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 Nine:
(Kanto—Pewter City)
After the museum had closed down for the day, Ash had taken his Pokémon out to Geodude Park to train. Then, a few hours later, he recalled his exhausted team back to their Poké Balls and was off towards the Pokémon Center.
Once Nurse Joy had healed them—and he had thanked her—Ash went towards the Pokémon Center's cafeteria before he had a late lunch with his Pokémon. He then recalled all but Eevee to their Poké Balls and left to go find a nearby PokéMart.
If he was going to leave tomorrow morning, then he would need to get some new supplies.
Twenty minutes later, Ash entered the PokéMart after having asked several people on the street for directions. He then grabbed a small basket from a nearby stack and began walking around the store, looking for stuff he thought he would need.
Eevee looked at the store in awed curiosity, having never seen a place like this before in her life. "… Ve?"
Looking up, Ash saw that Eevee was looking towards a shelf that contained small, medium, and large bottles of Awakening—a special medicine that could wake up sleeping Pokémon.
Ash picked up a bottle, bit his lip, and debated over whether or not he should get it. It would help him if any of his Pokémon fell asleep in battle. Especially if the Pokémon his team was battling knew Sing, Sleep Powder, or Hypnosis. However, if he did get a bottle, it could put a dent in his meager funds.
Finally, Ash decided. "Yeah… I'll get it." He put a medium-sized bottle of Awakening inside his basket, near the other items he had gotten. "But this is the last thing, okay Eevee?"
"Eevee, Ee-V-E." Eevee yipped.
With that, Ash walked over to the cashier—a tall black-haired man in a red uniform—before he pulled his items out of his basket and onto the counter. Alongside the Awakening, he would be getting some canned goods, five Poké Balls, and two Potions.
"That'll be ¥2100, kid."
Ash winced at the price but nodded anyway, pulling out his wallet. He then pulled out the money and handed it to the cashier. The cashier took the money, put it in the cash register, printed out Ash a receipt, and then handed Ash his plastic bags. Taking the bags, Ash thanked the cashier before he left the PokéMart.
Once they were outside, Eevee turned to him with a confused expression on her face. "Ve Eevee Eve Eevee?"
"We're going to stay one more night at the 'Center and then we'll get back on the road. We'll have to travel through Route Three, Mt. Moon, and then Route Four before we get to Cerulean City." Ash answered back. "It's going to be a long trip!"
"Eevee Eve Ve Eevee Eve, Ee-V-E?" Eevee asked.
"I know that because of the map Jimmy gave me. On the back it has a list of all the different routes, towns, and a lot of other things…" Ash responded before he paused. "I'll have to thank Jimmy the next time I see him."
XXXXXX
(Meanwhile—Pewter City—Pokémon Center)
"Clefairy Cle-fairy. Fairy Clefairy Cle Clefairy!"
Rocking Clefairy in her arms, Nurse Joy once again tried to soothe Clefairy. For some reason, Clefairy had woken up a few hours ago and began to cry. Nurse Joy was doing her best to calm Clefairy down but, so far, nothing was working.
"Hush, little one… hush…" Nurse Joy whispered in the agitated Pokémon's ear as she rubbed Clefairy's back. "There's no need to cry. Come on now, it's okay—"
Through some kind of miracle, that actually seemed to work. Clefairy stopped crying and opened her eyes, ears perking up, before it began to struggle within Nurse Joy's arms.
Nurse Joy winced in pain as Clefairy raked its claws against her arm, her grip loosening just enough for Clefairy to squeeze out and jump to the floor. Clefairy got a five second head start down the hall before Nurse Joy had recovered and began running after it.
Coming to the door to the lobby, Clefairy actually used Pound to force open the door. It then rushed out into the lobby, making a beeline for a certain Pokémon Trainer who had just entered the Pokémon Center.
XXXXXX
"Clefairy!"
Ash stumbled when what seemed to be a pink blur hit his left leg before he felt tiny arms wrap around the appendage. Looking down, Ash's eyes widened when he saw just what was holding his leg.
It was a small, emaciated Clefairy with multiple, multicolored bruises covering the majority of its body. It also had a few scars visible through its short, pink fur. "Clefairy Cle… Clefairy Fairy…"
In the next moment, Eevee jumped off of Ash's shoulder before she landed on the ground, startling Clefairy. The two Pokémon looked at each other—one in confusion and the other in slight fear—for a few moments.
As this was happening, Nurse Joy walked into the lobby with a pink hue covering her cheeks. She looked around the lobby for a moment before she spotted what was going on.
