Hello ladies and gentlemen, I am your ever gracious host, the absent minded Pika-Bones. So I've been inactive for a while, so that sucks, but maybe I can get into the swing of things again. I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon
Ch.17: The Mentor, The Student, The Mentor, and…The Teacher?
Ash's blurry reflection looked back at him with a less than happy look. Both Ash and his reflection sighed simultaneously before a pair of hands slowly plunged into the water. Ash quickly washed his face, the feeling of the refreshing, cold, crystal clear water jumpstarting him.
Ash looked up and stared at the multitude of Bamboo trees shot from the ground, reaching the sky and forming a forest of the natural poles that many different Pokemon called home.
After a long moment admiring the way the Bamboo trees stood, some standing straight and others bending this way or that, Ash felt somebody near him. Ash guessed it was Serena…though it wasn't really a guess. He hasn't been traveling with them for long, but he could tell which of his friends was nearing him without looking.
Bonnie had quick, light, short steps. Either that, or the little one would just be bouncing all over the place. Clemont had heavy steps, probably due to him carrying around that amazing miracle of a backpack. He was also very clumsy so he had some very choppy steps, that or he would just fall down or something before reaching him. Serena had light tentative steps that were almost impossible to hear. She seemed to always hesitate before she neared him for some reason. And Paul, well Paul would insult him beforehand so that one was pretty easy.
"Hey Ash" Serena lowered herself down to Ash's level, "are you okay?"
Well, it looked like the jig was up, but denial is always the easier route, "nah, I'm fine. Why you ask?"
"Nothing really." Serena couldn't really find anything else to say. He starting acting differently right after they left Lumiouse. It was like night and day. He was all cheerful in Lumiouse, and now he felt distant, he was even falling behind while they walked. Now it seemed like Paul was leading the way and he felt less distant at the moment!
Ash became distracted when he heard a familiar cry further down the stream. He took a look and saw that it was a Pokemon crossing the stream. He had definitely seen before.
Something in Ash's head clicked at the sight of the Azumarill. He wasn't sure what, but it pushed him to do something.
"Hey Serena" Ash's voice snapped Serena out of her own thoughts before she started to completely drift off, "have you thought of catching a new Pokemon yet?"
Serena tilted her head curiously, "not really…"
"Maybe you should try, you can never have too many friends to travel with." Ash smiled for the first time in a while which finally allowed Serena to break out in a smile as well and her blue eyes brightened up at once.
"You're right, but I wouldn't know where to start…" Serena said while looking out in the distance.
"How about that little fella." Ash pointing down the stream to the same blue and round Pokemon Ash saw earlier and they neared the Pokemon slowly. Serena then took out her pokedex and scanned the Pokemon,
"Azurill, the Polka Dot Pokemon. Azurill lives by water. It moves quickly on land by bouncing on its big tail."
"What do you say?" Ash asked.
"Well, it definitely is cute…why not?" Serena took out her Pokeball, "come on out Fennekin, I need your help." Fennekin appeared in a flash of light, crying happily with embers sparking out of its mouth.
There was no way Serena would refuse, Ash looked happy again and she didn't want to do something that might ruin that.
"Alright so first you want to weaken Azurill as much as possible before you try to catch it, you can try to start from a distance or you can go head on. Let your battling instincts guide you. You'll do fine."
"Heard that Fennekin, let's do our best."
"Fenn"
The Azurill realized that it was in for a battle and it began to hop on its round blue tail with a scowl on its face that was surprisingly somewhat intimidating.
"Okay Fennekin, use um…scratch" Serena commanded. Fennekin cried affirmetivly and charged forward, with bared claws.
Azurill reacted to the attack with a high bounce into the air before Fennekin could land the attack. Fennekin cried in surprise and quickly went wide eyed when a large amount of bubbles came flying right at it.
"Feeeennnn." Fennekin tried to resist the attack but the fire Pokemon was forced back.
Serena was visibly worried, her other battles with Fennekin were more of a one and done thing and others were battling next to her. Plus that Azurill looked like it knew what to do.
"Don't give up Serena, you can do it."
