Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story!
Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga
Chapter Thirty Two
Revival of the Fittest
Late night, Cinnabar Island, in a laboratory near the southern end of the island, a group of scientists gather around a large cylindrical machine. There is a sliding glass door on the middle of the machine, which one of the scientists opens and places a piece of fossilized amber in.
"Are we sure we want to do this?" One of the scientists asked nervously. "We don't even know what we might be bringing back to life..."
"They've already revived pokemon from fossils in Hoenn, you know." Another scientist said sternly. "We need to prove our machine works now and this is the only suitable fossil the Pewter City museum was willing to give away. Its this or nothing."
The fossilized amber was placed in the middle of the chamber and the glass door closed over it. The scientist who was handling the amber then pressed a few buttons on a control panel next to it. A bright light filled the inside of the chamber, concealing the fossil from view.
"I still think we should have researched this more thoroughly first." The nervous scientist said to his colleagues. It was too late to change their minds now. None of them would be able to open the chamber until after the revitalization process was finished. They couldn't see the creature beginning to form inside, nor could it see them.
The group of scientists stood around anxiously while the machine did its job. After several minutes, the light began to slowly fade revealing, at first, the creature's gray, leathery wings. Eventually its relatively small body, disproportionally large head and jaw, and long tail were revealed. The creature remained almost completely motionless, save for its shallow breaths.
One of the scientists had a book in hand to identify prehistoric pokemon and began flipping through the pages. He eventually came upon a page with a perfect picture of the pokemon resting in the revitalization chamber. "According to this, this pokemon would be an Aerodactyl..." The scientist said to his colleagues.
"Well congratulations, gentlemen, we have just revived a prehistoric Aerodactyl." Another scientist calmly congratulated the group. For the most part, the group remained quiet. Though the revival seemed to be a success, there was still much more work to be done. The men enjoyed their victory in silence while they waited for the pokemon to open its eyes. They didn't have long to wait either as it was soon slowly opening its eyes while trying to stand up.
"It may be in our best interest to capture Aerodactyl in a pokeball while we can." The scientist holding the book said. "According to this, Aerodactyl is a carnivorous pokemon that was known to prey on early human civilizations."
"You're probably right, we'll capture it and call it a night." One of the scientists approached the machine while the Aerodactyl inside it stood up and watched the scientist.
The scientist pushed two buttons on the control panel and inside the machine a hole opened above Aerodactyl. A pokeball dropped down from the hole, opening as it fell. The ball hit Aerodactyl on the head and pulled it inside. The pokeball fell to the bottom of the chamber and, to everyone's surprise, began rolling about as Aerodactyl tried to break free.
"Whats going on here?! Why isn't it recalling Aerodactyl?!" One of the scientists demanded in a mixed expression of shock and confusion. The scientist near the control panel began tapping away to find the problem while Aerodactyl effortlessly broke free of the pokeball and shattered it.
"There's been a computer error!" The scientist announced frantically. "Aerodactyl wasn't properly registered!"
"WHAT!?" The group cried out in disbelief. Aerodactyl, now angry from their attempt to catch it, cast a fierce glare at the scientists.
"-You dare try to catch me?!-" Aerodactyl screeched. "-Filthy creatures! I will gnaw on your bones!-" Aerodactyl opened its mouth and an orange glow began to form in the back of its throat.
"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" One of the scientists screamed and everyone quickly dropped to the floor. Aerodactyl fired a powerful energy beam, shattering the glass chamber. The beam soared over the scientists' heads and struck the far wall of the room. The wall was blasted apart in a shower of dust and debris, leaving a large gaping hole. Almost immediately, an alarm began to sound.
"-GAH! Now you attack me with noise?!-" Aerodactyl screeched, covering his ears with his clawed hands. As soon as Aerodactyl had the strength to attack again he opened his mouth and fired another Hyper Beam. The beam fired across the room and struck the wall on the opposite side of the corridor from the room. There was another shower of dust and debris as that wall was destroyed, leaving a large gaping hole that lead outside.
