Poke-genetics: rest
Janes was bored. She did as her new boss told her and she had to admit it had been fun, but she was bored again. Preys weren't as tasty when they didn't have anything to take away from. She wanted someone tasty... someone like those three kids. They'd be so fun to break down. Now, that was an idea she liked. All she had to do was to elaborate it…
Janes saw the pokemon in their glass containers, one in particular flashed in her eyes, and she was struck by inspiration. That was an idea so sick and twisted that she instantly loved it. Oh yes, Janes wanted to do that and watch him as he'd be crushed by the despair.
She laughed like a maniac.
Ash woke up sweating. What was that feeling? It felt as if he had been in Janes's hands.
Fortunately, he was just in the tent. Alone. Still a bit sleepy, he got out of the tent, yawning.
«Hello sleepy head. » Genno said with a smile.
He was sitting next to Pikachu, a plate of food in his hands.
«…hel… lo… » he said between two yawns.
«Wow, did you sleep well? »
«Yeah. »
«You don't look like you've slept well though. »
«Genno, you should know by now that he's sleeping as much as an ursaring in winter. »
«It's still surprising. »
«Hey! I'm still here, you know? »
They laughed a little.
«Here. » Genno said as he handed over a plate of food to Ash.
«Thanks pal. »
As he ate his food slowly (he was too sleepy to eat fast for once), Ash wondered.
«You look much happier than yesterday. » he commented.
«Well, I'm trying not to worry too much. »
«It looks like it works. » Ash stated.
«It sure does. » Genno replied.
«So, what's the schedule for today? Are we trying to kick Team Blast's butt before noon? »
«Nope. We're not doing anything today. »
It took a good minute for Ash to assimilate the new.
«Huh? Didn't we talk about this, Genno? »
«Hey, we're still fighting… but not today. What I had in mind won't work well with my father as the head of Team Blast. We should wait for now and see if Team Blast's behavior has changed. »
«Then… what are we going to do? »
Pikachu and Genno grinned.
«We'll have fun. » they answered together.
They had walked for half an hour now. Ash was completely lost. They said Pikachu heard of a place to relax that was extraordinary.
«Are you sure it's this way, Pikachu? »
«Yes, I am, Ash. Besides, if you used your nose and your ears a bit more, you'd know we're close to our destination. »
Ash blushed. He did forget to train using all five of his senses. Under Genno's curious eyes, he focused with his eyes closed. While Genno was wondering why Ash didn't crash into the first tree they saw, said pikachu was concentrating on his nose and on his ears.
They was an astounding sound not too far in front of them and it smelled like… hum… he wasn't sure.
«You're right, wherever we're going, it's right in front of us. »
Pikachu smiled at him. Genno was clearly impressed.
«Wow, you do seem to get better at being a pikachu than before. »
« I'd look stupid if I hadn't. »
«Well, it took me a lot more time to adapt to a ditto's eyes and I'm still not comfortable using them.»
«Dittos have special eyes? » Ash and Pikachu asked, puzzled.
«Of course we do. How else do you think that I could transform by looking at someone? »
«… instinct? » hazarded Ash.
«Kind of, but that's not all. Seriously, a ditto's eyes are crazy. They can see every freaking thing in the world. »
«… that's supposed to be crazy? » wondered the two of them.
«It is. It FREAKING is. I can see everything. I can see micro-waves, infra-red and such. Trust me, it is mad. I thought I was crazy when I was turned into a ditto. Even the colors are different. Plus, if I focus hard enough, I get to see DNAs. I never tried looking at ghosts, but I would bet that I could see them when they are «invisible». »
Both pikachus looked at him with round eyes.
«Okay, I must admit it is completely impossible for me to understand what I look at, but my body seems to know well enough, because it's at time like these that I produce a DNA sample. »
«Wow… » they just muttered.
«And you do that every time you morph? » inquired Pikachu.
«Yup, except when I turn into Ash. To do that, I only need to use the sample that's already in my body. »
Ash and Pikachu almost tripped. Walking while looking at your «human» friend was not healthy in the middle of a forest.