"Right." Serena nodded and began to give another command before she was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Dumbass, who said you were capable of actually teaching somebody how to do anything." Paul appeared between the two.
Both Ash and Serena took a startled step in response. Ash got that same irritated look again whenever Paul was nearby, "What does it matter to you if I can teach or not."
Paul's hand flew into Ash's face, knocking the raven haired trainer to the ground. "I'll take over here before you start poising the minds of others."
Paul redirected his attention to the two Pokemon in battle, "you want to catch that squishy kickball?" Serena felt her body freeze, and she was reminded how Paul's words were able to make a Rhyhorn back down.
"Y-yes?" Serena was starting to question if she really wanted to catch that Azurill anymore.
Paul took a step forward, "listen you stupid fox. If you don't want to get sent down the river, do exactly what I say." Fennekin tensed up immediately at Paul's words.
"First, you must measure the strength of your opponent. Ember." Fennekin hesitated for moment but the being sent down the river part passed through her mind and she obeyed. Azurill retaliated with a Bubble attack and Fennekin's ember was knocked out. Fenekin was hit by a couple of stray bubbles. This time though, the damage seemed to minimal.
"Second, wait for an opening." Azurill began to bounce on its tail again, higher and higher. After reaching a certain rhythm with its bounces, the Pokemon sprang into the sky before falling to ground again, right at Fennekin.
"Fennekin!" Serena took a step foward but Paul stopped her,
"Pay attention, Fennekin, evade"
"Fenn!" Fennekin bent its legs and leaped to the side, rolling before Azurill could land right on top of it, but like a living spring, Azurill sprang into the air immediately,
"Fenn…Fenn…Fenn" the battle began turned into Fennekin scrambling around, trying not to get squished by the blue bouncing ball of destruction.
"Your Fennekin's movements are trash" Paul said, looking bored.
"Stop insulting Fennekin like that. I thought you were suppose to help.
"I haven't had a battle this boring since my first" Paul continued.
"Are you even listening to me" Serena said in disbelief, her eyes pleading with him.
Fennekin's breathing soon became labored and Serena suddenly placed her hands on her cheeks. Serena turned to Paul, and he still looked disinterested. But the air around him…it was almost like he had full control.
Serena then noticed it, Azurill's bounces where becoming slower and it finally came to the point where it completely stopped .
"A-azu-Rill" cried the once ball of energy turned into a deflated balloon.
"Third, watch the movements of your opponent." Azurill began to bounce on its tail once again. Serena quicky noticed that Paul seemed more focused this time. His gaze was fixated on Azurill.
Paul waited as Azurill continued to gain momentum; he then gave the command to Fennekin to attack with scratch.
Fennekin closed in, bared fangs and all. She jumped first and met Azurill before it could reach its highest point. Azurill cried in pain as Fennekins claws made their way across its face.
"Fourth, show no mercy. Ember." Fennekin followed and Azurill was sent back to the grassy field with a yelp.
"And that's all. Now, go." Paul took a couple steps back.
"Wait, me?" Serena said while pointing to herself.
"Who else. Just do the same thing." Paul said
Serena stepped up and looked at the situation. Paul's words began to replay in her head as she tried to get a grasp on what to do next.
The lone Azurill proved to be a tough one, still up for a fight, though it definitely had signs of a struggle. Fennekin looked more than ready to continue, and Serena could sense a new aggressiveness coming from Fennekin.
Azuriil was the first to attack with a Bubble attack,
"let's do this" Serena quickly ordered for an ember from Fennekin, but as Fennekin let out a battle cry, what was supposed to be a light blast of embers turned into a roaring Flamethrower.
The Bubble attack was quickly boiled away into steam. The Flamethrower continued on its path undisturbed, and Azurill was quickly engulfed in flames.
"An opening!"
"Go Fennekin" Serena called out. The Fox Pokemon took a quick hop before charging at an ashy Azurill.
Azurill became starled at the yellow and orange blur that was coming straight at it. Azurill took an off balnced hop backards and fired another Bubble attack.
"Movement. It's off balance."
"Fennekin, keep going."
Fennekin easily dodged the incoming attack without slowing down.
Paul opened his right eye as he took note of how much Serena has gotten into this battle. At the same time, Ash came too,
"What happened…Serena?"