"-FREEDOM!-" Aerodactyl took a moment to muster up its strength again and took off flying toward the hole with astouding speed. Security guards were just arriving in the corridor outside the room, a pair of Growlithes with them, when Aerodactyl shot past them like a bullet and out into the night.
Once Aerodactyl was outside he began to rise up high into the air until he was over a hundred feet off the ground, then stopped and hovered in the air to take a good look at his surroundings. Aerodactyl was perplexed by the unusual scenery.
"-What is all this?-" Aerodactyl wondered when he saw the buildings scattered about the island. He could also see many humans walking about. Several scientists and guards rushed out of the lab Aerodactyl had broken out of, accompanied by Growlithes, Magnemites, and Voltorbs.
"-Grr...I'm starving, but these creatures are too strong. I must find easier prey!-" Aerodactyl took off again, flying over the island and heading north.
"Damn it! Its getting away!" One of the scientists muttered angrily. "We need to track it down and capture it before it hurts someone!"
"I don't think we stand a chance at catching it, its too fast." One of the other scientists said. "All we can do is hope it keeps going north and hope the Viridian City gym leader can stop it..."
"But what if it stops in Pallet Town?"
"Then, unless the Elite Four or the gym leader can get there first, there isn't much hope for them..."
Early morning, the next day. Ashley, Rina, and Pippi are standing just outside route one as Ashley sees Rina off.
"So I'll come by your place to get you after I get my final badge." Ashley said to Rina.
"Ok." Rina nodded in agreement. "Think you're ready for the next gym?"
"Of course I am!" Ashley replied, waving her hand dismissively. "It'll be a breeze, and Bulbasaur should finally be happy since its supposed to be a ground-type gym. Plus I'll have Poliwrath, Pidgeot, and Vaporeon too. It'll be a piece of cake!"
"Well good luck anyway." Rina said to her. "We'll see you later, bye Ashley!"
"Bye Rina, bye Pippi!"
"-See ya!-" Pippi replied, then she and Rina started off on their way.
"Ok, now to go meet up with Professor Oak." Ashley turned and headed back into town, off on her way to Professor Oak's lab. Even though the lab was on the opposite side of town from the route one exit, it still only took her roughly twenty minutes to get there. Pallet Town wasn't very big. Aside from a few scattered convenience stores, there wasn't even anywhere to shop. Ashley arrived outside the lab then opened the front door and stepped inside.
As she stepped inside, though, she found the lab seemed to be quiet and empty. "Thats odd..." Ashley thought. "Isn't the lab supposed to be open today?"
"Hello? Is anybody here?" Ashley called out to the empty lab.
"Yes, yes, I'm coming." Professor Oak called back before emerging from one of the lab's side rooms. Bulbasaur, still with him, was following along behind Oak. The professor had a pokeball in his hand as well. "I was expecting you might drop by today, Ashley. How are things at home?"
"Not that great..." Ashley replied with a sigh. "I'd rather not say why though. Anyway, where is everybody?"
"-Yeah, nice to see you again too.-" Bulbasaur muttered sarcastically. "-Not even going to say 'hello' are you?-"
"I told everyone to take the day off." Professor Oak explained. "Gary has actually managed to beat the Elite Four. I will be paying him a visit myself later, but right now I would like to..."
"Wait, wait, wait...back up..." Ashley said, interrupting him. "Gary beat the Elite Four?!" Professor Oak chuckled.
"Yes, it surprised me as well. I didn't think he had what it takes to be a great pokemon trainer. He sure proved me wrong though. He's got quite a pokedex as well, speaking of which..." Professor Oak cleared his throat. "I was hoping to speak with you about your's."
"My pokedex?" Ashley asked, blinking in disbelief. She remembered Bulbasaur took it when he ran off to the lab the night before, and also realized she hadn't put much work into it. "He can't be too happy about it..." She thought.
"Yes, quite the curious entries you have there." Oak said to her. "While you don't have nearly as many pokemon captured as Gary, you do have many rare and fully evolved pokemon. You've even managed to capture two pokemon that don't even appear in the Kanto pokedex."
"I did?" Ashley blinked. "Which two aren't in the Kanto pokedex?"
