Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, owned anything related to Nintendo's Pokémon franchise.
Legend:
"A human or a Pokémon is talking."
'A human or a Pokémon is thinking.'
"A machine is being used."
Chapter Five:
(Kanto—Pallet Town—Professor Oak's Laboratory)
"WHAT?"
Professor Oak backpedaled from his Video Phone with a sheepish expression on his face. He put his hands up in the air to show that he meant no harm.
A couple of minutes passed again before Delia spoke again, "… I'm okay, Professor. It's just so… so surprising to hear that. I never thought that Ash could get involved with… them… I mean—" Delia threw her hands into the air. "Isn't that what the police are for?"
"You know that the police can't always get to the scene in time, Delia." Professor Oak said with a somewhat chiding tone in his voice. "If Ash and that Jimmy boy hadn't stepped in, then all of the Pokémon in the Pokémon Center would've probably have been stolen."
Delia sighed. She did know—from her own experiences—that Professor Oak was right; the police couldn't be there all the time. She also knew that when it came down to it, most Pokémon Trainers would do anything to protect their Pokémon.
It was just hard to apply that knowledge when it came to this situation. For years, she had kept her son safe from any and all dangers while trying to keep him happy. Now that he was on his journey, she was beginning to learn that she couldn't do that anymore.
"I know, Professor…" Delia sighed, looking down. "I'll talk to Ash the next time he calls me…" Lifting her head, a hard glint entered them. "Because he is in SO much trouble!"
(Meanwhile—With Ash and Samurai)
"I, Samurai, do here solemnly swear on my life that I won't use my sword on Ash Ketchum or any of his Pokémon." Samurai vowed before he opened his eyes. He looked up at Ash grumpily. "Is that good enough for you?"
Ash nodded before turning to Rattata, making a shooing motion. Rattata nodded before he scampered over to Samurai's arms and began biting through the sticky, white material that bound them together.
Then, after Rattata had finished Samurai's wrists, he moved onto Samurai's feet. As this was happening, Samurai was rubbing his wrists to get the feeling back into them. Samurai then began to help Rattata tear off the remaining material.
"Good job, Rattata. Return." Ash said once Samurai had been fully freed, pointing Rattata's empty Poké Ball.
Before he was reabsorbed into the Poké Ball, Rattata chittered happily from his Trainer's praise. It was only a few seconds later when Rattata was pulled back into his Poké Ball.
With that done, Ash began to pick up his and his Pokémon's stuff, having finished eating their lunch while Samurai was still bound.
"So… do you want to battle?" Samurai asked.
Ash shouldered his backpack with a smile, turning to face Samurai. He then began to walk towards Samurai before he passed him entirely.
Samurai looked confused, "Hey! Where are you going?"
"If we're going to battle, then we'll need to find someplace to act as a battlefield." Ash said with a small smirk on his face. "Duh."
XXXXXX
"Let's see how you compare to the others, Ash." Samurai said as he looked at Ash from his side of the battlefield, tossing a Poké Ball in his right hand. "Go, Metapod!"
Once the customary flash of white light had faded, Samurai's Pokémon was revealed. The Pokémon in question resembled a green, serpentine chrysalis. Also, on either side of its head were droopy white eyes.
"Meta-pod pod…" Metapod stated monotonously.
"What is that?" Ash wondered as he pulled out his Pokédex. Flicking it open, he pointed it towards Metapod.
"Metapod: The Cocoon Pokémon. A steel-hard shell protects its tender body. It quietly endures hardships while awaiting evolution."
Ash nodded to himself as he put away his Pokédex beforehe thought of which of his four Pokémon to use. He turned to Eevee—having decided on using her—before he nodded.
Eevee yipped excitedly began she jumped off his shoulder and onto the ground. Then, she looked up and stared at Metapod, her bushy tail wagging back and forth. Metapod just sat there, unmoving, while it stared ahead of itself blankly.
Both Pokémon Trainers looked at each other, determination burning in both their eyes. After a moment they both nodded at each other and the battle was on.
