This is Chapter 17.
Wow, I got this up faster than I thought I would.
Thank you to everyone who added this story/me to their favorites/alerts. And a special thanks for reviewing to Teddi 8347, Kiomori, duskrider, Pokemon Trainer Tom, random bug, remisolleke, KaliAnn, Bptex, Jas685, InsanityPie, major Wallace, ElectricSpace, Llew444, and Omega-Saber.
Ash, Pikachu, Brock, and Misty get lost, get found, and teach some snobs a thing or two.
Disclaimer: Me no own Pokémon. Me like Pokémon, but me no own. *sniff* Me hide under blanket now. Me sad.
Anyway, enjoy!
As they walked through the forest, Ash looked around. "Um…where are we?" he asked.
Brock frowned at him. "I thought you knew."
"I've never been to Vermilion City before. You and Misty have. I've been following you." Ash countered.
Misty blushed when both boys turned to look at her. "Well, it's been a while, and I usually went there with my parents." She admitted.
Ash sighed. "So we're lost then."
"Well, cheer up." Brock stopped and put his bag on the ground. "We can take a break here." He began rummaging around in his bag. "Let's see. I've got some Cerulean coffee beans. That's strong stuff. Oh, and some prune juice." He thunked the jar of juice onto the ground in front of Ash.
Ash looked repulsed. "I'll pass."
"We could make some herbal tea." Misty suggested.
"Will it have sugar?" Ash asked, making a face.
"Don't you like sugar?" Misty asked.
"A little. But sometimes it's too sweet, you know?" Ash explained.
"Ash is right. And anyway, I forgot my official Pokémon tea set." Ash and Misty exchanged incredulous looks.
"I hope he's kidding." Ash murmured to Misty. Misty covered her mouth and stifled a chuckle, nodding in agreement.
Brock fought to yank a bottle of water out of his bag. "A bottle of Mt. Moon pure spring water." He said triumphantly as he held it up.
"When did you get that?" Misty asked.
Brock ignored her. "And for a nice snack, I'll make crepes."
Misty's eyes sparkled. "Oh, I love French things. They're so romantic."
"Misty, have you ever had crepes before?" Ash broke into her daydream.
"No." she admitted. "But I know what they are, and they do sound good. I'm hungry."
"Guys." Brock said, grinning as he pulled out some of his collapsible cooking tools. "If I'm going to make crepes, I'll need a fire."
As they were on the very outskirts of the forest, there was no good firewood anywhere near them. Misty eyed the forest with distrust. "But there are bugs in there." She squeaked.
Ash rolled his eyes. "I'll go get some. You stay here. Come on, Pikachu."
"Coming." Pikachu chirped, falling into step with Ash as the boy headed deeper into the forest.
He had been gone not even a minute when Misty's head shot up. "Brock, did we just let Ash go alone into an unfamiliar, dangerous forest?"
Brock dropped his bowl and whisk. "We did." He sounded horrified. "What were we thinking?"
While they knew that Ash could take care of himself, their instincts were screaming that he was a trouble magnet and needed to be constantly watched. He seemed to find trouble wherever he went.
"You go find him. I'll catch up." Brock ordered Misty as he hastily began collecting his things and packing them back into his bag. Misty didn't answer, she just headed into the woods.
As Ash and Pikachu walked through the forest, a calm descended on the two friends.
"You know Pikachu, we have to get away like this more often." Ash commented. "You know, just the two of us."
"That would be great." Pikachu agreed, easily keeping pace with Ash. Ash was striding gracefully through the trees, his steps soft and quiet, his body lowered slightly to help silence any noise he was making. It was habit, instinct. The familiarity of being in a forest and speaking the Pokémon language. He hadn't even realized that he was doing it. Neither had Pikachu.
Ash looked around the woods, his eyebrows furrowing. "Funny, there doesn't seem to be any good firewood here. Not even some decent twigs. In a forest this size, there should be plenty." His frown deepened. "And it's too quiet. I don't like this."