"Here, let me show you." Professor Oak lead Ashley into his office, where he had left her pokedex connected to his computer. He sat down in his chair and brought up Crobat's pokedex page.
"This would be the first one." Professor Oak explained. "Crobat, the evolved form of Golbat."
"Crobat isn't a Kanto pokemon?" Ashley asked.
"While Crobat does evolve from Golbat, a pokemon very common in just about any part of the world, its evolution into Crobat was first documented in the Johto region." Professor Oak explained. "Its the same scenario with this particular pokemon..." Professor Oak scrolled through the pokedex pages, opening Espeon's page.
"Espeon? But thats one of Eevee's evolved forms..." Ashley said.
"Correct, but once again it was first documented in Johto." Oak said to her. "I'm simply amazed by the pokemon here, though. You have all but one of Eevee's known evolved forms, Dragonite, Clefable, Hitmonlee...in fact, you've managed to catch the few pokemon Red has caught and registered in his pokedex. The only pokemon you're missing would be Venusaur..."
"I'd say something, but there's not even a pokemon within earshot to hear me." Bulbasaur thought.
"How many pokemon does Red have then?" Ashley asked Oak.
"He has five fully evolved pokemon and a Pikachu." Professor Oak shook his head slightly and let out a sigh. "That boy refuses to catch more than six pokemon so he isn't neglecting any of them. While its certainly an admirable line of thinking it certainly doesn't help my research any..."
"I guess I haven't been much help either, have I?" Ashley asked, rubbing the back of her head.
"Its certainly better than nothing." Professor Oak replied, chuckling to himself. "Between the three of you I've actually managed to get quite a bit of data."
"-Pffffft. You're being way too nice to her.-" Bulbasaur grumbled.
"I'm sure you'll manage to catch even more rare pokemon in the future. I look forward to seeing what else you record in the pokedex." Professor Oak removed Ashley's pokedex from the device and handed it back to her. "You'll be needing this back, of course."
"Thanks, professor." Ashley replied, smiling as she was handed back her pokedex. "Phew...that went over better than expected..." She thought.
"Now, I must be going. If I wait any longer Gary is likely to have lost to someone by the time I get there." Oak chuckled to himself and then reached down to pat Bulbasaur on the head. "You behave yourself now, Bulbasaur. Maybe next time you'll at least be an Ivysaur."
"-I could...bah...nevermind.-" Bulbasaur muttered.
"I could see you off then, I was planning to go and catch a pokemon on route one for my mother." Ashley said to him. "Actually, now that I think about it, I'd need your help to put it in her name, think you could...?" Ashley trailed off and looked hopefully at Professor Oak.
"Well of course, Ashley, I'd be glad to help." Professor Oak replied. "All I need is a pokeball to register to your mother's id."
"Thanks professor, I owe you one..." Ashley reached into her travel bag and pulled out a great ball, then handed it to Professor Oak.
"Keep working on your pokedex and we'll call it even." Oak replied, then he set to work on re-registering Ashley's Great Ball.
"-In that case, I'll definitely make sure she keeps her end of the bargain this time.-" Bulbasaur said to himself.
All the while Professor Oak, Ashley, and Bulbasaur were making their preparations in the lab, an ancient and powerful pokemon was speeding toward the town of Kanto...
Meanwhile, Rina and Pippi had already arrived in Viridian City after crossing the short route.
"It feels like its been ages since the last time I was here!" Rina said as her and Pippi stood just outside the city.
"-How far are we from your home then?-" Pippi asked, twitching her ears.
"Oh, we still have to go through Viridian Forest yet." Rina said to her. "I live in Pewter City, remember?"
"-You do?-" Pippi blinked in confusion. "-But you live close to Viridian Forest! Isn't Viridian City near Viridian Forest?-"
"They're both right next to Viridian Forest, really."
"-Oh...-" Pippi blinked again. "-So...how much further is it?-"
"We've still got a long way to go." Rina replied. She stifled a giggle as Pippi let out an exhausted sigh. "We can stop here in Viridian City for a while. Actually, I want to go check out the gym anyway. I want to see who the gym leader is."