Paul saw Ash out of the corner of his eye,
"Hm, I guess I've always wanted an apprentice" Paul placed his hand over his chin, "this could work."
"Serena? Paul's apprentice…oh shit, that' terrifying!" Out of nowhere, Ash lunged at Paul,
"The hell you are!" and a scrum that Serena somehow became oblivious to ensued.
"Go Fennekin, Scratch" Serena called out expecting to end this with a physical move, but it turned out Fennekin wasn't done with the surprises. In an instant, a ring of white balls of pulsating energy formed around Fennekin. The fox Pokemon leaped in the air, and Azurill as well as Serena stood in awe.
Azurill felt the ring of energy hit it, and everything went blank for a moment.
Serena stood dumbstruck for a moment, as she processed what happened,
"Fenn-fenn!" barked Fennekin.
Serena responded slowly before she finally figured out what happened. "Fennekin, that was great! I knew I could count on you." Fennekin gave out a happy cry as it ran back to Serena's side.
Serena then slowly took out a Pokeball. It was the first time she was going to use one, and she found herself looking at it closely. She snapped out of her trance and tossed the ball lightly with a high arc at Azurill.
Ash and Paul froze, with ash having a strong grip on Paul's collar, and stared with anticipation as the Pokeball fell, only for Ash's nose to be smashed by that same Pokeball.
"Ouch!" Ash felt his hand reach for his nose, "what was that!?"
An army of blue and white, Marill and Azumariils, appeared in an instant, looking like they could be a bit more cheerful.
Serena took a couple of shaky steps back, "they don't look…like they want to play."
The Pokemon saw something they could run over and they all curled up into perfectly round balls and began to spin into the dirt.
"That's Rollout, run for it!" The three broke into a sprint.
To be an inventor one must take risk, one must be persistent, one must look beyond the surface. It also helps to have a steady hand.
One wrong hand movement and a small spark later, Clemont found himself covered in ash, his newest invention reduce to nothing more than scrap metal.
"And another failure" Bonnie said.
"Bonnie, have the others come back?" Clemont said, redirecting the conversation.
"No, I wonder what's taking them so long." Bonnie looked in the direction that went off the main path and deeper into the Bamboo forest. Ash, Serena, Paul went to refill their water supply at a nearby stream.
"I'm sure they're fine." Clemont continued to focus on his work. Before he got far, Bonnie began tapping his shoulder,
"Brother, I think we need to go."
"What was that?" Clemont looked up at Bonnie and saw that her gaze was fixated ahead. He turned to look and found the others running hard.
"Clemont, Bonnie run!" Ash yelled quickly without stopping.
"Wait what's going on?" Clemont looked closer and saw the strangest thing. It was like a swarm of blue bowling balls chasing some runaway pins. He finally realized the situation and began to pack his precious equipment.
Meanwhile Bonnie was already making a run for it and the others passed him. Once he began to run, the blue bowling balls where at his heals.
"Ahhh!" Was all he could say, while he could practically feel his heels being nipped.
"Oh well" Paul began as he glanced back, "it is the survival of the fittest. Got to get rid of the weak link. I think professor Oak said that."
"Ptoffesor Oak never said that!" Ash responded
"Well some science guy said. I'm sure our scientist would understand that."
"Don't leave me like this!" Clemont clenched his teeth, gripped his bag harder, and ran as hard as he could.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Clemont, duck!" Pikachu nodded and climbed Ash before going into the air and firing of the electric attack. Clemont ducked his head in time for the attack to barely go over him.
The swarm was hit with the attack and their progression was stopped.
"They stopped" Serena said in between breathes, feeling her heart beat slow down a little.
"Ah crap" Paul added. Everybody else dared glance back, and to their terror the army of Marill's and Azumarill's opened their mouths wide, and a moment later a multitude of water attacks combined to form a torrent of water.
Our heroes where taken for a ride, full courtesy of Mery Water fasttrack travels, providing speedy service since the first attempted Azurill capture.
On a hill that looked over a sparkling river, a group of trainers were laid out under the sun, their clothes drenched.