"Me neither." Pikachu huddled closer to Ash as they traveled further into the woods.
"Hey, what's that light up ahead?" Pikachu asked, pointing in front of them and to the left.
"Huh?" Ash glanced over, instinct telling him to get lower to the ground, which he did immediately. "Hey, it looks like a fire."
"Wonder if they have any firewood." Pikachu grumbled. He was hungry.
"We'll go ask, and maybe they can tell us where they got it." Ash shot Pikachu a knowing look. "And they we'll eat."
Pikachu let out a cheer and the two friends began walking over to the light.
As they got closer, Ash realized that it wasn't a fire. It was light reflecting off of some sort of machine in fog. Ash wondered where the sudden fog had come from. A boy was running on it while several others stood around him, all holding lit candles.
Two boys were standing in front of the boy. One was holding a piece of paper up to the boy on the machine, who appeared to be running.
"Now can you just tell me at which level Pidgey evolves? And what's the name of it's advanced stage?" the red-haired boy asked smugly.
"You better come up with answers quick or you'll have to run faster." The green-haired boy taunted.
The boy's eyes moved between each boy as though the answer was written in their faces. His foot slipped, and he hit the bottom of the treadmill hard before being slid off by the moving track beneath his knees.
Ash broke into a run, Pikachu right at his heels.
"I'm sorry. I forgot." The boy said, staring at the ground in defeat.
The other boys groaned, but it was the red-headed boy who spoke.
"You forgot. Huh. And you call yourself a Pokémon Tech. student? Well, we don't wanna study with the likes of you."
The boy bowed his head lower. "I'm sorry."
"Hey. Leave his alone." Ash yelled as he skidded to a stop in front of them. Pikachu managed to stop just before running into Ash's legs.
"Mind your own business." The red-head drawled. "This is a private training session."
"There's no room in our Pokémon school for losers who don't even know Pidgey's evolved stage. We have to maintain standards." The green-haired one continued.
Ash helped the brown-haired boy to his feet. "Are you okay?" he asked. The boy nodded slowly, hurt in his eyes. "What's your name?"
"Joe." The boy whispered.
"This school of yours doesn't sound like such a good school if you people think you can get away with bullying him. I hate bullying." Ash snapped.
"You tell 'em Ash." A familiar voice added from behind him.
Ash whirled around, surprised. "Misty?"
Misty shivered as she scanned the wooded area around her. Bugs could be anywhere and she could not find Ash! He'd left no trail to follow. There were no sounds foreign to a forest, no branches broken, and only a spot here and there of crushed grass, which could have been one of the natural inhabitants of the woods and not Ash and Pikachu.
Honestly, if she didn't know any better, she'd swear that she was following a ghost.
She was just about to give up and get Brock to help when she heard Ash's voice. It was raised and angry. She couldn't really make out what he was saying, but the tone warned her that he'd found some kind of trouble.
She rolled her eyes even as she started running in the direction it had come from. Sometimes she hated being right.
She stopped behind what she recognized as Ash, Pikachu, and a boy she'd never seen before. They were facing off against a group of boys all in some kind of uniform. Blue suits, white shirts, red ties, black shoes, the whole shebang.
She arrived in time to hear the brown-haired boy whisper, "Joe." She assumed that was his name.
"This school of yours doesn't sound like such a good school if you people think you can get away with bullying him. I hate bullying." Ash snapped at the boys.
"You tell 'em Ash." Misty cheered. She knew that this was probably hitting Ash hard, considering his past experiences with bullies in school.
Ash whirled around. He looked surprised to see her. "Misty?"
"I knew you'd find trouble somehow so I came after you." She mock-glared at him. "Do you realize how hard you are to find?"
"No. I always know where I am." Ash answered. "Well, unless I get lost."
Misty honestly couldn't tell if he was joking or not. Deciding to ignore it, she turned her attention on the boys in front of her.