"Eevee, use your Tackle!"
"Harden, Metapod!"
Following their orders, Eevee began to run towards Metapod while Metapod simply began to glow greenish-white. Soon after, Eevee tackled Metapod, sending it back a couple of feet with little damage to its body.
Ash's eyes widened in confusion, "What?"
Samurai crossed his arms, smirking. He then watched as Ash ordered his Pokémon to attack and saw the all-too familiar results. No matter how many times Eevee managed to Tackle or Scratch Metapod, it didn't do much damage because of Metapod's Harden.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk… Can't you beat a little Metapod, Ash?" Samurai taunted.
Ash frowned. While he could see that all of Eevee's attacks were connecting, he could also see they weren't causing Metapod much damage.
Plus, Eevee was starting to get exhausted. If he didn't find some way to get through Metapod's defense, then she would probably be too exhausted to move. Once that happened, he was sure that Samurai would go on the offensive.
"Ve… Eevee… Eve Eevee…" Eevee panted.
Ash racked his brain—trying to think of some way he could defeat Metapod—when a sudden memory assaulted him.
The memory was of when Weedle had used its String-Shot to capture Eevee's paw before he had pulled Eevee towards him. Thinking about it, Ash wondered if Eevee could do something like that. Samurai certainly wouldn't be expecting that.
But, how would he imitate that feat? After a few seconds, a metaphorical light bulb bloomed to being over his head.
"Eevee! Grab Metapod with your tail!" Ash ordered quickly. "Then use all of your remaining strength and through Metapod against that tree!"
Eevee nodded before she wrapped her tail around Metapod, as she had been beside the unmoving Pokémon for most of the match. She then began to twirl her tail, gaining momentum, before she used every last drop of strength she had to throw Metapod into the tree her Trainer had pointed out.
"… What? No!" Samurai shouted.
Wooden debris mixed in within a fair amount of tree sap flew into the air as Metapod crashed into the tree. After a couple seconds, Metapod was revealed to be stuck within a Metapod-shaped hole on the tree.
"Return, Metapod." Samurai said as he withdrew his Pokémon. Once finished, he turned to Ash. "You did well. However, will you be good enough to defeat my next Pokémon?" Before Ash could answer, Samurai threw a Poké Ball into the air. "Go, Pinsir!"
Eevee recoiled at the sight of Samurai's Pinsir, a faint whine escaping her mouth. "Ve…"
Pinsir was a bipedal Pokémon that had a brown body with a large pair of white horns, or pincers, that were dotted with small spikes. It had short legs with three toes each and skinny, three-clawed arms. Its mouth also had long, flat teeth that were arranged vertically rather than horizontally.
As Pinsir clacked its horns together aggressively—waiting to attack—Ash withdrew his Pokédex. While he did this, his eyes were wide, his hands shook, and small beads of sweat broke out along his forehead.
"Pinsir: The Stag Beetle Pokémon. It grips prey with its pincers until the prey is torn in half. What it can't tear, it tosses far."
It was only seconds later that Samurai went on the offensive, no wanting to allow Ash the time to come up with a decent strategy. "Pinsir, use ViceGrip!"
"Dodge it, Eevee!" Ash ordered.
Pinsir roared as it lurched forward, its great horns outstretched, just as Eevee sidestepped to the left to avoid it. Not one to be so easily evaded, Pinsir lumbered after Eevee—quickly closing the distance between them—before it plucked Eevee off the ground with its horns.
Then, with Eevee trapped within its grasp, Pinsir began to squeeze its horns together, suffocating the smaller Pokémon. Ash could only watch on as Eevee was slowly knocked unconscious, reminded of his unpleasant encounter with Jessie yesterday night.
Moments later, an unconscious Eevee was released from Pinsir's horns and thrown to the ground before Ash. Pinsir roared triumphantly as Ash withdrew his fallen Pokémon, scowling at the massive Bug-Type Pokémon.
