Chapter 9, everybody! And since it's the holiday season, have an extra-long chapter on me! Mostly because there wasn't anyplace nice and organic to stop….And before midnight, too….
Harmonious Wolf, thanks for the review! Yes—"I'm travelling with a kid who talks to thin air. Not weird at all." Definitely fun to write though, and hopefully fun to read. ;)
Pokeevee57, thanks for the review! Yep—Darkrai's helping Ash find Pokémon that don't back down easily. :D Thank you! Always been fond of Nidoran…although if we consider the fanfic Traveler, there is some precedence for Ash having a Nidoran and kicking tail with it. ;)
RavenHairedSpectrobeMaster, thanks for the review! Thank you, I'm glad you like it! Glad you're enjoying things thus far, and thank you for the follow and favorite! :D
Gryphonsson, thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you're liking things so far, and I hope to continue to please! :D
Anonymous Person, thanks for the review! I don't know—I had to look up the word to refresh my memory on what it means, but…honestly, yes, Darkrai gives me that impression too. Me too—I mean, spooky shadowy Pokémon who shares the same color scheme as the Shadow? Very awesome. :D
Vismur, thanks for the review! Yes, that sounds like Ash-reasoning….Oh man, I remember my first encounter with Poison-types in-game—major panic after the battle when I started walking around and then *gzzt*! But Nidoran can definitely kick tail—had one in my Fire Red run, and he was my go-to guy when I wanted to beat someone; combine Poison Point with heavy-duty attacks like Double Kick and watch out! :D Yes, she's picking up bad vibrations….Thank you! I hope to continue to please! :D
Pokémon © Game Freak; Nintendo
Scooby-Doo © Hanna-Barbera
Lackadaisy Cats © 2006 Tracy J. Butler
And now, for something completely different:
From the literary world comes this announcement: Lackadaisy 'Mons, Volume 2 is now out in stores. Bookstores request that those with reserved copies hasten to pick them up, as there is expected to be a large demand of this historically-minded, entertaining series.
Ash's first impression of the Pewter Gym was that it was pretty rocky—which, he supposed, was appropriate, considering the theme of the gym.
His second impression was that Brock looked pretty no-nonsense, standing across the field with his arms crossed.
"Welcome, challenger," Brock called, sounding like he was trying very hard to sound formal and older than he really was. "I commend you for challenging my gym, and…and please tell me those aren't your Pokémon."
Ash blinked at how that last bit sounded—probably like how Brock really talked—before looking at Patches, Pikachu, and Lenny, the former two at his heels and the latter under his arm.
"Yeah," Ash called. "Why?"
"They're not your only Pokémon, I hope."
"Yeah, why?"
"Oh, this is going to be painful to watch," Brock muttered, rubbing his forehead. "All right then, it's your funeral."
Ash sincerely hoped not.
"So tell us about what you saw."
"Something big and black," the head Beedrill said. "With this wisp of white hair and blue eyes."
"And a red collar," another Beedrill added.
"And big claws," yet another added.
"And it flew!" yet another added.
Meowth summarized what the Beedrill had said, prompting Jessie to show the sketch they had made. "Like this?" she asked.
"Yes! Like that!" the head Beedrill said.
"This wasn't pointy on the bottom," one Beedrill said, pointing.
"And the chest was bigger," another one added.
"But that's pretty much what it looked like."
"When did it pass through here?" James asked, once Meowth had finished translating.
"About a day ago. Why?"
"Did it scare the rest of the Viridian Forest Pokémon away?" Meowth asked.
"Yes—why?"
"Because this same thing was on Route One a couple of days ago. We're tracking it so we can catch it."
That declaration elicited the same approval as the Spearow had given a couple of days earlier. Whatever this thing was, it wasn't endearing itself to anybody.
"Team Rocket, is it?" one Beedrill asked. When Meowth nodded: "You guys are pretty brave to be going after this thing. Um….The Team Rocket group…can I join?"
This had been another thing they had been hearing—the Pokémon had been impressed enough that some wanted to join Team Rocket to gain that same sort of bravery. Really, it was fueled more by greed, but Meowth wasn't about to clarify for them—besides, they were sure to get a promotion with the influx of Pokémon they had been sending Team Rocket's way.
"So the next place this thing will be heading is Pewter City, if it's following the routes," James observed, as the Beedrill departed for Rocket Headquarters. "What's after that?"
"Route Three and Mount Moon," Jessie supplied. "Clefairy are supposed to live there."
"We could catch some for the boss."