«You okay? »
«Yeah…» Pikachu answered. « And it gets better: we're at the place. »
All three stopped and looked in awe.
There was a lake an hundred meter from them. Under the morning sky, the crystal-clear water was sparkling with radiance. On the other end of it, there was a waterfall supplying it with pure water. A delicate mist was covering its surface. In the middle of the lake, there was an island covered in fruit-trees.
«It's so… beautiful… »
«Last one in the lake is the loser! » Ash yelled.
All three friends began to ran, with Ash being the one in the lead.
«No fair! » protested Genno. «You run faster than me and I can't morph in the middle of a race!»
«Too bad for you. You should have thought about it sooner. »
Just as Ash was about to jump, a bunch of spearow attacked Genno.
«Hey! Leave him alone! » both his friend shouted.
«Go away. Go away. Go away. » the birds kept repeating.
Genno was trying to protect his face from their beak, but it was no use. He ran straight into the lake.
«Why did you do that? » Pikachu asked while charging a thunderbolt.
«This place is not for humans. » they answered.
They were extremely surprised when Genno's head emerged out of the water.
«But I'm not a human, you stupid birds! »
He had turned into a pikachu.
«I'm a ditto, for Mew's sake. »
The birds pokemon just continued to stare at him, dumbfounded.
«Oh, and, by that way, Ash, I win. » he smiled in triumph.
When Genno had gotten closer to the lake, lots of pokemon in it had trembled in fear and cheered for the spearow when they tried to take care of the problem.
Most of them suddenly felt ashamed when the boy turned into a pikachu. It was not a human, it was a ditto. Oops.
At least, they weren't the ones that attacked him.
All three pikachus swam toward the island, though the one with the backpack had troubles.
«And here I was used to being human again. Why must I always switch AFTER I get comfortable?»
«Fate is a prankster. » stated Pikachu.
«Well, tell her to stop that for a while. »
«If I see her, I'll tell her. »
They reached the shore where most pokemon were resting. There was at least one of any pokemon living in the woods of Kanto.
«I thought pidgeys and spearows couldn't stand each other's. » a skeptical Genno remarked.
«Rattatas and pikachus neither. » added a voice from behind them.
They turned around to see a young rattata which looked hostile.
«Yeah, we knew that. » Ash replied just as hostilely.
He remembered an experience that was not funniest ever. Being pushed by a ratticate in a river while you could not swim wasn't exactly a fond memory.
«Knock it off, you two. » a mature voice surprised them.
They were both hit by a powerful smack behind their heads. A nidoking lifted the both of them and held them at the level of his face.
«Look, kids. Here, there is no territory and no fighting between species. This place is a pokemon haven for anyone and everyone. If I catch you fighting, you'll meet that lake faster than you can say «rodent». Understood? »
«S… sure. » they replied, blue out of fear.
«Good, now you can enjoy the place. »
He put them down.
«Ash, you should try those berries. They're delicious. » Pikachu said.
He was sitting on the branch of a fruit-tree. Genno was next to him and both had red fruits in their hands.
«You know I'm not fond of these. »
«They're really good. » confirmed Genno.
He hesitated for a second, but he climbed the tree.
«…I might as well try… » Ash said.
He took a bite and discovered that it was indeed good. It was not as good as his mother's food or Brock's cooking, but still, it was tasty. He munched the berry avidly and picked up a bunch of them.
«And here we thought that the fear had cut your appetite… » Pikachu remarked.
«Hey! I was not afraid! » Ash denied as he threw a berry at Pikachu.
The fruit exploded as it made impact with Pikachu's face. His nose got covered with bright red juice.
«Great, now my sense of smell will be screwed for the next two days. Thanks Ash. »
«That's for saying I was afraid of that rattata. »
«He was talking about the nidoking. » Genno pointed out.
«Oh… » Ash realized with embarrassment. «Sorry. »
«… I'll forgive you this time. »
«Hey, you pikachus! » shouted a pokemon below them.
«Is that supposed to be an insult? » Genno asked Pikachu.