'Who should I use next? Pidgey isn't fast enough to avoid its horns… Rattata is fast but… his teeth probably wouldn't be able to pierce Pinsir's thick hide…' Ash thought to himself. 'I guess that leave you, Weedle…'
"Come on already!" Samurai called out, getting impatient.
"Alright…" Ash said before he unclipped and threw Weedle's Poké Ball. "I choose you, Weedle!"
As soon as Weedle's Poké Ball hit the ground, a semi-sleepy Weedle appeared within a flash of white light. Weedle looked around for a moment, wondering why it had been called out, before it spotted Pinsir clacking its horns together. His eyes bugged out.
"We Weedle We-dle Dle-We!" Weedle cried as he looked at Ash .
"You're my best shot of defeating it Weedle. You can do it." Ash said encouragingly. "I know you can do it; you are my Pokémon after all."
Touched, Weedle nodded before it straightened out and turned to face Pinsir. There was a brief silence as both Pokémon looked at each other, each of them waiting for their orders.
Like before, Samurai was on the offensive. "Tackle it, Pinsir!"
"Use your String-Shot, Weedle!" Ash countered.
Weedle nodded again before it began to fire a rope of sticky, white material towards Pinsir. This material collided with the rapidly approaching Pokémon—quickly coating both its face and its horns—effectively blinding it.
Also, as an added bonus, Pinsir didn't seem like it could move its horns anymore.
"Now, dodge!" Ash ordered.
Weedle scurried out of the way before watching as Pinsir, blinded by its String-Shot, crashed into a nearby tree. Struggling to remove its head from its wooden prison, some of Weedle's String-Shot was scraped off.
Breaking free in a shower of wooden debris, it was revealed that Pinsir could see once more. Also, Pinsir could move its horns again, as demonstrated when it clacked them together angrily.
"Pin-Sir, Pin Pi-sir!"
With that, Pinsir charged towards Weedle. Ash hastily ordered for Weedle to dodge to the side, though it came slightly too late. Pinsir managed to Tackle Weedle, sending it skidding over the grass.
When he stopped, it was obvious that Weedle had taken a great deal of damage from Pinsir's attack. In fact, it looked as if Weedle's will was the only thing keeping him awake at the moment.
Weedle struggled to stand up again and, after a couple of moments, somehow found the strength within himself to do so. Sure, Weedle looked shaky and as if a small gust would push him over, but he had managed to stand up again.
Now glaring at Pinsir, Weedle knew that he couldn't lose. His Trainer believed in him—that he could win this battle! He could not let his Trainer down; he had to show his Trainer that he had a right to believe in him!
"Pinsir, finish him off with another Tackle!" Samurai ordered.
"WE!" Weedle shouted out as a translucent, white glow covered its body.
Then, as Pinsir charged him, the white glow surrounding Weedle became hard to see through before it seemed to becoming a bit bigger. When Pinsir was only a few feet away, the glow around Weedle completely disappeared.
Weedle was no more. In its place was a yellow, serpentine cocoon Pokémon. It had a dome-shaped head and black, triangular eyes. It also had two scythe-like arms in the middle of its body.
It was now a Kakuna.
"That's… T-That's impossible!" Samurai shouted out in disbelief. "How could it have evolved into a Kakuna so quickly?"
Ash grinned, "We—No… Kakuna! Use your String-Shot!"
"Ka… ku" Kakuna nodded, "Na!"
White, sticky material flew out from an almost invisible hole of Kakuna's chrysalis. Arcing through the air, the String-Shot landed directly on Pinsir's eyes, effectively blinding it once more. Roaring, Pinsir reared its head back, inadvertently pulling Kakuna towards itself.
It was kind of like the direct opposite of what Kakuna had used against Eevee when it was a Weedle.
"Yes!" Samurai cheered. "When its within reach, use ViceGrip!"
"Kakuna, use Harden!" Ash countered—having remembered the move Metapod had used earlier and hoping that Kakuna would be able to use it.