The purple haired was face down on when he began to stir. He slowly got onto one knee and shook his head,
"Shit, those stupid kickballs. They better hope we never meet again."
"Paul? It is you!" A sudden voice rang in Paul's ear, a familiar voice, a voice as light and pleasant as the notes that reverberate from Chimecho; a voice that he dreaded.
Paul stood up slowly only to be pulled into a hug by that same owner of the voice. He found himself cheek to cheek, her soft skin on his which annoyed him to hell and back.
At this point, everybody else had gotten up and shaken off what had happened back in the bamboo forest. And now they stood still as the scene in front of them played out.
"I've missed you so much Paul. It's been too long." Paul then felt a pair of lips plant on top of his fore head which cause to squirm out immediately. This got a few looks of surprise
"Dammit Penelope, I told you million times to stop that" Paul clenched his fist and he became much more animated than usual. His cheeks showed the slightest tint of red, pretty much unnoticeable.
"Come on Paul, can't a big sister give you a hello kiss on the forehead-" she then paused herself, "wait, why are you wet?"
"None of your business."
Paul and Penelope began to exchange words while the rest of the group looked on with confusion
Serena had a blank face as she tried to figure out what was going on. One moment, they were being chased by a gang of angry water types, and another moment, there was someone hugging and kissing Paul, claiming she was his sister.
As far as Serena knew, this could be the case, but she highly doubted that. It looked like they were close-well actually it was more like Penelope was way too close and Paul looked even more irritated then he is with Ash.
In between words, Penelope noticed the rest of the group and greeted them with a quick smile before turning back to Paul,
"Hey Paul, are those you're friends."
"They are irrevelant."
"Ah ha, so you did make friends. I was worried; you always seemed like a loner"
"What part of irrelevant do you not get!"
Penelope suddenly walked pass Paul and greeted the group, "You all look like you could use somewhere to dry off. I'd love to help you out."
Everybody brightened up and quickly took the offer with a thanks.
Paul still seemed to be stuck in some state between disbelief and anger, "what the hell are doing in Kalos anyway."
"Come on Paul, what did I tell I always wanted to be?"
The idea of going back home seemed like a good decision, but he would not give up. There was something about him, a connection when his gave met his. Maybe he was just seeing things. Maybe the human would reject him. Maybe feelings were betraying him. But the desire was still there to follow.
Cubone froze in place as he was alerted by some voices ahead. It was definitely of Pokemon origin. He had to be careful though, he didn't know what kind of Pokemon he would confront. Most Pokemon where kind, that or they minded their own business, but it wasn't unheard of for some Pokemon to be of bad humor.
He found his way behind a bush and peeked through the dark green leaves and maze of branches. Two black and white Pokemon stood at the base of a cliff that towered over them. A lone bamboo inhabited the top of that very cliff. The positions of the surrounding cliffs, allowed the sunlight to bathe the bamboo tree directly in its light, making it stand out from the rest.
"That's a cool tree" Cubone then furiously shook his head, "I need to concentrate, maybe I'll ask them if they've seen anyone. Yeah I should do that."
Cubone ran to where the two Pokemon that continued to speak amongst themselves. Cubone then overheard one of them say something about having to get to the top of that cliff. Cubone found himself curious about the situation.
"Why do you need to get up there so bad" Cubone blurted out, causing the two black and white Pokemon to turn towards him. Great, now they were going to think he was some kind of eavesdropping creeper.
The two Pokemon looked at each other for a moment, both of their eyes were as dark as their fur, pitch black. Cubone tapped his skull mask absentmindedly in response, but the Pancham turned out to be cool about telling their situation. Maybe it was because they were desperate…
"We need the Bamboo that's up all away up there" said the one of Pokemon,
"Our pal needs that bamboo" said the other one.
At the mention of the Bamboo, Cubone noted the Bamboo leaves that the Pokemon in front of him carried in their mouths,
"Why do you need it from up there, there's a ton all around."
"He'll only want those" began the one on the left,
"Or he won't move a single one muscle, like ever" finished the one on the right.
"Really?" Cubone walked passed the two new Pokemon he just met, his gaze stuck on that tree that stood above him, seemingly out of his reach. He finally felt an urge to do anything he can to reach the summit.