Propping her hands on her hips, she glared at them. "If you don't stop bullying that kid or you'll have to answer to us. Right Ash?"
"Right. And his name is Joe."
"Sorry. Joe." Misty amended.
"We won't fight a girl. And we'd hurt the little punk if we lowered ourselves enough to fight him." The red-haired boy smirked. "And we'd make our school look bad."
"We'll see you back at the Tech, Joe." The green-haired boy called over his shoulder as the group of boys walked away.
"Okay." Joe said, looking a little happier than before.
The boys faded quickly into the fog.
Brock walked up to stand next to Misty. "So, those are the infamous Tech students." He remarked.
"Tech students?" Ash repeated, looking at his friend questioningly.
"Yeah. Pokémon Tech. I think it's short for technical." Misty explained. "The rumor is that the students go straight into the Pokémon League after they graduate. They don't have to go around winning badges."
"What's this?" Pikachu asked as he jumped onto the treadmill.
"Pikachu, be careful." Ash warned. Pikachu gave a chirp of agreement and prodded the control board.
Pikachu gave a squeak of surprise as the treadmill started up and he fell back. He quickly started running to keep from falling off of the machine.
"Pikachu." Ash yelped. Surprised, Brock jumped and slammed his hand down onto the control panel to keep his balance.
The treadmill picked up speed and Pikachu flew off, landing on his rear on the ground.
Ash shot Brock a glare. Brock returned it with a sheepish look as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
Pikachu glowered at the treadmill. Grumbling angrily, the mouse Pokémon stomped over and kicked the machine. He yowled in pain and began hopping around on his uninjured foot.
"Um, sorry Pikachu." Brock apologized to the furious Pokémon.
Pikachu stopped jumping around and stalked over to Ash. "Stupid human machine thing." He grumbled. Ash stifled a laugh. Yeah. Pikachu was just fine.
"Anyway, it's a prestigious school with a tough curriculum." Brock continued.
"That means it's one of those snobby private schools that only rich kids can go to." Misty snorted.
"Where is this school anyway?" Ash questioned, looking around the thick fog.
"It's right over there." Joe said, pointing. As he spoke, the fog began to clear out, exposing large white buildings, a swimming pool, and the rest of the forest they'd come from behind them.
"Today's special class, Fog Battle Techniques, is now ended. Tomorrow's lesson will be Snow Competition Secrets." A robotic woman's voice called over some sort of intercom.
Joe sighed. "Oh well. I guess tomorrow they'll make me into a snowman again."
"Why do they treat you like that?" Ash asked.
"They're just bullies, Ash." Misty said.
"They're not really bullying me. They're my friends. They're trying to help me learn that…" he spouted a bunch of information about evolution and numbers and levels about Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and Pidgeot.
Ash's head was spinning. Who cared about some levels humans came up with? If you practiced hard, you learned more skills. Especially if you had someone there teaching you how to do them. Once again, Pokémon seemed much more sensible when it came to their own abilities.
"If you know all that, why didn't you just tell them when they asked?" Ash finally asked.
"Sometimes I make-believe that I don't know all the answers. If I don't, they just make the questions harder."
"But if they're really trying to help you, don't you want the questions to be harder? That way you learn more." Ash pointed out.
Joe's expression was priceless. He didn't seem to know what to say. "I, um, they don't really tell me what questions they'll ask, so I can't study for them."
"Then that's not fair, and you need to tell someone." Brock advised, concerned.
"What do your teachers say about what those boys are doing?" Misty asked.
"They don't know about it. Or if they do, they pretend not to know about it." Joe admitted.
"And these boy just decided to do this all on their own? And nobody does anything?" Ash knew that he was seeing too much of himself in this, but he couldn't help it. He hated bullies.
"Oh no. Giselle is in charge of the tutoring." Joe corrected.
"Does she know how the 'tutoring' is done?" Brock asked.
"Of course."