"-Ok!-" Pippi nodded enthustiastically. The two of them then set off across town, heading to the Viridian City gym. It was a fairly long walk, with the gym being at the opposite corner from the city's southern entrance. When they arrived, Rina opened the front doors and stepped into the darkened gym.
"Hello? Is anybody here?" Rina called out. She couldn't see well into the gym as the only source of light was the door, which Rina accidentally let close when she heard a faint ringing across the gym.
"That sounds like a phone, but no one's answering?" Rina thought, blinking in disbelief. She tried to peer through the darkness, but quickly gave up on that. "Pippi? Could you give me some light?"
"-Ok.-" Pippi charged electricity around her body, producing a faint glow several feet around her. It was still hard for them to see into the gym, though.
"Ok...follow me then so I can see." Pippi nodded and followed behind Rina as she walked slowly across the gym, going toward the ringing sound. They stepped carefully across the gym's worn, open ground battlefield to avoid tripping over anything. Eventually, they arrived at the opposite end of the gym. The phone continued to ring, growing louder as they neared the gym leader's office.
"This is like something out of a horror movie..." Rina thought, gulping nervously. "Its dark, the protagonist is alone, and a phone is ringing..." Rina reached out, opening the office door. "And on the other end of the line could be some crazed murderer..." As Rina opened the door, the phone's answering machine suddenly cut in, causing Rina to gasp sharply as it startled her.
"Giovanni, this is the Cinnabar Island Research Facility." A male voice said over the answering machine. "A recently revived Aerodactyl has escaped our labs and is headed in your direction. If you are there, please respond immediately!"
"Whats an Aerodactyl?" Rina wondered. Suddenly the room went dark, Pippi's light vanishing. "EEK!" Rina shrieked. "Pippi! Pippi where are you?!"
Just as suddenly as the room went dark, the entire gym lit up. Pippi then walked back into the office, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "-Sorry Rina, I saw a light switch...-"
"Don't worry about it..." Rina replied, letting out a sigh. "But the guy on that recording...he said something about an Aerodactyl, and was looking for Giovanni..." Rina contemplated this while looking at the phone.
"-Wouldn't that mean Giovanni is the gym leader here?-" Pippi asked, tilting her head to the side.
"It would..." Rina replied, nodding slightly. "But...why would a gym leader be the boss of Team Rocket?"
"-If he's the gym leader here, who's Ashley supposed to battle for her badge?-" Pippi wondered aloud.
"Thats...a good question too..." Rina scratched her head and looked around the office. Spotting a small, open box in the corner with several badges and TM's inside, Rina grinned to herself.
"I think I have an idea..."
"Well, good luck finding a pokemon for your mother, Ashley." Professor Oak said. The group were now in the southern end of route one, and Professor Oak had a Fearow with him. The Fearow was one of the few pokemon Professor Oak owned himself and would be his transportation to Indigo Plateau.
"Thanks, professor, and thanks for registering the Great Ball too." Ashley replied, holding up the Great Ball in question.
"Remember, you only have one." Professor Oak cautioned her. "I highly doubt any of the pokemon around here can break free from a Great Ball too easily, but be careful with it nonetheless."
"Right, I don't plan to fight any if I can avoid it though." Ashley said to him, then looked down at Bulbasaur. "If I have to, though, I'll just have Bulbasaur put it to sleep. That should make things easy enough."
"-Heh. Thats using your head for a change.-" Bulbasaur said with a grin.
"Anyway, I've dawdled long enough now, I think." Professor Oak chuckled. He then climbed onto the back of his Fearow and waved to Ashley and Bulbasaur. "I will be seeing you two later!"
"Bye, Professor Oak!" Ashley waved to him as his Fearow started flapping its wings and then took off into the sky. Bulbasaur, likewise, extended a vine to wave. They watched for a moment as Professor Oak flew off into the distance, then Ashley looked ahead with a determined expression. "Ok, now to find mom a pokemon..."
"-Lets make it one you don't have, too, just for kicks.-" Bulbasaur said to her. "-Like, say, the ever so common Rattata that you seem to ignore completely.-" Bulbasaur shrugged. "-Its either that or a Pidgey, and you've already got one of those so there's no point in that.-"
"I don't think my mom is too fond of Rattata..." Ashley said to herself. Bulbasaur frowned and shook his head. "Pidgey would be the only other option, but I think I'll look around first. Maybe there's a pokemon around here that not many people have seen?"