"I'll get that bamboo for you" Cubone said.
The furry and short Pokemon looked at him sideways, "wait, really? But there's no way, it's so far up."
"I'll get there." Cubone stared at the rock face for a moment before shifting his eyes to his Thick Club,
"I haven't tried something like this before. But if I want to become stronger, I need to take more chances."
Cubone closed his eyes as he raised his Thick Club above his head with both hands and striked it against the rocky face of the cliff. Cubone slowly opened his eyes, and to his surprise his Thick was lodged into the cliff.
Cubone looked straight up, the tallest point of the bamboo tree visible. Cubone's eyes narrowed a bit and then he attached himselfto the rock face.
Using his Thick Club as support he began to climb, taking his Thick Club in and out of the rock face as he continued to make his way upward. With every grunt, Cubone went higher and higher, everything else disappeared. It was just him getting to the top.
The two Pokemon below gawked as Cubone ascended to a height they probably never imagined to be.
Cubone finally made it too the peak and threw himself under the tree, waiting for his breathing to return to slower pace. He then decided to peek over the cliff and looked down,
"Whoah, when did get up here?" Cubone saw as the other Pokemon below cheered.
Cubone turned to take another look at the tree. It didn't look as majestic as before from here, so why was the bamboo here special?
Maybe it wasn't the bamboo that was special, but the way one got to it. Or maybe this was stupid.
Cubone heard the other Pokemon shout from down and below, and he decided it was time to finish what he came here for. So he picked some bamboo from the base of the tree.
He walked over to the edge of the cliff and then he found he had a problem,
"I'm pretty high up. How am I gonna get down?" Cubone stared down the cliff for a moment before the other Pokemon got his attention again,
"I know, I know, I'm coming down!" Cubone yelled back. He decided to get back down the same way, but alas, it turned out that getting to the bottom would be easier, and hurt more.
Cubone slipped on the first step down and could only stare at the top of the Tree as it smaller again. The gaze of the Pokemon bellow followed the small brown Pokemon as it fell. They stepped to the sides, and Cubone fell in between them.
The black and white Pokemon looked closely at the fallen Cubone, the fall seemed to swirl the thoughts of the skull wearing Pokemon.
Cubone was out of it, but he was able to raise the bamboo in triumph. The two Pokemon went wide-eyed and took the bamboo. They gave a quick thanks at took off.
"Y-your welcomed" Cubone responded, the other two out of ear shot.
"Who the hell let you be a teacher?" Paul, Penelope and the rest of the group stood at the entrance of a kindergarten school.
"Of course, you always knew I wanted to become a teacher." Penelope responded.
"That's because you would never shut up about it."
"Wait, so how do you and Paul know each other?" Ash asked.
"I was a volunteer at the orphanage" she began, "we would always spend time together."
"No we didn't. You wouldn't leave me alone!" Paul felt his teeth grind on each other.
"I helped him with his homework, we played together" Penelope began to count them off with her fingers, "oh, there was this one time when Paul asked me about-mmph"
"Shut up already, you've done enough damage" Paul said, his eye twitching.
Paul then felt something pinch his skin, causing Paul to jump back "Gah, you bit me!"
"But when Paul started his Pokemon journey, I saw less and less of him. I loved all the kids at the orphanage, but Paul was like a little brother to me."
"Again, not even a little."
"Sadly, the orphanage closed down" Penelope said, her smile diying down for a moment, only to return brighter, "so I decided a change of scenery was in order. So that's how I ended up in Kalos, and I was able to find a job as a kindergarten teacher" Penelope then turned toward Paul again, "but I never thought I'd see you so soon again."
"Trust me, me neither" Paul responded, his back turned to everybody.
"Come on" Penelope said leading the way, "let me show where you can dry off and change."
"Give me a moment" Paul said suddenly. All gazes fell on Paul in response as he walked over to Ash for seemingly no reason. Next thing Ash new, he was clutching his side,
"That's for grabbing my jacket."
"Miss Penelope, your back" said one of the kids that were playing in the playground.
Soon, all of the kids swarmed around Penelope,
"So miss Penelope, what Pokemon did you bring?" asked another one of the kids.