"Eevee Eve Eevee Ve Eve Ee-V-E?" Eevee asked with a tilt of her head, simply curious. "Eevee Ve Eevee Eve?"
Clefairy turned away from Eevee before she clutched Ash's leg a little bit harder. Burying her head into the fabric on his leg, she relished in the comforting air that surround him. For the first time, she actually didn't feel scared while being close to a Human.
"… Clefairy, Cle Fairy Clefairy." Clefairy tentatively answered.
Eevee looked confused, "Eevee? Eevee Ve Eve Ee-V-E Eevee Ve… Eevee?"
"Clefairy F-Fairy…"
"Ve. Eevee Ee-V-E Ve Eve Eevee Ve." Eevee responded kindly.
Clefairy nodded.
Ash was confused, "What's going on here?"
Looking up to him, Eevee quickly began to repeat what was just said. She then made a motion towards Clefairy before his belt of Poké Balls, which confused him even more. What was Eevee saying?
"Clefairy was one of the Pokémon that used to belong to Damian Flats." Nurse Joy said as she approached. "She woke up last night frightened and I calmed her down…" She sighed. "Right about when you left today, however, she woke up and began crying. When you came back, she stopped crying, struggled out of my arms, and then rushed through the hallways until she got here…"
"Eevee Eve Ee-V-E."
"… Are you telling me that this Clefairy feels most comfortable with… me?" Ash asked.
Clefairy nodded, "Cle."
"B-But why? I mean, why would I make you feel more comfortable? I don't even know how to—Nurse Joy would be so much better than me." Ash rambled with a nervous frown on his face. "I wouldn't even know how…" He swallowed thickly. "… How to make you healthy again."
Clefairy shook her head softly before she clutched his leg even tighter, "Clefairy Cle-fairy!"
"I don't think that you have much of a choice in this Ash." Nurse Joy stated before her face softened. "I know you must be confused and wondering how you can help but… it won't be too bad."
Biting his lip, Ash looked down towards Clefairy. She seemed to sense him as she turned her head upwards and viewed him with a hopeful, happy expression on her face. This look, combined with Nurse Joy's words, washed his doubts away.
He needed to do this.
Ash unclipped one of the empty Poké Balls from his belt before, leaning down, he pressed it against Clefairy's forehead. Before she was absorbed into it, Clefairy gave him a tentative smile at him, her head ducked slightly.
The Poké Ball rocked in Ash's hand for a couple of moments before it stilled. A faint ding was then heard, signaling that Clefairy had been successfully captured.
Even if he didn't know Clefairy that well, he would do his best to help her. So, with this in mind, Ash called Eevee to his shoulder before he stood up and faced Nurse Joy.
"You're going to need some supplies." Nurse Joy said before she began walking away.
XXXXXX
(Later—Kanto—Route Three)
After he had gotten all of the supplies he needed from Nurse Joy, Ash had gone out to the cafeteria to get some dinner. There, he called out all of his Pokémon so he could introduce Clefairy to his older Pokémon.
Once everyone had gotten acquainted with each other, he had went over and gotten some food for him and his Pokémon. Then, when everyone had finished, Ash had packed up, recalled all but Eevee to their Poké Balls, and went up to his room.
When he woke up, he had gotten ready before handing his room-key to Nurse Joy. Taking it, she gave him a few last-minute tips regarding Clefairy and sent him off. Waving goodbye, he left Pewter City and set upon Route Three.
At the moment, Ash had just finished his battle against a girl named Janice, who handed him ¥144. He looked at the money for a moment before he looked at Janice, confused. She laughed.
"Don't you know that when you win, you win a small amount of money from the other Pokémon Trainer?" Janice asked.
Ash shook his head, "No."
"… You get ¥144 from me because of the level of my Pokémon. Usually, if Trainers don't say how much they want to bet, the levels of their Pokémon are used to determine the price." Janice explained. "So, the higher level your Pokémon are, the more you have to pay. Get it?"
Ash nodded, "But what if the other Trainer doesn't have any money? How will the loser pay then?"
"Well, if that happens, then the Trainer could transfer some of their Newbie Pack funds." Janice paused when she saw Ash's confused expression. "… You don't know what a newbie pack is, do you?"
"No. What is it?"
"A Newbie Pack is what every Pokémon Trainer gets when they start their journey: a Starter Pokémon, six Poké Balls, a Pokédex, and ¥1000." Janice answered.
Ash nodded.
"If I didn't have any money, I would use my Pokédex to access my bank account, and transfer the money I bet you." Janice said. "However, if I had exhausted that… the next time I won, my money would go to the person I owed."