"This has got to be a violation of students' rights. I want to talk to her. This has to stop." Misty announced.
"Oh, here's a picture." Joe produced a photo from his pocket of his uniform. It was of a girl with dark brown hair smiling at a friend off to the side.
"It's a girl?" Brock sounded shocked. Then he got a good look at the picture and practically started drooling. "She can violate my rights anytime."
Ash looked at Misty, one eyebrow raised. "Is this like that thing with Officer Jenny?" he asked, looking between the picture and his starry-eyed friend.
Misty groaned. "Yes. Joe, if she's making you so miserable, why are you carrying around her picture?"
"I hate the way she treats us, but I like the way she looks." Joe admitted.
Ash studied the picture. "Well, I guess she's pretty." He said doubtfully. She was fairly pretty, but Brock's attraction was a little over the top. And she sounded horrible.
"Well, I'm still going to talk to her." Misty turned to Joe. "Do you know where she is?"
"I might be able to find her. Follow me."
Joe led them into a room filled with computer stations like an arcade. "Giselle always practices here by herself. But even if you win against her, it won't matter to her. Here at the Tech. we value skills more than winning at one battle. She's a top beginner. That's better than even having three badges."
"I have two badges." Ash said thoughtfully. "But I don't think that that's a good way to judge a Pokémon trainer's skills."
"I'm at the bottom of my class, and I'm still better than someone with two badges." Joe said condescendingly.
"Why you little…" Pikachu muttered furiously. "He thinks he's better than you!"
Ash glanced down at his friend, but Misty broke in. "Hang on a minute. I learned how to be a good trainer at the Cerulean City Gym. Are you saying you can beat me?"
"Water Pokémon, right?" Joe asked, sitting down at one of the computers and starting up the simulator. "I always win against them on the simulator. See?" Lights flashed on the monitor, showing a Weepinbell fighting against a Starmie. The Starmie fell over and "Weepinbell wins" flashed across the screen.
"That doesn't prove anything. That's just you against a computer program, not against a real trainer." Misty protested.
"Well then, do you want to battle?" Joe asked, standing up. "We have a battle area over there."
"Let's go."
"Misty, we were just going to talk to Giselle." Ash reminded. He felt uncomfortable. Joe had seemed nice enough, but he was now putting them down and Ash didn't like it.
"I have to defend Cerulean City Gym's reputation." Misty was angry at this slight to her sisters. She looked over at Ash, who glanced at Joe before meeting her eyes and nodding firmly.
"Good luck." He said simply as Misty tossed her backpack to the floor behind her.
"I call Starmie!" Misty threw her Pokéball which released the purple Pokémon.
"Too bad your water Pokémon won't be able to beat my plant." Joe said smugly. "Weepinbell, let's go!" Joe called, throwing his own Pokémon. When the red light cleared, a yellow bell-like Pokémon with leaves, a small stem, big brown eyes, and a mouth made from the bottom of her bell-like body stood there on her side.
"I'll teach him about winning." Misty snapped. "Starmie, go!"
Starmie jumped up and shot a blast of water toward Weepinbell. It hit the plant Pokémon straight on and caused her to topple over and faint.
"But Weepinbell is strong against water Pokémon." Joe lamented.
"True, but there's one thing you didn't know." A female voice rang out. A girl stepped out from behind the simulators to stand on the edge of the battle area, closely followed by the boys from before. "You're opponent's from the Cerulean City Gym. Her Pokémon has more experience battling. You should've known that. You're an embarrassment to the whole school."
"But Giselle…" Joe started, then trailed off, knowing that nothing he said would change her mind.
"She looks like a movie star." Brock said in awe, clasping his hands in front of him. Ash rolled his eyes.
"I'll show you stars." Misty offered sweetly, clenching her fist and holding it up.
Brock wisely stayed quiet.
"Just because he didn't realize that Misty's Pokémon had more experience, doesn't mean he's an embarrassment." Ash countered. "And if he didn't know something so obvious, it's the school's teaching methods that are the problem.