"Just give me one moment." Penelope quickly slid back towards the group, leaving the kids too look at them funny.
"Is there something wrong?" Clemont asked.
"Actually, I was looking for Pokemon to show the kids when I found you. Didn't really have a chance to in the end…"
"Really? Then why don't we show them our Pokemon?" Ash responded.
"That'd be great, as long as you don't mind."
"Of course not, sounds life fun, right guys?" Ash was able to get everybody's confirmation, except for Paul, who was silently sitting by himself under one of the planted trees.
The group began to release their Pokemon from their Pokeballs and the faces of the kindergarten kids brightened in an instant. Some of the kids went agape, while others just went eye wide. Naturally, not being able to travel much limited the kids from seeing many Pokemon. Seeing so many Pokemon in one place was a rare sight.
Almost naturally, the kids and Pokemon began to interact and play. It was so seamless, it'd be hard to imagine they just met.
Fletching weaved its way around the kids who felt the breeze Fletchlings wings created. Froakie perfered to be more stationary as the kids curiously examined the Bubble Frog Pokemon, in paticular, Froakie's frubbles.
Pikachu was quick to get the kids attention, and soon enough they were playing tag. Fennekin was getting some attention itself, some of the kids mentioning how cute the Fox Pokemon was. Clemont's Bunnelby on the other hand was quick to find the sand box, and sand castles were beginning to be put up in no time flat.
"Don't you want to show your Pokemon as well Paul? I'm sure the kids would love that" Penelope said to Paul while he sat under the small tree.
"My Pokemon are not for show and tell." Paul said, looking at nothing in particular.
"Or I could give you another kiss."
"I'm not a little kid anymore, I don't need to take your bullshit." Paul said, Penelope obviously getting his attention. Both stared each other in eyes for long moment. Finally Paul felt his eye begin to twitch, and he gave up on his gaze,
"Damn it all." Paul relunctatly left his spot under the shade of the tree. He took out one of his Pokeballs and after a flash of light, Vivillon appeared before him. Paul then quickly walked away.
"Vi-vi-llon?"
"Do whatever you want for now" Paul called from a distance "I'm going to make some tea."
The kids quickly noticed the new Pokemon, and it wasn't long before they began to play as well.
"Penelope" Ash said as he walked over to the teacher,
"Hi Ash, something on your mind."
"Well, there is something actually" Ash said while rubbing the back of his head.
"Would it be something to do with Paul?"
"Yeah, sort of."
"Funny to think that you're brother Paul now has a brother. I'm a bit jealous."
"Oh, uh, I'm sorry" Ash said, caught off guard.
"Ash, I'm just kidding. I've always tried to get as close as possible to Paul, but he's pretty good at keeping people out."
"Yeah, I've noticed . I have no idea what I'm going to do. Maybe I should just leave it be." Ash looked up toward the sky, hoping the answer would come up from there.
"Look, I know Paul does things and doesn't really consider the feelings of others, but I think there's more to it."
"Paul is a jerk" Ash began, "then again, I'd be lying if I said he hasn't helped out…"
"And that's the first step" Penelope said with a smile.
Ash quickly smiled in response, "I guess so."
"And one more thing you might want to know" Penelope said.
"What's that?"
"You know Paul's jacket. Apparently, when he was sent to the orphanage, he was wrapped around that same jacket."
"His mom?"
Penelope nodded.
Paul walked out of the building, his tea in hand. He quickly that the playground was empty. He was still able to hear the sound of the kids so he followed.
A truck just outside the entrance of the school came into view.
"What's going on?" Paul asked when he found Penelope nearby.
"I'm not sure. Those three in the truck said they are volunteer traveling performers."
Paul locked on to the scene and found someone wearing a Beartic costume, another wearing some kind of bright orange conductors costume , and an especially small person in Cubchoo Costume.
"You've got to be kidding me" Paul muttered too himself.
"Huh? Is something wrong?" Penelope said, not catching what Paul said.
"Ever heard of the phrase 'Stranger Danger'?" Paul said while walking towards the hoopla with his tea in hand.
"So on the count off three, everybody throw up your ball high into the sky" said the woman in the orange conductor.