«Coming from a rattata, it is. »
«Aren't your species cousins? »
«Not all families are perfect. »
«Well, dysfunctional family or not, if he wants a fight, he'll get one. » Ash declared. «What do you want? »
«I bet you're all too scared to fight me in the strength challenge. »
They looked at each other, completely confused.
«What is that supposed to be? »
«You don't know? » the rattata exclaimed, incredulous.
«Hey, buddy, we've been in this forest for a few days! Give us a break. »
«Oh… so you're strangers, huh? »
«What about it? »
«Nothing. Do you accept? »
«Explain it to us before! » shouted Ash.
«Alright, but get down from that tree first. »
Still unsure, they obeyed nonetheless.
«The strength challenge is what Nidoking invented to make sure there wouldn't be any fights on the island. It consists of one contest of strength, agility, intellect or anything like that. »
«Hum… and you challenge all three of us? » wondered Genno.
«Yeah! »
«Isn't that unfair for you? You're alone. »
«It doesn't matter! I want to fight you! »
Genno's eyebrows rose as he was skeptical about that kid's motivation. He looked at his two friends and surprised them.
«I accept your challenge, if I can decide what the contest is. » Genno declared.
«Fine by me. What about you two? »
«Count me in! » Ash said with a fiery look in his eyes.
«Count me out. » Pikachu said.
The three others stared at him.
«Really? » Ash said with disbelief.
«Really. I'm not in the mood to fight. I want to enjoy this place. » he explained.
«… too bad, but you two are on! »
The news that a challenge had been sent flew over the island and, in a matter of minutes, a crowd had assembled on the beach, the place where the first contest would take place.
Genno had traced a circle in the sand. The Rattata and Genno were now standing in the middle of that same circle. Surrounding them, the pokemon were forming an even bigger circle. In the crowd, Genno could see Ash, Pikachu and Nidoking.
«Good. » he thought.
«What's the challenge? » the rattata asked.
«A contest of strength. » he exclaimed.
A series of surprised exclamation ran through the group of pokemon that were watching. The two that were the most shocked were Ash and Pikachu. Of all the contests, he chose THAT one?
«Great! I'll crush you then. » the rattata sniggered.
«There are two rules: we can't use any elemental attacks, which include dark and electric types, and the first to get pushed out of the circle is the loser. »
The pokemon pondered: «No dark type… that means I can't use bite… whatever! »
«I agree. »
«Then… let's go. »
Without waiting, the rat pokemon charged toward him.
Genno didn't lose time either. He looked at the crowd and saw precisely the pokemon he wanted to see.
Under the astonished eyes of the rattata, he morphed into a nidoking.
«WHAAAAAT? » the poor pokemon screamed.
«I guessed you didn't know when you called me a pikachu, but I'm just a ditto. That's too bad for you. » Genno said darkly.
The rattata closed its eyes when he saw the nidoking raise his arm.
Then, a loud noise was heard and he opened them slowly.
He couldn't believe his eyes. The nidoking had jumped outside of the circle!
«You win. » Genno stated as he turned back into a pikachu.
This time, the challenge was taking place in the middle of the lake. The water pokemon living in it had place fifty logs on the surface, making an arena. Rattata and Ash were standing on two vaporeons' back.
«Since your friend chose the last challenge, it's my turn. » Rattata stated.
«Sure, what's the challenge? »
«It will be a contest of strength and of agility. We'll fight on these logs and the one to fall in the lake first loses. »
«Okay. »
They both jumped on a log and stared at each other.
Genno, as one of the vaporeon, looked at the both of them and yelled.
«Begin! »
Ash made the first move. He quick-attacked in the rattata's direction. The rat pokemon jump on his left and attempted a tackle.
«He's… too close. » Ash thought. «I can't dodge! »
He felt the blow hit him in the ribs and he winced in pain. Miraculously, he managed to land on a log.
«Wow… he's better than I thought. »
He needed to think of a strategy.
The rattata noticed Ash looked focused, but was strangely still. Was he…? With brutality, he attempted a bite attack on Ash.