Giselle ignored him easily, preening in response to Brock's comment. "I'm the top student in the beginning class of the most exclusive prep school in the world. Pokémon Tech. It's sad that others around blessed with my beauty, my talent, my humble attitude. People call me a star, but I'm just Giselle."
She turned back to Joe, clasping her hands in front of her skirt. "I want to continue to help my classmates be the very best they can be. To teach each other, respect each other, and ensure the Pokémon of tomorrow." Her voice grew hard. "But you're a weakling."
"Oh." Joe uttered, looking heartbroken.
"You'd better get stronger fast or before you know it you're fellow students will turn their backs on you for good. Hmph." She turned around and began walking away.
"A true friend wouldn't walk away when their friend needs their help." Misty spat at her back. "I guess it's true what they say. Beauty really is only skin deep."
Giselle stopped walking. Looking back, she forced a smug smile on her face, but the angry glint in her eyes gave her away. "Jealousy's not very pretty either, is it?"
Ash stepped forward, but Brock snagged his arm. "Wise Pokémon trainers never get involved in a cat fight." He hissed into the younger boy's ear. "Or any boys, for that matter."
"What?"
Giselle went over to a row of Pokéballs. Selecting one, she threw it in between her and Misty. "Against your water Pokémon, I'll choose Graveler."
The rock Pokémon appeared with a smirk on his face, his rock arms reaching out from his round rock body, and his feet firm on the ground.
"Graveler?" Brock was confused. "But rock Pokémon are weak against water Pokémon." He'd certainly know. He specialized in rock types, and had been the Gym leader of Pewter City.
"Yes, but all of my Pokémon are at extremely high levels." Giselle bragged. "They can beat water Pokémon." She looked at Misty. "Graveler, go!" she shouted, surprising everyone.
Graveler jumped at Starmie before Misty could say anything or Starmie could dodge. Graveler's kick set Starmie flying through the big glass window behind him and into the pool outside.
"Starmie!" Misty yelped, racing for the door. Ash, Brock, and Pikachu were hot on her heels. The Pokémon Tech students followed calmly behind, Giselle recalling Graveler and setting the Pokéball back down on it's shelf.
"Starmie." Misty gasped. Starmie was weakly trying to climb out of the pool. Misty reached down and tried to haul Starmie onto the side of the pool. But she couldn't quite get a grip.
A second set of hands joined hers. She glanced up to see Ash kneeling beside her. His face was hard, but his hands were gentle as he helped her. Together, they lifted Starmie out of the water and set him down gently onto the pavement.
Misty hugged Starmie to her chest. The Pokémon hung limp in her arms.
"Now we're by the pool: your Pokémon's specialty. You can choose a different Pokémon, if you want." Giselle offered.
"That wasn't a fair fight." Ash pointed out. "Your Graveler jumped Starmie."
"Pokémon are only as strong as the person who trained it. A first-class Pokémon trainer can calculate the levels and win the match."
"There's more to training Pokémon than calculating levels." Ash informed her as Misty sadly recalled Starmie and hooked the Pokéball back at her waist.
"Who are you?" Giselle demanded. "And if you don't have any badges, you can't talk."
"My name is Ash Ketchum, and I have two badges." Ash had never been happier about that before now. Well, he hadn't been happy about them at all, so this was certainly a different feeling.
Giselle didn't look impressed. "So you're a beginner then." She eyed Pikachu with disdain. "And how long have you been trying to become a Pokémon trainer?"
Ash scrunched up his nose, trying to count the days spent in the forests. "Um, a month and a half? Two months? Yeah. That's right. Two months."
Giselle gasped in fake surprise. "Two whole months and you let your Pikachu walk free? You haven't even been able to tame it yet?"
"Pikachu is a boy."
"What is with humans and calling us it?" Pikachu grumbled. "I am not a thing. Stupid girl."