"One. Two. Thr-"
"Volunteer traveling performers huh" the conductor was cut off by the abrupt, skeptical voice of the hard eyed trainer.
"Yes. What about it?" Said the Beartic man. Paul and the gut in the Beartic costume exchanged looks before Paul 's tea went flying into the Beartic's face,
"Hot hot hot. My face!" Cried the man bear
"Paul, what's going-" Ash was cut off when Paul pulled down the Beartic custome, revealing a familiar blue haired man,
"James?" Ash then looked towards the conducter and Chubchoo.
Paul then ordered Vivillon to use Gust, and the rest of the trio gang was revealed,
"Team Rocket!"
"There's no way you couldn't see through those disguises, morons!"
"Jessie, the jig is up, I think that best thing would be to retreat" Meowth said, no longer an ugly Cubchoo.
"Yes, that would probably be it" Jessie responded. The truck engine roared with new life, and sped off, no hesitation needed.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Pikachu sped off and got to range and its cheeks began to spark.
"Looks like some target practice is in order."
"Pika" Pikachu jumped into the air, fully charged, only to feel a large amount of weight on its back.
"Raichu!?" Ash said before glaring at Paul.
Raichu proceeded to kick Pikachu out of the way, and then let loose a powerful lightning attack, hitting the speeding truck. After a moment of the rocket trio crying out as a charge of electricity went through them, the truck decide it had enough and blew into a cloud of black smoke, sending the trio flying.
The kindergartners cheered from afar. Paul took a glance back,
"Explosions are fun."
"You did have a knack for spotting things out" Penelope said. The rest of the kids were playing again and the rest of the group relaxed with Penelope.
"I had to. It's helpful when you're in an orphanage" Paul said, keeping his distance from everybody else.
"I guess that's true" Penelope then looked down to the ground, "I have this strange feeling that I'll always miss that place. It was just an orphanage, but I really did feel connected to that place, the kids, and everybody else."
"The food was crappy, most of the kids were crappier, and you were there half of the time" Paul then glanced back at Penelope, "but I had a roof over my head and a bed. You can't ask for more than you dealt with in life."
Penelope smiled once again, and she stood, "I think it's time for you too meet another old friend."
"Sylveon come on out!" In a sudden flash of light, a white and pink Pokemon appeared, causing the grass to sway and its presence.
"Wait" Paul went eye-wide for a moment before returning back to his hardened stare.
"That's right" Penelope answered with a wink. Sylveon quickly noticed the purple haired trainer and raced near him.
"Syl-veon" cried the Pokemon in a sing-song voiced.
"Dammit, it is you."
Sylveon then winked at Paul and a large red heart floated near Paul, only to be clawed by Paul's hand and crushed,
"Die."
"Why does that Pokemon look so similar." Ash pulled out his pokedex and scanned Sylveon,
"Sylveon, the Intertwining Pokémon and an evolved form of Eevee. Sylveon affectionately wraps its ribbon-like feelers around its trainer's arms as they walk together."
"No wonder it looks so familiar" Ash looked up from his pokedex, "it's an eveeloution."
"Plus" began Clemont with a raised finger, "Sylveon is a Fairy type."
"Fairy type?" Ash responded.
"Fairy type. That's new." Paul stood with his hands in his pockets as he saw Sylveon wrap its feelers delicately around Penelope's arm, "Looks like I'm going to need a new type chart. Annoying."
"Vivillon, stand by for battle." Vivillon made its appearance, and like Sylveon, the grass field swayed in waves, as well as its trainer purple hair flowed.
"Struggle Bug" Paul quickly ordered. Vivillon followed and fired a multitude of green projectiles that danced in formation before hitting Sylveon. Sylveon turned responded by turning its feelers into a defense mechanism and shut down the attack.
"Well, that's obviously ineffective."
"Slyveon, Quick Attack!" Penelope made the first mode, and didn't take long for Sylveon to get into a battle stance before speeding towards Vivillon.
"Evade!"
Vivillon flew out of harms way, letting Sylveon pass by,
"Struggle Bug" Paul ordered again. And like previously, the attack was shut down again.