"-Ha. I highly doubt that.-" Bulbasaur said, rolling his eyes. Suddenly a dark shadow passed over the two as a large creature flew quickly overhead. Ashley and Bulbasaur looked up and saw a gray, winged lizard-like pokemon flying off in the same direction as Professor Oak. "-On the other hand, I could be wrong...-"
"What IS that?" Ashley wondered, taking out her pokedex to try to scan it. The pokemon was long out of range though. Looking back up at it, Ashley realized something. "That pokemon is heading straight toward Professor Oak!"
"-WHAT?!-" Bulbasaur cried out. "-We have to go after them!-"
"Whatever that thing is, it doesn't look too friendly..." Ashley took a pokeball from her belt. "Pidgeot, go!" Ashley pressed the button on the pokeball as she held it up, releasing Pidgeot. Pidgeot appeared before her and stretched his wings, then looked back at her curiously.
"Pidgeot, Professor Oak might be in trouble! Go after them!" Ashley pointed toward the two distant figures in the sky. Though to Ashley and Bulbasaur they looked like ants, Pidgeot could see them clearly.
"-Got it.-" Pidgeot replied with a nod. He crouched down and got ready to take off, but stopped himself and looked back curiously. Bulbasaur had jumped onto his back.
"-I'm going with you.-" Bulbasaur said flatly.
"-Suit yourself.-" Pidgeot gave a shrug with his wings and then quickly took off, flying as fast as he could to catch up with Professor Oak and the mysterious pokemon that was quickly gaining on him.
"Hope they'll be alright..." Ashley said with a sigh. As she happened to glance down, she noticed a small pokemon hiding in the grass. The pokemon had a tail as long as its body, thick with a pair of stripes circling around it. The pokemon had no legs, just a pair of feet, and its arms were wide and thin like a pair of wings. The pokemon looked as though it had been watching them the whole time and had a curious expression.
"Now that would be a good pokemon for mom..." Ashley thought. She hesitated for a moment before taking the Great Ball in her hand again, getting ready to catch the small pokemon.
"I wonder why Ashley wanted to catch a pokemon for Catherine anyway?" Professor Oak wondered as he and his Fearow flew high above the ground. "Well, I suppose its hardly any of my concern. She probably just feels bad for leaving her mother home alone."
Professor Oak looked off ahead, where Viridian City already loomed in the distance. He didn't see the pokemon coming up from below them. The pokemon bumped Fearow hard from below, knocking Oak off.
"Wha?!" Oak cried out in surprise, feeling only a slight bump and then finding himself freefalling through the air. He wasn't falling for long, however, before the same pokemon that bumped him off grabbed him by his shoulders and carried him off.
"Just whats going on here?!" Professor Oak wondered. He looked up at the pokemon that grabbed him and immediately recognized it. "Thats an Aerodactyl, an extinct pokemon! What on Earth is it doing here?!"
"-Hey! You! Rockskin! -" Oak's Fearow called out as it flew behind Aerodactyl. "-Hand over the old man and I won't be forced to hurt you.-" Aerodactyl came to a stop, hovering in the air as it turned to face Fearow.
"-Think you can take me on?! Bring it!-" Aerodactyl shot back. "-I can take on a weakling like you even while carrying this guy!-"
"-Tch, fine. Have it your way.-" Fearow began to fly up, gaining altitude for an Aerial Ace attack.
"It looks like Fearow is going to fight Aerodactyl..." Professor Oak thought. "Though I hate to say it, Fearow doesn't stand much of a chance against this one...I fear my luck might have run out this time." Oak looked up at the Aerodactyl holding him again, trying to think of a way to free himself.
Aerodactyl, meanwhile, stretched out its wings and began to glide forward. As Fearow was about to dive down, Aerodactyl raised its mouth toward it and began gathering energy. Fearow dove down and disappeared in a flash of movement, at which point Aerodactyl fired its Hyper Beam attack. Fearow was moving so fast, though, that it took the attack at nearly point-blank range. Fearow was blasted back through the air and then plummeted toward the ground.
