to hide it from Axew. "But this last thing is so mind-blowing that it isn't something that I can tell just anyone."
"Aw, c'mon! I can keep it a secret! I promise!" Axew groaned as his curiosity peaked.
"Do you really mean it?" Deino said as she tried as hard as she can to hide the smirk on her face.
"I mean it! I mean it!" Axew shouted, desperate to hear more of the story.
"…Okay, I'll tell you, but only because you're so cute when you're desperate like that," Deino said, making Axew blush a little bit before she turned her head back towards him and continued. "Even I didn't believe it at first when I was told about it, but based on what I heard, the Pokémon in the Dream World can not only travel from there to this world and live here, but almost all of them are not only ultra-powerful, but also have special abilities that no other Pokémon in this world can get." Axew could only stay silent in awe after hearing this last bit of information, but at this point, Snivy was, simply put, a nervous wreck. Already, she could feel her thoughts racing with her heart as she attempted to rationalize everything that she had just heard Deino say.
"Okay, so they know about the Dream World and they know about the Pokémon there with rare abilities, but they're just kids. No one would really believe them even if they told them about it; besides, it's alright regardless so long as they don't know tha-" Snivy thought to herself in order to calm herself down, but her efforts to do this were quickly derailed when she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Who's there?" Snivy shouted as she quickly turned around to see Pikachu once again.
"Calm down, Snivy. It's just me," Pikachu said. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Of course I'm alright," Snivy answered, trying to sound as calm and composed as possible, but with little luck. "Why are you over here anyway?" After taking a moment to thoroughly examine her, Pikachu began to speak once again.
"Well, I was going to tell that we were going to do the training again tonight when everyone is asleep, but right now, you don't seem to be in good enough shape to do anything tonight."
"Yeah," Snivy agreed, her usual demeanor coming back to her. "I guess all of those late nights are really starting to catch up to me."
"Well, I'll just go tell Axew later that we're cancelling the training for tonight. You just focus on getting a good night's sleep tonight." Pikachu said to Snivy before Georgia passed them with her backpack in tow. As Georgia walked past the couch where Deino and Axew sat and towards the door, Iris began to walk down the stairs wearing a pink T-shirt and magenta shorts as pajamas. As she walked down the stairs, she took notice of Georgia twisting the knob on the door in front of her and began to speak.
"Where are you going?" Iris asked as continued down the stairs, getting the attention of the Pokémon that were in the room with her.
"Isn't it obvious?" Georgia asked as she turned around to look at Iris. "I'm going back to the Pokémon Center to get ready for bed."
"If that's the case, why don't you just spend the night here and save yourself the trip?" Iris asked.
"And sleep under the same roof as my rival's house?" Georgia snapped in the usual snarky tone she used towards Iris. "I may be willing enough to travel with you to the village, but I have to draw the line somewhere."
"…Fair enough." Iris agreed with a reluctant smile as Georgia began to open the door and leave, but before Iris could come from behind her and close the door, Georgia spoke once more.
"Don't feel too bad, Iris. You'll be able to see me again at the tournament tomorrow while you watch me win the whole thing from the sidelines. Bye." Georgia said with a confident smile before Iris slammed the door on her in annoyance.
"Ugh! She can be so frustrating at times!" Iris fumed. Her demeanor slowly changed when she noticed Deino and Axew together as well as Pikachu and Snivy, who quickly left before Iris could expose them to the two dragons. "It seems like you both enjoyed each other's company. Did anything special happen while I was gone?" She asked with a quick smile, snapping Axew out of his trance and making him turn around to see his wild-haired trainer.
"No, nothing special happened." Axew said with a large grin on his face as he shook his face. Deino only sat silently with a warm smile as she watched her new friend embarrass himself.
And this marks the end of the chapter. I really hope that I didn't spoil you all too much. In the next chapter, I plan on introducing a new character, and possibly an old character from an earlier BW episode. No, the old character is NOT going to be another member of the main cast. Feel free to leave your reviews and predictions.