"Quick Attack, again" Sylveon's feelers trailed behind it like ribbons as it charged at its target. Vivillon quickly felt Sylveon hit it full force and Vivillon was sent higher into the sky, spinning.
"Now, use Swift" Penelope called out. Sylveon quickly followed, and the Intertwining Pokemon quickly formed a ring of big yellow stars with its feelers and then sent the stars flying at Vivillon, the stars traveling in a swirling path.
Vivillon cried as the stars hit their mark, with precision. Vivillon though, held its current position.
"This doesn't seem right" Ash watched with a straight face as Vivillon resisted the attack, "is he going easy? No way, he still has that look like he'll step on your throat."
Penelope decided it was time to go with Sylveon's strongest move, "Moonblast, go!"
With the power of the fairy type, Sylveon borrowed energy from the moon, forming a ball of pink energy.
"So that's the move." Paul allowed Sylveon to fire the attack and then reacted, "Confusion!"
"Confusion?" Called out Ash and his friends form the sideline. The ball of pink energy came whizzing at Vivillon's direction. The Scales Pokemon responded as its eyes glowed blue. With its telekinetic power, Vivillon changed the path of the Moonblast and then changed its target to Sylveon.
Sylveon cried out on contact and a small explosion engulfed the Pokemon. Sylveon stood strong though as the dust cleared. Paul didn't allow the light blue eyed Pokemon to rest,
"Struggle Bug, now." Vivillon fired small green projectiles at Sylveon which hit it all over its body. Sylveon was forced to retreat from its position.
"Even though most ineffective move will do something at some point." Clemont said, holding his glasses as he kept analyzing the battle.
"He hasn't changed at all. Still a great battler. You can tell he's completely focused." A small amile graced Penelope's lips. If Paul noticed this, he didn't react to it.
"Sylveon, show them how cute you are, Attract." Sylveon winked towards Vivillon, who was high in the sky. A multitude of big red hearts floated towards Vivillon,
"The hell you are. Vivillon, blow that away." Vivillon easily blew away the attract, but Sylveon had a Swift ready to go.
"Confusion!" Vivillon quickly transitioned from Gust to Confusion, which didn't go over to well as Vivillon struggled to focus, and was bombardment by gold stars.
"You stupid Butterfly." Vivillon lost altitude as the wear the attacks had on its body were becoming evident.
Penelope crossed her arms, "I guess he really hasn't changed."
"Sylveon, attract." Paul stood like a statue as Vivillon was engulfed in hearts. Vivillon soon turned from a fierce battler into a wobbly out of tune oversized butterfly.
Paul suddenly looked disinterested, "just finish it so I can be done here."
Penlope sighed. She knew Paul had a mean streak, and that his methods were…not ideal, but she was hoping that would change. But obviously, people don't change so easily.
"How about we stop here for now" Penelpope said as she walked up to Sylveon and held the Pokemon's feelers. Paul's gaze lingered on Penelope and Sylveon before he pulled out his pokeball,
"Fine then." Paul returned Vivillon in its pokeball,
"I'll just take care of it myself."
"We better get going, we need to get to our next stop, before it gets too late." Clemont said, noticing the time they had spent at the school.
"Yeah, we need to get to my next gym battle." Ash followed as he grabbed onto the straps of his backpack.
"Sure thing. It was great having you here. The kids loved you and your Pokemon" Penelope then grinned, "and it was great to see Paul again."
Serena then began to look around, "where is Paul anyone."
"He probably already went off" Penelope began, "I'd imagine. He's always been trying to do everything on his own."
"Still, can't believe he wouldn't even say good bye to you" Serena said while folding her arms.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much. I'm glad your traveling with him though, well sort of. Just promise you'll look out for him."
"Heh" Clemont responded quickly, "Paul isn't the type who needs much looking out for."
"True" Penelope began, "but you never know. Oh and Ash good luck on your battles."
"Thanks."
"Make sure you give Paul a good battle in the league before he crushes you."
"Hey, hey, where did that come from?" Ash showed a nervous smirk, before it was quickly replaced by a confident smile, "we'll see about that. This time, I'll reach the top, no matter who stands in the way."
Done. Review and stuff.