"Or," Meowth purred, feeling extra devious. "We use the balloon to head over there, head this thing off, and capture it! And then with any luck, the Clefairy will be grateful and offer to join Team Rocket of their own accord!"
"You know, if this keeps up, I think we ought to just keep following it," James mused. "Team Rocket is profiting more from the Pokémon this thing frightens than it would if we caught it!"
"Yeah, but if we leave it go too long, we'll just end up looking pathetic."
"Well then!" Jessie declared. "We can't have that—quick! To the balloon! We have a trap to set!"
The plan had worked: Geodude had gone down to Patches' Double Kick, and while Onix had been dicey, Pikachu had come out on top, thanks to a combination of small size, superior speed, and Iron Tail.
And now the party had another member.
As it turned out, strange-rock-guy that Misty had encountered was Brock's father, and had taken over gym leader and parenting duties so Brock could continue his aborted journey; Ash supposed it was an improvement over not selling plain old rocks to people. Meantime, Brock had asked if he could come with them, and they said yes, sure, the more the merrier!
Ash was certain that somewhere, Darkrai was pitching a fit.
"We should probably try to make the Mount Moon caves soon," Brock observed. "That sounded like thunder."
Yup, definitely pitching a fit.
Ash decided he could live with that—listening to Brock and Misty talk about gym leader duties was fascinating and enlightening; Brock had heard about Cerulean City's gym too, apparently, and apparently, it didn't have all that good of a reputation. Misty, however, didn't seem to want to talk about it, deflecting the conversation whenever it threatened to linger on the topic.
"So after we visit the Cerulean City Pokémon Center, we can have that official battle, right?" Ash asked. "There's not a rule about having to have it in the gym, is there?"
"I hope not," Misty fumed. "The less I have to see of my sisters, the better."
"So long as an official gym leader has a gym badge on them, the battle can take place anywhere," Brock said. "The gym building is just for ease of access."
Misty froze, patted her pockets, then started checking her bag.
"Let me guess: you aren't carrying any with you," Brock said, watching her search.
"I can run in and back out and get one," Misty said, without conviction.
"Hey, come on, guys," Ash said, hopping up on a nearby rock. "You can't get down about that! We're on a Pokémon journey, and we're making good time! We're doing great!"
"Ash has a point," Brock agreed. "We can worry about you two's gym battle when we get to Cerulean City—in the meantime, let's focus on getting through Mount Moon before dark. I'm not too sold on going through the cave system at night."
"One of the people at the Pewter Museum said that you can find Moon Stones there," Misty said, clambering up the path behind Ash—her longer legs made it easier for her to follow. "And another one said there's going to be a fossil excavation soon."
"In Grandpa Canyon," Brock supplied—they waited as he scrabbled up after them, weighed down by his large backpack; Ash wondered what all he had in there, and if they'd really need even half of whatever it was. "It's in about a month—at the rate we're going, we'll probably make it."
"Out of curiosity, how populated are the routes near Pewter?"
"With Pokémon? Pretty average, I think."
"Really? We haven't been seeing a whole lot."
Ash was pretty sure he knew why. "Maybe we'll see some at Mount Moon," Ash said, pulling his field guide out. "This says that Zubat and Clefairy are common there."
"Bleagh—Fairy types," he heard Darkrai hiss quietly.
Ah, so he was out of his funk now. "This says Clefairy are Normal types, but I thought I heard somewhere that they're Fairy types."
"They were classified as Normal types," Brock clarified, making it to their level and heaving a sigh of relief. "But with more research coming out of Kalos, they've been reclassified as Fairy types. But then again, a lot of Normal types are classified that way because people aren't sure about their typing. Kangaskhan are classified as Normal, even though some researchers are looking into assigning it a Ground type."
"Is there any truth to the rumor that Kangaskhan are related to Cubone and Charmander?" Ash asked.
"I have no idea."
Darkrai drifted along a nearby ridge, ready to dart out of view should he need to.
He wasn't entirely sold on the boy travelling with these two, even if he did seem to be more open around them. Maybe it was the effect of that Weavile-kid what's-his-face—the professor's kid. Show the kid some attention, and he was as stuck on as a Joltik on a Blitzle.
It bugged him a bit that the kid probably wouldn't miss him if he left.
It bugged him that it bugged him.
He shrugged it off. He wasn't about to start down that road—next thing you knew, he'd be asking the brat to capture him! Blech!
He needed something else to do. Let's see, what else was there to scare around here?...
"So that's Mount Moon."
"Yep."