The teenager jumped on the next log as the rat's fangs pierced the wood.
«Wow, those teeth are not for show. » he remarked mentally.
Ash slapped himself. There were better things to do than to admire that guy's strength, like an iron tail.
The rattata didn't see it coming. He felt his head get dizzy as he was sent flying.
«I must not lose my advantage! » Ash thought. «Now's my chance. »
He calculated where his opponent would land and charged up power in his cheeks.
In the lake, Genno looked with apprehension at his friend. He didn't say anything, but his eyes were saying enough by themselves.
«Don't mess up, Ash. I'm swimming in the lake! »
Ash unleashed a torrent of lightning. The attack went straight for its target. The rattata saw the bolt of electricity fly toward him and gritted his teeth. He was not going to lose to a bunch of pikachus (even if one of them was just a ditto).
The attack caused a powerful flash of light that blinded Genno.
«Ok, his attack did not hit the water, that's nice and all, but I can't see a thing now. »
When his sight got slightly less blurry, he saw both Ash and his opponent breathing heavily. While the rattata's fur looked burned, Ash looked perfectly fine.
Except he wasn't.
«He got me! » Ash thought.
His opponent received the blast, but he launched his own attack immediately after. Ash had not been fast enough to dodge.
«To think you could use Endeavor… you're stronger than I thought. » Ash told the rattata.
«Humph, your thunderbolt wasn't half-bad. » he replied.
«Let's end this. »
Both pokemon had the same idea. With a swift pulse from their hind legs, they jumped forward. At the same time, they initiated a quick-attack. At the same time, they head-butted each other. At the same time, they fell into the lake.
«Take care of the rattata, I'll get my friend. » Genno said.
The other vaporeon nodded and they dived underwater.
Genno used his aquatic body clumsily, but he managed to get Ash out of the lake fairly quickly.
When Ash stopped coughing water, he realized they were not alone. Surrounding him and Genno, who was back in his pikachu form, the others pokemon on the island were praising him.
«That was a nice fight, kiddo. » Nidoking complimented. «You don't look that experienced though. »
«That's my… third or fourth fight. » Ash said.
«Really? You reacted like someone who has good knowledge about battles. You're not lying to look better, are you? » the pokemon suspected.
«No, I'm serious. I've only fought battles like that three of four times at most. » Ash replied.
He was telling the truth. He had a lot of pokemon battle experience, but only as a trainer. That didn't count, did it?
«In that case, you should come and celebrate with us. »
«Celebrate? » Ash said, confused.
He looked at Genno, but his friend didn't know either.
«You kids really need someone to teach you the customs of this place. » the large pokemon sighted.
«Go ahead. »
«Whenever there is a challenge, at the end of the day, we organized a small feast to calm the spirit of the fighters. »
«Now, that's a tradition I like. » Ash grinned.
The pikachus followed the older pokemon in the depth of the islands.
They had only seen a fraction of the island. As they walked toward the center, they saw how many pokemon were here.
«Wow, I didn't realize this place was big enough for that many pokemon. » Ash commented.
«That's because it's not. If there was this much pokemon on the island all the time, there wouldn't be enough food. » Genno stated.
«Then why are they all here now? »
«I don't know… maybe it's vacation time? » Genno guessed.
The look in Ash's eyes meant a lot.
«Hey, I was just trying to come up with something. » he protested.
Ash stayed silent as they got closer to the center of the island. All around them, pokemon of various types were gathering food for the upcoming celebration. It was fascinating to see all those different creatures work together toward a common goal… even if Genno suspected some of them to be purely motivated by their stomach. He couldn't say he blamed them, that was a good motive.
Especially since he could hear Ash's stomach approve.
They continued walking for a few minutes. Ash noticed something strange about Genno. He was not having the face of someone about to enjoy a feast. He seemed to have something on his mind.
«You okay, buddy? » he asked with a worried voice.
«Of course, why do you ask? » Genno answered.
Ash didn't buy it. He was about to say something when Nidoking interrupted him.
«Hey, kids, that's the place. »
And he showed them the glade.