"Okay, I get it now."
Janice smiled, "Glad I could help out, Ash." Turning around, Janice winked at him. "Maybe I'll see you later."
With that, Janice left. Ash stared after her for a moment before he pulled out his wallet, put his winnings into it, put his wallet back, and then began walking in the opposite direction.
XXXXXX
"I challenge you to a battle!"
Turning around, Ash saw a small brown-haired boy pointing at him with a determined glint in his black eyes.
The boy was wearing a pair of blue shorts, a white shirt, blue sandals, and a blue-white backpack. He was also carrying an enormous white net, signifying that he had a preference towards Bug-Type Pokémon.
"Alright. Let's find a place to batt—" Ash began.
"My name is James! The Bug Catcher James!" The kid—James—interrupted. "And I know the perfect place to battle!"
Then, without warning, James spun around before he began to march off with Ash following him. When James stopped, both Trainers found themselves in an open, rocky area. There were a few Geodude scattered around the area but, seeing Ash and James, they quickly ran away.
Without missing a beat, James rushed towards the other end of their makeshift battlefield before he climbed on top of a boulder.
"Alright! Let's go, Caterpie!" James said as he released his first Pokémon.
There was a bright flash of light before James' Caterpie was revealed to the world. Caterpie was a small, green caterpillar-like Pokémon with a yellow underbelly and bright-red antennae. It also had yellow ring-shaped markings running down the side of its body and around both of its eyes.
Ash looked at Caterpie for a moment before he unclipped Pidgey's Poké Ball from his belt and released Pidgey onto the battlefield. In the air, Pidgey looked around the battlefield before he spotted Caterpie and screeched, intimidating it.
That done, Pidgey glided over and then landed on the ground directly before his Trainer. "Pidgey Pi Pidgey Pidge!"
"Caterpie, use your String-Shot!" James ordered.
Nodding, Caterpie then opened its mouth before it spewed a small string of sticky material towards Pidgey. Ash quickly ordered for Pidgey to get into the air who obeyed—dodging the String-Shot—before the Pokémon screeched warningly. Caterpie flinched.
"Use Gust!" Ash commanded.
Pidgey obliged by beginning to flap his wings at a high speed. Soon enough, a small tornado began to form before Pidgey before he launched it towards Caterpie. The other Pokémon didn't have enough to dodge so it was sucked into the tornado only to be thrown out a few moments later.
As the tornado began to dissipate, Caterpie hit the ground with a groan before it struggled to get back up.
"Let's finish this off, Pidgey." Ash ordered. "Use your Quick Attack!"
Pidgey tipped his wing slightly before he came back around. He then extended his talons and dived towards Caterpie at an amazing speed, a faint white glow beginning to surround his body.
James looked nervous, "Dodge it Caterpie!"
Obeying its Trainer, Caterpie managed to force itself up before it saw Pidgey rocketing towards it. It then jumped to the side, causing Pidgey to miss, before Pidgey swerved around. This time, Pidgey managed to hit Caterpie before the other Pokémon could react.
A small amount of dust was sent into the air when Caterpie landed with a grunt. Then, as the dust settled back down, it revealed Caterpie to be unconscious.
James huffed in annoyance before he recalled Caterpie. That done, James then reached into his backpack and took out another Poké Ball. "Let's see if your Pidgey can deal with this! Go, Metapod!"
"… Metapod…" Metapod intoned monotonously after it had finished materializing, looking around before it spotted Pidgey. Unlike Caterpie, Metapod didn't seem all that intimidated. "Pod Meta-pod met."
Pidgey's eyes narrowed, "Pidgey! Pi Pidgey!"
"Pidgey, use Tackle!" Ash ordered.
"Metapod, Harden!" James countered.
As Pidgey dived down towards Metapod, Metapod began to glow a brilliant, yellowish-white color. Ash's eyes widened at this; he couldn't let Pidgey hit Metapod now. If Pidgey did hit Metapod, he would take the most damage.
"Pidgey, don't hit Metapod!" Ash called out quickly. "Use your talons to grab it instead!"
James frowned, "Use your String-Shot!"
Twisting in mid-air, Pidgey managed to adjust itself so that it didn't actually hit Metapod as it flew past, though Metapod's String-Shot came awfully close to hitting Pidgey. Pidgey turned around and, flying low, flew towards Metapod at a rapid speed, talons extended.
Multiple smaller, almost bullet-like globs of sticky white material were launched from the top of Metapod's head and towards Pidgey. While many of these globs came very close to hitting Pidgey, Pidgey managed to fly under, over, and around them.