"It looks bigger up close."
"That's why it's called 'Mount Moon' and not 'Moon Hill,'" Misty pointed out, interrupting their reverie.
Ash glanced at her, unsure if she was being sarcastic, while Brock checked his watch.
"We ought to make camp out here," Brock posed. "And away from the cave mouth—the Zubat will be coming out soon."
No sooner had he said that that the Zubat flew out, shrieking madly.
Ash and Misty shrieked madly too, diving to the ground as the bat Pokémon headed their way. Brock followed a moment later.
Something big and black bolted out after the Zubat. That explained a lot.
Brock was up first, picking up a Pokéball that was on the ground up ahead.
"All right, I caught one!" Brock said.
"What?" Ash asked, up and over and peering through the translucent red cap. "Hey, a Zubat!"
"You seriously risked rabies for that?" Misty asked.
"Now that I'm back on my journey, I want to branch out a bit as far as types are concerned," Brock explained. "Come on—let's get camp started. I'll make dinner."
"Will there be chips?" Ash asked, thinking of Patches.
"Even better than that."
About an hour later, sleeping bags, a campfire, and Brock's cooking supplies were all set up, Pokémon out of Pokéballs and everyone scattered about the camp. Brock's new Zubat was clinging to his back, looking like it was watching him cook over his shoulder. Ash kept suggesting nicknames as he fed Patches a fresh bag of chips.
"Will you let the matter die already?" he heard Darkrai hiss.
Ash grimaced—oh, right. "What's the second pot?" he asked, deciding to follow Darkrai's prompt and change the subject.
"I want to be a Pokémon breeder or doctor someday," Brock explained, checking said second pot. "And part of that is making proper Pokémon food. Each Pokémon has different preferences, though, so it takes a lot of work."
"You can sit closer to the fire, by the way," Misty told him.
"I'm fine," Ash assured her—besides, any closer, and he wouldn't be able to hear Darkrai, who was being fairly quiet to keep the others from hearing him.
Another hour later, upon eating the dinner he had made, Ash was of the opinion that if Brock could make Pokémon food half as good as he made human food, he'd be doing all right.
They discussed gyms after dinner—Lt. Surge was after Cerulean, and then Sabrina with her famed Psychic types.
"Ground would be effective against Electric types," Brock pointed out. "But Poison is weak against Psychic types, so you wouldn't be able to use Patches against Sabrina."
"What are Psychic types weak against?" Ash asked, trying to recall. "Bug, Ghost…."
"Dark isn't native to Kanto," Darkrai reminded him.
Oh, right.
"Should we backtrack?" Ash asked, checking his field guide and angling it so the firelight caught on the writing. "Where are Bug types common besides Viridian Forest?"
"Well, there's Paras in Mount Moon," Brock said, thinking. "And then there's Venonat and Scyther, but they aren't common until later, I think."
"Firstly, don't catch a Paras—they're creepier than usual for bugs," Misty stated. "Secondly—you're thinking too far ahead. Focus on getting through Mount Moon."
"Right!" Ash agreed, thinking. "Hey, Paras and Clefairy are active at night, right?"
"Did you not listen to me?"
"They are, but traveling through the caves at night isn't too smart," Brock said.
Ash wasn't deterred. "But then how do we—"
"Hello."
"Yoicks!"
Ash wasn't the only one to yelp in alarm as some guy in a white lab coat loomed out of the dark; he was half-tempted to ask Darkrai if this was another one of his gags, seeing as how this was how his nightmares usually went.
"Hello, hello," the guy said. "I hear you seek Clefairy, yes?"
"Uh…." Ash exchanged glances with the others—they were all in Brock's arms, Furfrou-Doo style. "Yes?" Ash guessed.
"Ah. Then I must stop you."
And with that, the guy assumed a kung-fu stance.
"I missed something," Misty said.
"Guys," Brock coughed. "Getting kinda heavy…."
"Pika!" Pikachu noised, jumping out of the group.
The guy went down shortly afterwards, thanks to Pikachu's Thunder Shock.
"That might have been unnecessary," Ash pointed out.
"Pika," Pikachu said, looking at him with Darkrai's don't be stupid look.
"Oop—there I go," Brock gasped.
They tumbled to the ground.
"And yet you haul Geodude around like they're nothing," Misty said.
"I'm used to Rock Pokémon."
"So you're saying we're heavier than Rock Pokémon?"
"Um…."
"So who is this guy?" Ash asked, deciding to try to defuse the situation.
"I don't know—we'll find out when he wakes up."