"-Heh. That was too easy.-" Aerodactyl snickered. It continued to glide effortlessly, giving its body a chance to recover from using Hyper Beam, when suddenly a barrage of sharp leaves followed by several star-shaped rays blasted Aerodactyl from behind. Aerodactyl winced, but barely felt a thing. Aerodactyl gritted its teeth and looked back to see Bulbasaur riding on Pidgeot.
"-More company? Can't an Aerodactyl get a decent meal?-" Aerodactyl grumbled.
"-Pidgeot, I'll take it from here.-" Bulbasaur said, extending his vines. "-Get ready to catch Oak!-"
"Bulbasaur? Pidgeot?" Oak said in disbelief as he looked back. "How did they even know I was in danger?"
While Aerodactyl was still recharging, Bulbasaur jumped off Pidgeot and extended his vines. The ends of his vines reached out and wrapped around Aerodactyl's jaw, holding it shut. Aerodactyl growled, but was quickly silenced as Bulbasaur reeled himself in and slammed into Aerodactyl's head with a Tackle attack. Aerodactyl let out a pained screech and let go of Oak, at which point Pidgeot immediately swooped in and grabbed him.
"-You're going to pay for that you annoying...thing!-" Aerodactyl growled at Bulbasaur.
"-Not likely.-" Bulbasaur shot back. From Aerodactyl's back, he angled his bulb at the pokemon's face and fired a burst of green powder at it. Aerodactyl coughed as it breathed in the powder and began to feel drowsy. Aerodactyl's eyes closed over and it began to plummet straight down toward the ground.
"I sure hope Bulbasaur knows what he's doing..." Professor Oak said.
"-I'm sure he can handle something like this.-" Pidgeot said. "-Now lets bring you down...-" Pidgeot took a shallow dive down, eventually coming in to land near the unconscious Fearow. Bulbasaur, meanwhile, had grabbed Aerodactyl's wings with his vines in mid-dive and used them to pull up slightly, steering Aerodactyl into a group of trees. Bulbasaur jumped off at the last second, sending Aerodactyl crashing into them.
"-I don't know who you are, but no one messes with Oak while I'm around.-" Bulbasaur said, though he was sure that by now the Aerodactyl was unconscious. He was soon proven wrong as a beam fired out of the trees, catching Bulbasaur off guard and blasting him across a nearby pond and into another tree on the other side. Bulbasaur bounced off the tree and hit the ground. He slowly started to get back up again and glared back across the lake.
"-I'm not going down...that easily...-" Aerodactyl muttered weakly as it emerged. "-I don't know who you are...but I'm going to beat you...-"
"-Funny...I was about to say the same thing...-" Bulbasaur shot back. He began to gather solar energy in his bulb, and as he did a glow began to surround his entire body as well. Bulbasaur seemed to grow slightly and the bulb on his back sprouted into into a closed flower with four leaves at the bottom. When the glow faded, Bulbasaur had evolved into Ivysaur and was still charging power for his attack.
While Bulbasaur, now an Ivysaur, was still charging, Aerodactyl raised its head back and let loose with another Hyper Beam. The energy beam lanced out toward Ivysaur, but before it could reach him Ivysaur finally fired his own beam attack. The two beams collided briefly, but Ivysaur's Solarbeam attack quickly overtook Aerodactyl's Hyper Beam.
The Solarbeam expanded to engulf the Hyper Beam and continued on toward Aerodactyl, blasting the ancient pokemon with tremendous power. Aerodactyl was pushed back when the beam finally struck it, smashing it into the same trees again with such force that Aerodactyl smashed through three of them before being deposited on the ground in a heap.
"-And this time stay down!-" Ivysaur yelled across the pond at him. He then quickly went around the pond and ran over to Oak, who was tending to his injured Fearow.
"Well its nothing a quick trip to the pokecenter won't fix." Oak said to his Fearow, who was barely conscious, and then looked up at Ivysaur. "Bulbasaur, or rather Ivysaur, I'm impressed! I wasn't sure you would be able to handle such a pokemon. You must have been holding back your evolution for quite some time..."