"Metapod!"
Using his talons, Pidgey grabbed Metapod before he flew high in the air. Even though his Trainer hadn't said much, Pidgey had caught the gist of his Trainer's plan. So, when he was 100 feet in the air, Pidgey released his hold on Metapod and allowed the other Pokémon to plummet towards the ground.
James' eyes widened in alarm, "Metapod!"
It was only a few moments later that Metapod hit the ground with a boom, sending a good-sized, mushroom-shaped column of dust into the air. A couple of minutes passed before the dust settled and revealed Metapod.
The drop had caused numerous cracks to form all along Metapod's shell—a specific lightning-shaped crack falling down from its eyes—along with some bruises. However, despite the pain it must've been in, Metapod was still conscious.
"Alright Pidgey, let's finish this off with another Quick Attack!" Ash ordered.
Pidgey nodded in agreement before it dived towards Metapod, his talons extended once again. Like before, a white hue appeared around Pidgey and increased his speed. Seeing the danger, James hurriedly told his Pokémon to use Harden again. It soon became apparent, however, that Metapod simply didn't have enough energy to use the move again.
So, ten seconds later, Pidgey slammed into Metapod's body with his talons and quickly knocked Metapod out. Feathers ruffled slightly, Pidgey flew back over to Ash as James grumpily recalled his Pokémon.
Once that was done, James walked over to Ash. James pulled out ¥130 from his pocket before he handed it over to Ash. Ash took the money, put it in his wallet, put his wallet away, and then shook James' extended hand.
"You might want to think of getting some other Pokémon so this won't happen again." Ash advised.
XXXXXX
(Later—Kanto—Route three)
"Dinner time!"
Following this statement were four flashes of light as Pidgey, Kakuna, Rattata, and Clefairy were released.
Frightened, Clefairy looked around for a moment before she spotted Ash, ran over to him, and buried her head into his shirt. Ash smiled and picked Clefairy up, only to set her in front of her very-own food bowl a moment later.
"You need to eat, Clefairy." Ash said with a somewhat stern expression on his face, ignoring Clefairy's pout. He then looked around, seeing all his other Pokémon looking at him. "And that goes for you guys too; start eating."
He didn't need to say it twice. Bar Clefairy, all of his Pokémon descended on their bowls PokéChow as if they were their own worst enemy. After a couple minutes, all of them had finished except Clefairy, who had barely eaten a few pellets.
Ash sighed, "… If you can't anymore then you can just tell me. I'll put it away for later."
Clefairy nodded shallowly before she picked up her bowl and handed it back to him. Ash took the bowl, emptied its contents back into his bag of PokéChow, and put the bowl back in his backpack. He then zipped the top of the PokéChow bag shut and put it in his backpack too.
Eevee padded over to Ash before she looked up at him, "Ve Eevee Eve, Ee-V-E?"
"I think we're about… two miles away from Mt. Moon?" Ash stated as he looked at his map, a bit confused. "At least… I think we're two miles away…" He turned the map around in his hands, squinting at it. "Its kind hard to tell…"
"… Clefairy Cle fairy." Clefairy murmured as she snuggled into Ash's side.
"What? We're only a mile away?" Ash asked as he looked down at Clefairy. "Are you sure?"
Clefairy nodded tiredly.
Ash grinned, "That's great news! We can set out early in the morning and then get through Mt. Moon tomorrow. All we'll have to do then is cross Route Four and then we'll be in Cerulean City!"
Ash's Pokémon Team:
Eevee (Female): Level 14.
Attacks: Growl (Normal), Helping Hand (Normal), Sand-Attack (Normal), Scratch (Normal) Tackle (Normal), Tail Whip (Normal).
Pidgey (Male): Level 11.
Attacks: Sand-Attack (Ground), Tackle (Normal), Gust (Flying), and Quick Attack (Normal).
Rattata (Male): Level 12.
Attacks: Tackle (Normal), Tail Whip (Normal), and Quick Attack (Normal).
Kakuna (Male): Level 12.
Attacks: String-Shot (Bug), Poison-Sting (Poison), Bug-Bite (Bug), and Harden (Normal).
Clefairy (Female): Level 7.
Attacks: Pound (Normal) and Sing (Normal).
James' Pokémon Team:
Caterpie (Female): Level 11.
Attacks: Tackle (Normal) and String-Shot (Bug).
Metapod (Male): Level 12.
Attacks: Tackle (Normal), String-Shot (Bug, and Harden (Bug).
A/N: Author's Note: This chapter was updated as of 06/02/2012.