Apparently, Kakuna did know the move as a yellowish-white glow overcame Kakuna's body, hardening it. Seconds after this glow faded, Kakuna landed within Pincer's horns. However, despite Pincer squeezing with all its might, it was unable to hurt Kakuna like it had Eevee.
Suddenly, a loud crack was heard as one of Pinsir's spikes broke off from its horns. Samurai stared on in horror as the rest of his Pokémon's spikes began to break off before falling to the ground.
"NO!"
"Alright, Kakuna!" Ash cheered, grinning. "Now, let's finish it off with a Bug-Bite!"
Earlier, after he had caught Weedle, he had used his Pokédex to discover if it knew any other moves besides String-Shot. He had discovered that it did; it knew the move Bug-Bite.
Kakuna's two little arms glowed a faint white and lengthened at least an inch outward. These arms then began stabbing at Pinsir's head repeatedly, trying to pierce the Pokémon's hard skin. The number of times Kakuna hit were too numerous, and too fast, to count.
Once Kakuna was finished, he retracted his arms back into his outer shell. It was only a couple of seconds after this that Pinsir groaned, its eyes closed, before it started to fall forward. The force of its impact caused the ground to shake slightly.
Sighing, Samurai took out Pinsir's Poké Ball before pointing it at his fallen Pokémon. "Return, Pinsir…"
As Pinsir was withdrawn back into its Poké Ball, Ash walked towards his newly-evolved Pokémon. Once there, he picked Kakuna off of the ground before he sat down on the grass, scratching it affectionately.
"You were really awesome out there, Kakuna!" Ash praised as scratched his Pokémon. "I knew you could do it!"
Kakuna relaxed into his embrace, "Na… Kakuna."
Hearing footsteps, Ash looked up, only to see Samurai holding out his hand. Taking it, he allowed himself and Kakuna to be pulled up, before Samurai retracted his hand.
"You did really well, Ash. I thought that I was going to win there for a couple moments but you sure turned it around. Great job." Samurai said, smiling.
"You did pretty well yourself, Samurai. That Pinsir of yours is really strong!" Ash responded. Then, he loomed up to the other boy with a curious expression. "By the way… where did you get him?"
"Oh… I got him in a Bug-Catching Contest over in Johto. I did try to find one within the Safari here in Kanto, but… I couldn't. Oh, I found some Pinsir, but I couldn't catch any with the Poké Balls they gave me."
XXXXXX
(Meanwhile—Pallet Town—Professor Oak's Laboratory)
"Not to be rude or anything, Professor but… why did you ask me to come here?" Delia asked with a curious expression. "Is something the matter?"
Professor Oak shook his head, "No, nothing is the matter. I simply forgot to tell you to come earlier because of my surprise over what had occurred in Viridian."
"You don't need to remind me about that Professor…"
"The reason I called you here was because Jonathan called me yesterday night. He told me to tell you that, unfortunately, he won't be able to make it back it in time for your birthday." Professor Oak said.
Delia looked down, a tad disappointed and hurt. While she had known that Jonathan was busy because of his work, she had hoped that he would be able to come home for her birthday. Especially since Ash had left on his own journey.
"Don't worry, Delia; Jonathan hasn't forgotten about your birthday." Professor Oak said before he walked over to his closest and removed a brightly-wrapped box.
Taking the box, Delia hesitated for a moment before she slowly began to peel off the green wrapping paper. Once that was done, she opened the box, only to find a simple Poké Ball and a handwritten note.
Delia,
I am very sorry that I am going to be unable to get home this year for your birthday in time. I hope that you are able to forgive me and wait until I get back. When I do, I'll be home for a couple of weeks so that we'll be able to do anything that you want to do.
Until that time, I have captured this Pokémon. I know how much you love Grass-Type Pokémon and… I thought you could use the company until I returned.
With all my heart,
Jonathan.
Teary-eyed, Delia lowered the note. While she did support her husband and his job, it was very hard for her to be separated from him for long lengths of time.