"-Just waiting for the right moment.-" Ivysaur said with a grin. "-I'll save evolving to a Venusaur for when I REALLY need it though.-"
"-Wouldn't you be saving yourself some trouble if you just evolved already?-" Pidgeot said to him.
"-Going to have to agree with him...-" Fearow mumbled weakly.
"-Tch. You two just don't get it.-" Ivysaur muttered. "-Anyway! You better not be hurt, old man, or I'll blast that pokemon again while its still out!-" Ivysaur reached up and tapped Professor Oak on the shoulder with a vine.
"Don't worry, I'm doing fine Ivysaur." Professor Oak replied, patting Ivysaur's vine reassuringly. "Its a good thing we're just outside Viridian, though. I'll need to get Fearow here checked in at the pokecenter before we can go to Indigo Plateau now."
"Hey! Are you guys ok?" Ashley called out to them as she finally caught up with the group. She stopped a few feet away to catch her breath before speaking up again. "What happened with that pokemon?"
"That pokemon...was an Aerodactyl." Professor Oak explained to Ashley. "An ancient pokemon, carnivourous too I might add and apparently one with a taste for humans. Fortunately, your Bulbasaur and Pidgeot saved me. In fact, Bulbasaur even evolved..."
"I can see that..." Ashley replied, looking over at Ivysaur. "I don't get it, why did you decide to evolve now?"
"-Pft. You'll never understand either.-" Ivysaur said to her.
"Well anyway, I'm glad you're ok now." Ashley said to Oak. "Where's that Aerodactyl, did it get away?"
"I don't think it'll be moving for a while now..." Professor Oak replied, pointing over toward the line of trees that had been knocked over by their fighting. "Its still over there somewhere." Ashley nodded and took a Great Ball out of her bag while she ran over toward the trees.
"Wait! What do you think you're doing!?" Professor Oak called out after her. "I certainly hope you're not planning to catch that pokemon for your mother!"
Ashley came to a stop and turned around to face him. "Of course not!" She replied. "I already caught a pokemon for her!" She then turned and went into the trees, getting her first real look at Aerodactyl when she found it lying unconscious among the remains of several trees.
"So thats an ancient pokemon?" She thought. "Well, human eater or not, it can't harm anyone if its sealed inside a pokeball!" Ashley lobbed the Great Ball toward the unconscious pokemon. The Great Ball opened up when it hit Aerodactyl, firing out a red beam and pulling the pokemon inside. The ball then locked shut without any struggling from it and vanished in a white light as it was sent off to storage.
"What on Earth did you want to catch that for?" Professor Oak asked Ashley as he came up from behind her.
"Why else?" Ashley took out her pokedex and showed it to Professor Oak. "An ancient pokemon has to be pretty rare, so thats another rare one for my pokedex!" Ashley grinned widely. "Plus, it can't hurt anyone as long as its stuck inside a pokeball."
"I see, interesting." Oak chuckled lightly.
"-Who are you, and what have you done with Ashley?-" Ivysaur asked sarcastically.
"Well in any case. Ashley, Ivysaur, Pidgeot, thank you for rescuing me." Professor Oak said. "I suppose now I really should get going, I have to stop by the pokecenter yet."
"And I have to get back to Pallet Town and give that pokemon to my mom." Ashley looked over at Pidgeot. "Pidgeot, mind giving me a lift?"
"-Back to Pallet Town? Barely qualifies as stretching my wings.-" Pidgeot replied, waving one wing dismissively. "-Don't mind at all.-" Pidgeot turned around and motioned for Ashley to hop on.
"Think you'll be ok from here on?" Ashley asked Professor Oak.
"Well I certainly hope so." Oak said to her. "The chances of being attacked by an extinct pokemon are incredibly slim, you know. I can't possibly imagine it happening a second time."
"Guess you're right." Ashley replied, smiling lightly. "Ok then, lets go Bulb-er, I mean Ivysaur."