Ash went to speak, but Giselle continued talking. "Maybe your Pokémon are training you."
Pikachu glared at the snotty girl. Ash spoke up. "Pikachu doesn't like his Pokéball. I won't force him into it if he doesn't want to go."
Giselle's eyes were filled with pity and disgust. "Well with that mindset, I can't imagine how you're going to catch Pokémon. Or even how you won those badges. You must have just gotten lucky."
"I have five Pokémon travelling with me." Ash said. "And they're all my friends. How I train my Pokémon is none of your business. And with the way you think about Pokémon, you aren't going to get very far."
Giselle was shocked at his words, and getting angry. How dare this little upstart say that to her? She hadn't been talked to like that in years, and she didn't like it any better now. He wasn't even a Pokémon Tech student. How dare he think he was better than her?
She rested her hands on her hips. Misty saw the look in her eyes. 'Be careful Ash.' She thought, stepping up beside him in support. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Brock doing the same.
"Well, after two months of Pokémon experience, your Pikachu should be at least at level twenty-five, but it's probably not there yet, is it? I suppose you didn't know very much about Pokémon if you picked a Pikachu as your first one. Pikachu tend to be hard to handle. It says so in any beginning Pokémon manual." She faked another gasp, her eyes wide in false concern.
Ash opened his mouth to say something, but she barreled on. "You really didn't know? And you still got two badges? How funny! A Pikachu evolved into an electric Pokémon called Raichu which reaches two feet seven—"
"I don't care." Ash broke in. "I was given Pikachu as my first Pokémon, and I wouldn't change it for the world."
"Same here, Ash." Pikachu affirmed.
Ash smiled down at his friend and continued. "And I don't care what Pikachu could evolve into. He will if he wants to, and if he doesn't he won't. And those are your levels, not mine." Honestly, level twenty-five? Who cared?
Giselle blinked, and then forced a loud laugh. "Pikachu can shock you, but otherwise it's pretty cute, don't you think? If you don't let them evolve, they make great pets." She smirked. "Especially for little girls."
Pikachu's glower increased, and Ash's eyes darkened. "Excuse me? A pet?" His voice was dangerously cold.
"Didn't you know? You didn't? And you have two badges?" She gave another high-pitched laugh.
"What is with you and your obsession with badges?" Ash demanded.
"Ash, let me battle her." Pikachu ordered, fuming. "I'll show her. Useless, am I? Only a pet for little girls? I'll make her eat those words."
"Pikachu is my friend, and he's different than any other Pikachu. All Pokémon are different." Ash gave a harsh grin that has Misty's mouth dropping open and Brock's eyebrow raising.
Ash usually fought to keep a tight grip on his anger, and usually it was easy to push aside. Sure he got irritated and even angry to an extent, but he tried not to let it get farther than that. The bullies he'd grown up with and his Mama and Gran had taught him that he had to.
Because when he got truly angry, he didn't act human.
Instead, he fell back into his days with the Pokémon, and occasionally, his instincts would take over. He became dangerous, unpredictable. And if pushed enough, the fiery rage of instincts became cold, quiet calm. That was when he was at his most dangerous.
Pokémon could deal with him. An angry hatchling was nothing to them, and he rarely ever got truly angry. It was easily handled. They took it in stride and had their own ways of dealing with it, usually tiring him out in some way and then cuddling with him as they listened to him rant or sob. It worked well.
Humans didn't seem to know what to do with him. He scared them. He'd scared Mama. Even Gran looked unsettled. They loved him, but they didn't know how to handle him when he was like that, caught in the rage. They'd never seen him cold. He never wanted them too.
Ash clamped firmly down on the majority of his anger, leaving the rest, as he knew it was unhealthy to lock it all away.
"But don't take my word for it. Let's battle." He dropped his backpack to the ground behind him. Misty and Brock backed away to the wall on Ash's right.
"For your Pikachu, this should be more than a match." She held up a Pokéball before throwing it. "Cubone, go!"