To know that he was coming home—for a couple of weeks at that—well, it made her day seem much brighter than it had a few minutes ago.
"Delia?" Professor Oak asked in concern. "Are you okay?"
Delia nodded before she removed a handkerchief from her pocket and patted her eyes. "Yes… I'm alright, Professor. I just…" She smiled weakly. "I just can't wait for Jonathan to get home…"
"Ah, I see." Professor Oak said. "Now, I'm curious… What Pokémon did Jonathan send you?"
Startled, Delia looked down to see the Poké Ball still within the box. Grabbing it, she held it in her hand for a moment before she released the Pokémon inside.
The Pokémon that Jonathan had caught for her greatly resembled a mushroom. Its cap looked quite similar to a Poké Ball, and its white, stem-like body sports stubby, digit-less arms, a large pink mouth, and pinprick-like dark eyes.
"Gus?" It asked with a cute little tilt of its head.
"Oh!" Delia exclaimed before she quickly picked up the small Pokémon and hugged it close. "You're so adorable, aren't you? Yes you are!"
XXXXXX
(Later—With Ash and Samurai)
"Thanks for all your help, Samurai!"
Eevee—now fully healed—yipped happily. "Ve Eevee!"
Samurai nodded with a smile before he took Ash's hand and gave it a firm shake. Then, he nodded towards Eevee before he turned his back to them. However, before he walked away, Samurai spoke:
"Be ready the next time you travel into the Viridian Forest, Ash… because I'll be waiting to show you the true strength of my Bug-Type Pokémon!"
Ash grinned, "We'll be ready, Samurai… right, Eevee?"
"Ve Eve Ee-V-e Eve-E." Eevee agreed.
"I'm sure that it will be an impressive match…" Samurai said, still not facing either Ash or Eevee. "And Ash…"
"Yeah?" Ash asked.
"… Good luck in Pewter City. You'll need it when you face Brock." Samurai said.
Ash looked at Samurai with a confused expression. Brock? Who was that? Confused, he voice his question allowed, hoping that Samurai would tell him. Fortunately, Samurai did.
"Brock is the first of the eight Gym Leaders you'll need to face in order to get into the Indigo League." Samurai informed. "And I said 'good luck' because you'll need it; Brock deals in purely Rock-Type Pokémon." He paused for a moment. "With your current team, it will be extremely difficult for you to defeat him."
Ash nodded—taking in this information—before he thanked Samurai for telling him. Samurai nodded once more before he waved goodbye and walked back into Viridian Forest. When Ash couldn't see Samurai anymore, he turned to face Eevee.
"You ready for this Eevee?" Ash asked with an enormous grin.
Eevee yipped excitedly, "Ve, Ee-V-E eve Eevee!"
Together, Ash and Eevee took their first steps out of the Viridian Forest and on the road that led Pewter City. The first of the Gym Leaders they needed to beat was waiting for them and they didn't want to be late.
Ash's Pokémon Team:
Eevee (Female): Level Six.
Attacks: Scratch (Normal), Tail Whip (Normal), Tackle (Normal), Growl (Normal), and Helping-Hand (Normal).
Pidgey (Male): Level Five.
Attacks: Tackle (Normal), and Sand-Attack (Ground).
Rattata (Male): Level Four.
Attacks: Tackle (Normal), Tail Whip (Normal), and Quick Attack (Normal).
Kakuna (Male): Level Five.
Attacks: String-Shot (Bug), Poison-Sting (Poison), Bug-Bite (Bug), and Harden (Normal).
Samurai's Pokémon Team:
Metapod (Male): Level Six.
Attacks: Harden (Normal).
Pinsir (Male): Level 10.
Attacks: Tackle (Normal) and ViceGrip (Normal).
Delia's Pokémon Team:
Foongus (Female): Level Four.
Attacks: Absorb (Grass) and Gastro Acid (Poison).
A/N; Author's Note: Well, that's the end of chapter five. Tell me what you guys think of it in your reviews and messages! This chapter was updated as of 5/13/2012.