«Guys! » a familiar voice echoed.
«Pikachu? » Genno asked.
«Where have you been? » Ash inquired. «Did you at least see my fight? »
«Yeah. »
«How was it? »
«As your trainer, I'll say that it was mediocre at best. »
Ash felt the deception hit him and his ears fell.
«But, as your friend, I'll say that you are a talented beginner. » Pikachu added with a wink.
The starry sky was covering the clearing in the woods. In the middle of it, a fire had been lighted, courtesy of the few fire pokemon that were on the island. Its light was covering an impressive radius and the woods were illuminated by it.
The feast in itself had been eventful at the very least. Ash, disappointed when he realized there would only be berries to eat, had tried the exotic fruits in front of him. He had been pleasantly surprised and he began eating with a snorlax's appetite.
Frankly, most of the pokemon had been worried when he choked, but Pikachu, as annoyed as always when it happened, reacted with an unnatural calm.
«That's a habit. » he told them.
Skeptical expression painted the face of many, but they had to admit that after the third Heimlich maneuver that had to be performed on Ash, they were pretty calm too.
The rattata, disappointed in the result of the match, tried a few timeto challenge Ash again.
It didn't go well.
The first time, Nidoking just lifted him by his tail, saying that the limit was one challenge per visit.
The second time, Genno asked innocently if the challenge still applied to him. For some reason, his face became slightly blue and he quickly went to the other side of the glade.
The third, he sneaked up on Ash and challenged him from behind. Ash had been surprised while chewing and he choked again. Panicked, the rattata apologized fanatically while Genno helped him.
After that, he carefully left his rival alone.
At the end of the feast, Nidoking stood up and talked to the pokemon assembled around the flame.
«Brothers and sisters, let me tell you the tale that my grandfather was told by the grandfather of his grandfather. It happened years ago, on this island, when the humans were not capable of capturing us the way they do now. The grandfather of my grandfather's grandfather was but a small injured nidoran at that time. He had fled a group of humans that wanted to capture him for whatever vile purposes they had in mind. By some miracle fate had bestowed upon him, he managed to avoid capture and ran desperately through the forest. After an exhausting escape, he swam to this island to get away from their fire pokemon. Here, alone on this island that was but a mass of unfertile earth, he realized he would not have the strength to survive. Out of desperation, he begged the great star to help him. Taking pity of my ancestor's fate, the great star descended unto this island. »
Genno and ash could hear very clearly the gasp most pokemon made, including Pikachu.
«It told the grandfather of my grandfather's grandfather that it would heal him, but he wanted him to do a little something for it in exchange. Of course, my ancestor didn't hesitate and accepted. The great star asked him to stay on this island and make it a haven of peace for every pokemon that wished for peace. It seems that the great star was pained by the way some humans were treating their pokemon and wanted the wild ones to have a place to go and be safe. The grandfather of my grandfather's grandfather said that he wanted but that the island could not possibly be welcoming to others, it was only unfertile earth. The great star said it wasn't true and the island suddenly got covered in fruit-trees and berry-bushes. It promised to watch over the island once a year and cover it with food again, and then the great star left the grandfather of my grandfather's grandfather. Loyal to his promise, my ancestor stayed on the island and welcomed every single pokemon that wanted to be protected from harm. The existence of this place was slowly made to be known to all of Cerulean's forest pokemon. Each year since then, the great star flew in the sky and life bloomed once more. This tale is that of the grandfather of my grandfather's grandfather and of this haven of peace. »
Newcomers had eyes round in astonishment and the old ones nodded their acknowledgement.
Of them all, only Ash and Genno were not particularly shocked. They thought it was a nice tale, but nothing to be in shock about.
«Pikachu? What's the big deal with this story? »
He looked at them, stunned and asked with disbelief.
«You… are not shocked? »
«Why should we be? It's just the story of a nidoran and a star that helped it. » Ash stated.
Comprehension flashed in Pikachu's eyes.
«Oh, I see. Ash, Genno… pokemon do not call things by the same name that you use. The great star is the term we use to talk about Mew. »