The orange Pokémon appeared. He glared at them, his eyes narrowed through the eye sockets of the skull that covered his head, and his hand tightened on the bone club he held.
"I'm ready." He announced.
"Cubone, start things off with your Leer attack!" Giselle ordered.
Cubone focused his eyes on Pikachu in a fierce glare. Pikachu shivered and went stiff, staggering in place.
"Pikachu." Ash called. Pikachu steadied himself and glanced up at Ash.
"What am I supposed to do, make a funny face?" He stuck his tongue out in example.
"Cubone, Bonemerang!" Giselle tried to take advantage of their distraction.
"Pikachu, Quick Attack." Ash said quickly. Pikachu raced around the side of the pool, avoiding the bone as it hissed through the air.
Giselle's eyebrow rose. She hadn't expected the Pikachu to know Quick Attack.
Cubone was furious. He caught his bone and hurled it at Pikachu again.
"Go Pikachu." Ash said.
"Right." Pikachu raced at Cubone, jumping over the bone and kicking Cubone in the face.
"Hey!" Cubone cried as he was knocked to the side. He tried to use Headbutt, but Pikachu dodged and clawed at Cubone's chest.
Cubone swiped at Pikachu, who lunged and grabbed his tail in his teeth, biting hard. Cubone growled and stood up, just in time for his returning Bonemerang to hit him in the face. It knocked him back to the ground.
He sat up and looked around, before bursting into sobs. Giselle fell to her knees in shock. "I can't believe I lost a match." She said, looking at the ground in shame.
Ash's anger vanished. He stepped over to where Cubone was sitting, wailing, and sat down with the Pokémon. Giselle stared at him in confusion, but he ignored her.
Instead, he drew Cubone to himself. The weeping Pokémon looked up at him with watery eyes, and then threw himself into Ash's arms. Pikachu, who had followed Ash, gently patted Cubone's back.
"It's okay Cubone." Pikachu told the Pokémon. "You're going to be all right."
"It hurts." Cubone wailed.
"I know." Ash whispered. "I'm sorry."
"Me too." Pikachu nuzzled Cubone just under where his skull helmet sat on his neck.
Cubone didn't care that the human was speaking in the Pokémon language. He was too distraught.
"I want my mother!" He wailed. He shook his head, and his skill rattled, making a plaintive, mournful sound. The sound reminded him of his mother, whose skull it was, and he cried harder.
Pikachu let loose a whistle-click of concern, and Ash made a soft, soothing crooning noise. Cubone's cries made it so that only the three of them heard it, but Ash wouldn't have cared.
Cubone's sobs tapered off. He pulled away from Ash, staying in the loosened circle of his arms, and swiped at his eyes.
"Are you better now?" Pikachu questioned quietly.
"Y-yeah." Cubone hiccupped. "Th-thank you. No one's ever held me since…"
Ash's arms tightened once, briefly. "She would be proud of you. You do her honor."
He released the Pokémon. Giselle remembered herself and pulled out her Pokéball.
"Cubone. Good try. Come on back." Cubone was returned to his Pokéball, and she attached it to her skirt.
"How did you do that?" Joe asked.
"Do what?" Ash questioned, standing up. Misty and Brock came to stand on either side of him. They were proud. Surprised that a loner Pokémon like Cubone allowed himself to be comforted by Ash, but proud nonetheless.
"I've never seen anyone who could stop Cubone from crying before." Joe was grinning. "And the way you fought that battle. Wow."
"Pikachu fought, not me." Ash protested.
Pikachu hit his leg. "We're a team, dummy." Ash grinned down at the electric mouse Pokémon.
Giselle, torn from her shock, watched this exchanged with narrowed eyes, but her lips turned up into a small smile. She was unable to resist. It was too sweet.
"None of the textbooks ever mention a Pikachu winning by anything other than electricity." She protested, trying to hide the grin.