"-Yeah, yeah.-" Ivysaur muttered, then looked up at Oak. "-Listen, you take care of yourself old man.-" Ashley held up Ivysaur's pokeball and then recalled him. Pidgeot wasn't going to be able to carry both Ivysaur and Ashley.
"Well, once again, I will see you later, Ashley." Professor Oak said to Ashley.
"See ya!" Ashley waved to Oak, then took off back to Pallet Town while Oak headed into Viridian City with Fearow back in its pokeball.
Once she arrived back in Pallet Town, Ashley immediately went home and rushed in the front door. Her mother, looking much better than she did the night before, was sitting in the kitchen with a newspaper and a cup of tea. The bottles that had been strewn about the night before were all set on the counter and looked as though they had been cleaned out.
"I'm home!" Ashley called out as she went inside.
"Well you weren't gone long, I hardly expected you would be back at all." Catherine said to her daughter. She was still in bed when Ashley had left that morning and didn't know where Ashley had gone, she had assumed she had set off again.
"I went out to get something for you." Ashley said to her, then pulled out the Great Ball. "Tada!"
"A pokeball?" Her mother asked curiously, setting down the paper.
"A pokemon, actually." Ashley pressed the button on the pokeball, releasing the pokemon she had caught earlier. The pokemon looked around curiously when it appeared.
"Oh, its so adorable!" Catherine got up and walked over to pick up the pokemon, but it moved away without even noticing her. The pokemon walked over toward the oven, looking it over curiously.
"According to my pokedex its called a 'Sentret'." Ashley said to her mother. "He seems kinda strange, huh? I'm not sure he even realized he was caught..."
"He certainly seems like a curious little guy, thats for sure." Ashley's mother said, watching the little Sentret go about her kitchen and inquisitively looking over every little thing. "What made you decide to give me a pokemon?"
"Well..." Ashley rubbed the back of her head. "You said last night that you were lonely...and I thought maybe if you had a pokemon for company, then maybe you wouldn't be..." The Sentret finally stopped and looked in the direction of the two girls, eying them curiously before bounding over. Ashley's mother was finally able to reach down and pick him up. Sentret didn't even struggle in the least either as she did, instead it just kept looking at her curiously.
"He's a cute little guy..." Catherine smiled. "Thank you, Ashley. I don't know what to say..."
"He's not only cute, but he could protect you whenever you want to go shopping in Viridian City." Ashley said to her, smiling. "Speaking of which! Thats where I need to go to get my last badge, so I was wondering..."
"If I would like to watch?" Ashley's mother looked over at her and smiled. "Of course I would."
"And no more drinking?" Ashley asked her, looking hopeful.
"Well, if I'm looking after a pokemon now I guess I won't have time for that." She replied.
"Drinking? Whats wrong with drinking? Doesn't everyone drink? Don't people and pokemon both need to drink regularly to survive?" Sentret wondered, still looking at the two curiously. "So many questions..."
"When did you want to go challenge that gym anyway?" Ashley's mother asked her.
"Well, its not even the afternoon yet, so if you don't have any plans I wouldn't mind heading over there today." Ashley said to her.
"Not at all." Ashley's mother replied. "Just let me finish drinking my tea."
"Tea? Whats tea? I thought drinking was bad? Is some drinking bad and some drinking not bad?" Sentret wondered. "Oh there's so many things to learn about these people!"
Author's Notes: This is another chapter I went through a few ideas for, some of which would have provided an explanation for Sentret as Professor Oak was going to be there at the time of capture. Was basically just going to mention Johto pokemon migrating to Kanto. If you recall, in G/S/C you could catch Sentret and Furret north of Kanto. While Pidgey and Rattata both seem like good pets, I ended up deciding to go with Sentret.
I want someone to actually use that Aerodactyl eventually, but its training could cause problems. I mean, I could probably figure something out easily enough (it thinks of humans as food, therefore feed it and that problem is solved anyway, though there's still the issue of being captured by something lower on the food chain) but I'm not sure where I'd squeeze it in at this point. I pretty much have a general layout for every chapter at this point. Next couple of chapters are going to be especially hectic though...
Going to have to get used to writing Ivysaur instead of Bulbasaur now, damn you muscle memory...