"Well, then there's something wrong with your textbooks." Ash pointed out. "You can't learn everything about Pokémon from books. You have to interact with them."
Giselle finally smiled full-out. But this wasn't one of her mocking smiles. This was sincere, tinged with slight embarrassment. "You're right. Obviously." She held her hand out to Ash. "I'm sorry I was so terrible to you earlier. It was uncalled for."
Ash shook her hand. "Just don't do it again. Oh, and you should apologize to Misty as well."
"Misty?" Giselle glanced at the only other girl in the area. The girl was wearing an expression of deep pride and love, like an older sister and her kid brother.
"She didn't do anything to make you act the way you did. I'd say you should apologize to Starmie too, but he's probably resting after your Graveler attacked without provocation and threw him through a window."
Giselle winced and looked away. It had been a dirty move, and she knew it.
"I'm sorry about what I did." She finally said, looking Misty in the eye. If she had to apologize, she would do it with dignity.
"Apology accepted. And I'm sorry for saying those things about you." Misty answered. "Even though they were right at the time." She added under her breath.
"I hope you learned something from all this." Brock interjected, before either girl could ruin the peace.
"Yes. Obviously books can only take you so far. I have to try thinking outside the box more." She winked at Ash. "And stop underestimating my opponents.
"And I'm sorry to you too, Joe." She continued, turning to the surprised younger boy. "I shouldn't have said those things about you. Even if they were true, I shouldn't have said them. I should have helped you instead. And I'll do that from now on."
"No you won't." Joe said. Giselle looked crushed. "I'm going back home to start from scratch with my first Pokémon, just like Ash did."
"Maybe we'll meet again in the Pokémon league." Giselle said with a smile.
"I hope so." Joe fidgeted. "Giselle, would you mind if I kept your picture?" He showed her the candid shot.
"Not at all. I have pictures of all my friends."
"Do you have mine?"
She chuckled. "We're friends, aren't we?"
Joe nodded enthusiastically.
"I'll try my hardest to be a worthy opponent if we do meet again, for you, and for you, Ash."
Ash nodded with a smile. Brock ruffled his hair, causing an indignant squeak. Misty laughed.
Giselle turned back to Joe and held out her hand. "Good luck Joe."
He shook it, his grin lighting up his face as he replied, "You too, Giselle."
Giselle turned back to Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu. "So, where were you headed, before you bumped into Pokémon Tech?"
"Vermilion City." Brock answered as Ash bent down and put him backpack back on.
Giselle pointed into the forest, slightly to the right from the way they had been traveling. "It's that way."
"Thanks." Misty beamed at the girl. They walked back inside to the practice arena as a group so that Misty could grab her backpack. She shouldered it. Waving goodbye to the Pokémon Tech. students, the four headed back into the woods, this time in the right direction.
Well, I think it came out all right, but I'm not entirely sure. Feedback would be appreciated.
I tried to make it a little more realistic. Well, as realistic as I could when working with a world like this. *snickers* I mean, Brock cannot have a table, a tea set, and all those other things he pulls out of his backpack in the episode. It's just not possible. So he doesn't.
Does anyone else get irritated with Joe a little bit? He's like, oh, you saved me. But I'm still better than you. O.o
Oh, I feel so sorry for Cubone. He wears his mother's skull on his head and cries and wails for her. No wonder he's a loner. And no, I didn't make that up. I looked him up. So sad! *tear*
Well, next is "Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village." The one everyone's been waiting for! *squee* Well, one of them anyway.
Advice would be fantastic, but even a single review telling me what you think helps. Am I going in the right direction?
Suggestions and ideas are great, reviews are amazing. Even one-word reviews are appreciated. Constructive criticism is good. Flames will be used to light fires in random places. Yay arson!
But really though, reviews kick me into writing this story. They remind me people actually do read it, and want to read more. And I'm like, I can't let them down! *wails* To the computer!
Well, see you next chapter! And thanks for reading!